Estimating Costs and Allocating Resources

            While searching the internet for two resources that would be useful in estimating the costs, effort, and/or activity durations associated with Instructional Design projects, I found a lot of different websites associated with this topic. I however, could not find any listservs, message boards, or blogs. I did however find blogs, but they were blogs that other students had posted about this same topic, so I decided to look for websites instead. When discussing costs, efforts, and activity durations, I immediately think of what a project would cost or a budget. “A project budget is the financial plans for allocating organization resources to project activities” (Portny et al., 2008, p. 118). Project managers have a difficult job of not only making sure project gets completed on time, however, they also have to estimate budgets, and make sure their IDs are good workers. While searching through all the websites, I decided to look up project budgeting cost and budgets for projects.

            One of the websites that I found that would help anyone with information about creating a project budget cost, would be Estimating Costs and Time in Instructional Design. This website is truly fantastic when trying to estimate costs and time within a project. I think when it comes to the making my own project, I will refer back to this website. It also gives examples of what a budget cost or time would look like. It is a nice reference to have. Project managers must remember “project managers recognize a cost after a commitment is made to pay someone for resources or service” (Portny et al., 2008, p. 119). However, no one really states how to figure out the budget or time. This website helps break it down a bit better for everyone.

            The second website I found very interesting for Project Manager and Instructional Designers to look at for project budget and time would be Estimating Instructional Development (ID) Time. This website was also very interesting because it only focuses on estimating time on ID projects. When I think about project management, it is very difficult to get excited about a project, knowing something can always go wrong, but more importantly not knowing how to estimate the project cost and time. This website helps PMs to better understand that time and cost go together, and both are equally important. The author has experience within project management or instructional design because his suggestions seem very accurate. I will also be coming back to this website for help when I decide to take on a project.

            Overall, there are many websites out there that will help with ID projects-cost and time. However, I know I will need to keep referring back to these websites for extra help if and when I decide to take on a project. I hope everyone enjoys the websites. “The fundamental items to plan, monitor, and control are time, cost, and performance so that the project stays on schedule, does not exceed budget, and meets its specifications” (Portny et al., 2008, p. 317).

References

            Clark, D. (2010). Estimating Costs and Time in Instructional Design. Retrieved from http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/costs.html

            Greere, M. (2013). Estimating Instructional Development (ID) Time. Retrieved from http://michaelgreer.biz/?p=279

            Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Communicating Effectively

            This week’s assignment was to reflect on communication by watching the video “The Art of Effective Communication”. There were three different types of communication that was sent between two co-workers; email, voicemail, and face-to-face. Communication between: email is what someone writes, voicemail is what someone says, and face-to-face is how someone acts when standing in same area. According to Dr. Stolovich, we see “communication is clear, concise, and focused” (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). Sometimes, with using different types of communications, Dr. Stolovich’s message can be lost. After watching this video, we see how communication can be different within different approaches.

Email

            In this, an email was sent to Mark from Jane. The email was very “clear, concise, and focused” (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). Jane had a point to make, and after reading the email, Mark would know what she was asking for. Jane needed a report that had been missing. Jane was working on a project, and she needed the data from Mark. Jane is worried about missing her own project deadline and needs Mark’s report before she can finish her project. Jane was very polite in her email to Mark.

Voicemail

            In this voicemail, Jane leaves a message for Mark, about his report being missing. With Jane leaving this voicemail, it seems like her voice portrays this to be more urgent than the email was. She is very nice about needing the missing report and she does not blame Mark for the missing report. She just asks if he could give her the report or the data from the report so she does not miss her own deadline on her own project.

Face-to-Face

            In the face-to-face meeting with Jane, she seems more at easy and more relaxed about not having the data she needs from the missing report to finish her report on time. Jane seems more compassionate about Mark being busy and she does not blame him for the report missing, as it seems she did in the voicemail. Jane has strong "tonality and body language" as she is talking face-to-face to Mark (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.). In the voicemail, Jane makes it seem like this report is urgent, but in this she seems more relaxed and understanding that he has been busy all day.

            "Communication is sharing the right message with the right people in a timely manner" (Portny et al., 2008, p. 357). Communication needs to be done effectively and efficiently for any type of message to be passed along. Personally, I like more face-to-face communication. It helps me remember tasks I need to complete or to better understand what is being asked. I also enjoy emails because they help remind me on the things I have to do, and you do not get the sense if someone is upset or angry with you.  Voicemail is very hard to decipher from because depending on the persons tone (that left the voicemail), you may not know how important something is by the tone. Some people are naturally relaxed even if stressed, and some people sound stressed even when they are not. I personally do not like leaving voicemails because the way people hear what you say could change everything that you stated in your message. It is very important to always communicate with your team members. All team members need to be on the same page when it comes to projects.

