Thursday, January 13, 2011

Learning from a Project “Post-mortem”

In my fairly new career as an Instructional Designer there have been more than a few projects that I have been assigned. In one of my first projects on a course that I was working on, I made many flaws and small mistakes that were detrimental and could have cause a lot of issues if they were not corrected in a timely fashion. My ID role is slightly different then the more traditional ID role. I focus mostly on uploading and assuring that the courses are properly developed.

The project was a special course that had a small window of development time to be fully completed. After the course was written by the course developer it was then handed off to me to properly upload the course and assure all media pieces are in the correct places. One these elements are down then I had to send the course to the editorial department for final edits.

In the long run this course was a success but in the beginning I was very new to the process and didn’t really understand the importance of time management. The other skill that I lacked was paying attention to detail, a skill that has to be in place to be successful in this career. Being able to have a longer window of time to complete the course would have possibly given me more of a chance to pay attention to detail. Although that is no excuses for quality of work, it taught me how to truly focus on the task at hand.

7 comments:

  1. I completely agree that attention to detail is skill that cannot be overlooked as a ID professional. Since I have been working the field I have learned to hone in on my proof-reading skills, because that was never a strong suite of mine. Are you the only person that does corrections prior to uploading the course? I know at my position we have a system of four proofs: the SME assigned to the project, a quality assurance review, and external SME, and an upper level ID that review. And this is only the first stage of reviews. I guess it also depends on the size of the organization and training team.

    I think it is a lot of pressure to put on one person, if that is the case that you are the only person completing the reviews. However, I guess it also depends on the size of the organization and training team.

    I am sure you will continue to get plenty of practice and the process will be a breeze in no time!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Jennifer,
    By the time the course is handed off to me I act as the "test pilot" of the course. I act as the student to assure that the course is adequate and that the course can be successfully completed. I also assure that the course developers writing does not have any flaws. Once I am done with my process then the course goes an editorial team for further review. I am continuously learning on a dily basis so it can only get better from here!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Cottrell,

    In reading your post, several key points jump out at me. It's so important that project team members are clear on their roles, their tasks and their responsibilities (Portny, et. al., 2008). Only when we (or someone on a project team) understand the inter-dependencies and intricacies/nuances of project work, can we effectively manage our timelines. Learning these details takes time and experience. So, if you're new to this work, you're right where you should be ... Learning! Through experience we can find ways of being proactive to avoid issues and get things through the process more quickly. Effective partnering and communication amongst project team members can help us effectively care for the fine details and tasks.

    References

    Portney, 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. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Hoboken, NJ.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Cottrell,
    Do your projects have a project manager? If not, is this a role that could be added with the resources available in your company? Looking at your project, a project manager and a good work breakdown structure (WBS) could help you identify your work steps, priorities, and deadlines. With this information in the beginning of a project, you will be better able to manage your time. I find it easier to focus on the small steps and their deadlines rather than just one final deadline for the whole project.

    You may want to consider creating your own WBS on your next projects to help guide you in your daily "to do" list.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Cottrell,

    I enjoyed your honest post and think that we learn from past experiences. That is all part of each plan. Do you believe this course in Project Management has given you the "Nuts and Bolt" for project management? Maureen

    ReplyDelete
  6. Cotrell,
    Even though you were a fairly new Instructional Designer (ID), the Project Manager (PM) had the responsibility to ensure everything got done satisfactorily which included monitoring performance against plans and dealing with any problems that arise (Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B., 2008). Time management is a critical skill needed by both the Project Manager and Project Team members. Projects are considered a success when completed ahead of schedule or on time. Your project manager should have been guiding team members toward accomplishing their specific task within the established schedule.

    Reference:
    Portny, 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.

    Gwen Davis

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi Cotrell,

    I am a learner just like you and have not expereinced anything similar to what you shared in your blog post. So much has gone on in the past two in a half weeks that I did complete the blog post for this particular week, saved it as a pdf and did not load it where I should have submitted it. I too need to work on improving how to manage time and to follow instructions. I'm still proud of you because you were able to complete your task.

    I appreciate your honesty,

    Carmen

    ReplyDelete