            I learned through these three examples: email, voicemail, and face-to-face that you need to be careful the way you are communicating your messages. If you are writing a message via email, you should always "begin with a clear purpose, state the situation, and include possible solutions" (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.) When leaving voicemails, never let the person know you are upset or angry with them. Try not to have too much tone in your voice. I feel like angry voicemails are not going to get a good response as someone who is nicer. Finally, with face-to-face, make sure your body language does not suggest you feel differently than what or how you are saying something. I would much rather have a face-to-face conversation with someone who is nice as opposed to someone yelling in my face. In the end, it comes down to what type of communication is better for each individual to get his or her overall message to someone else. If you are better at writing, then email. If you are better at speaking then maybe voicemail or face-to-face. We all have to remember, "communication is not just a word", it is the way we share our thoughts and ideas with other individuals (Laureate Education, Inc., n.d.).

            Laureate Education, Inc. (Producer). (n.d.). Introduction to scholarly writing: Purpose, audience, and evidence [DVD].Communicating with Stakeholders. Baltimore, MD: Author

            Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Learning from a Project "Post- mortem"

               "A project is a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service" (Portny et al., 2008, p. 2). My project that was unsuccessful happened about five years ago. Once out of college, I was hired at a middle school/high school to become a 7th and 8th grade Intervention Specialist. I was so excited that I had found a job and that I would officially be teaching. When I went in to meet my principal, I realized she was odd. She took credit for many things, which I already knew she did not do. She took credit for the littlest things: the wall colors, why her students were passing the Ohio Achievement Tests (at the time now Ohio Achievement Assessments) and who was hired or fired. She took me off guard because everything was all about her and she did no wrong.

                Towards the end of the year (April), I was asked to come into the principal's office to help with an idea. She had decided that the students Math achievement scores were not high enough, and they were making her look bad. Therefore, she needed the students to bring up the scores, and this needed to be done by buying something that helped them practice for the tests. She asked four other teachers and myself to become a team and find a solution to this problem. The first thing we had to do was " define the project concept clearly enough so that you can get support from key people in your organization" (Greer, 2010, p. 8). We all decided we would find some type of booklet that the students could either do in Math class or take home to do on their own time. Something that would help the students practice their skills before taking the OAT's. We went to the principal and told her our plan and she said whatever we needed, it could be done.  According to Greer (2010), we went through the first project management step: "Define the project concept, and then get support and approval" (p. 45). We were specifically told that she supported whatever we decided and the superintended supported whatever efforts we could find.

                "Get your team together and start the project" (Greer, 2010, p. 45). After giving us the problem, the teachers decided to meet a few times and all us teachers had agreed that we would buy a math booklet. It came down to two choices, Measuring Up or Buckle Down. Both went according to the 7th and 8th grade math standards. We asked for sample booklets from both companies, and both companies were happy to help us. After looking through both sample books, we as a team decided which one we liked. We "figured out exactly what the finished work product would be" (Greer, 2010, p. 45). We were all very excited about the booklet we picked and we were excited to get the information turned in to the principal so it could get ordered.

                "Estimate time, effort, and resources" (Greer, 2010, p. 45). It did not take much time to come up with the ideas of the math booklets because apparently, the teachers had already looked at buying these types of books before but the funding was not there. Efforts were important because without everyone in our group, we would have never made it as far as we did in that period.  In the end, we took our final product to the principal. We not only had which booklet we wanted to order, but also why we wanted this one. We also figured out how many students there would be the next year, and how much each booklet was, and how many we had to order to receive a teacher booklet. We handed in our proposal to the principal. She said she would look it over and get back to us. After about two days, one of the group members went to the principal and asked if she had heard anything back. The principal told us all to get a Purchase Order form (P.O.) and fill it out. She specifically told us not to put any names on the paper because she was not sure whom she should put so we left it blank. We all filled out the necessary paperwork and we gave it back to her. Personally, I was so happy with the progress I had made that year with my teaching, with work relationships, and I was very excited that I was asked to be in on this project.

                After a few days, the principal asked us all to come meet her in her office. She told us all that we would not be receiving books until the following year because we turned in our purchase order too late and the superintendent would not approve this. We also had apparently wasted our time, because in the end she ended up picking the other booklet because (we thought) she did not like our ideas. In the beginning of the year, we received an email from the superintended that congratulated the principal on her strong efforts and dedication to the entire project to helping student's math grades improve. Apparently, she had filled in her name on the purchase order and told the superintended she had done it all. This not only was a failure on us (teachers) because after all our time and efforts we put into this idea was wasted, but our idea in the end was not the one picked.

                I feel looking back now we did a great job with project management. "Project management is the process of guiding a project from a beginning through its performance to its closure" (Portny et al., 2008, p. 3). We all stayed within a period, budget, and we knew what our finished project should be. As of today, that principal has been demoted to an In- school Suspension. I was upset this situation happened, but at the same time, I never realized until now how much project management can come into any situation. We had many successes through the project but the biggest failure was putting all our trust into the principal and not handing it to the superintendent ourselves.  Honestly, I would not have changed anything about the project because not only did I develop good working relationships with my teachers but in time the principal was demoted because of the things she did to not only teachers but students. I feel like looking back, we accomplished many parts to the Project Management process but the one I wish we would have followed through with was "Close out phases, close out the project" (Greer, 2010, p. 45). Maybe if we did this stage correctly, we would have stopped the project and handed all our findings to the superintendent our selves. However, we live and learn.

References

                 Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Balitimore: Laureate Education, Inc.

                Portney, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley Sons, Inc.