Analyzing Scope Creep

As I thought about a project where scope creep was evident I thought about my fifth grade teaching experiences. I had been teaching fifth grade for ten years. In this time I had created and designed effective lessons plans as well as implemented efficient teaching strategies.

My eleventh year teaching, I was offered a teaching position in another school district.  With teaching jobs being few and far between, I accepted the job. When I attended new teacher (to the district) trainings, I noticed how differently this district encouraged their teachers to teach, i.e., what strategies to implement in the classroom, what standards and objective to follow, etc.  I had just completed my Masters of Science in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment and with my years of teaching experience, as well as “effective” ratings I had received from prior evaluators, I believed I knew what I was doing and felt quite at ease with my teaching style and lesson plans.

 During the first few months we were asked to submit our lesson plans, including standards and objectives covered, our teaching methods and how we would differentiated instruction for those children that needed it. When I first presented the plans they were received with praise.  As the weeks passed I was observed by the principal and we had a meeting. It was in that meeting that she said my plans and teaching were “effective” as but she wanted me to make her suggested changes. The changes in my opinion would unravel everything that I had accomplished so far and were not in the best interest of my students. This was when “scope creep” came into play. Scope creep is when a change is projected as a project progresses (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer & Sutton, 2008). 

The reprimanding principal reminded me of the strategies and “mind maps” discussed at our new teacher training and how they needed to be incorporated in the lessons.  Her suggestions now, as I see it, were a way to change my lesson plans so that they fit the styles that she wanted and it would delay my progress and individual plan for each student. If I had known what I do now about scope creep I would have been able to stand up and tell them both that my plan was already in action and how it was working for each student.

 The stakeholders in this case were the principal and the school district. As I look back I realize that these two stakeholders were upsetting every teacher who had already implemented their plans and had their students on track for learning. If I had the knowledge about project management that I do now, I would have been able to present my plan again after the meeting to these stakeholders. Maybe then I would have been able to keep the principal from turning our school upside down.  I had more knowledge and experience with my lesson plans as they were developed based upon prior successful experiences and state department of education standards, benchmarks and objects. My plans were developed for the progression of my students. The stakeholders were not active in my room on a daily or weekly basis and not observing what I was doing. I should have had them write down all of their suggestions and sign that document.  I would have taken that document back to my lesson plans and addressed each suggestion. Then I would have decided if each change was necessary. After that I would have updated my plan and informed them of any changes. But since I did not know about the process of a change control system as described by our class text, I did not have a graphic depiction to guide me (Portny et at., 2008). If I had this knowledge I could have effectively controlled and monitored the scope creep that I now see was so evident.

After one year of teaching at this school, I resigned.  The state test scores came back and the majority of my kids did well; however, the school did not and was rated a C-.  After talking with friends who taught at this school for the past academic year (2012-2103), the state testing results reports the majority of the kids failed, the school received a grade of an “F” and the school district itself received a “D”.

References

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.

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Effectively Communicating

Week 3 Blog Assignment: Communicating Effectively

 

Modalities

After reviewing these different modalities, I see why communication is so important. Dr. Stolovitch states in the video “Communicating with Stakeholders,” communication should be clear, concise, and focused. Communication helps everyone to stay on target. Effective communication should be influenced by (1) spirit and attitude, (2) tonality and body language, (3) timing, and (4) personality of the recipient (Stolovitch, 2012).

Email

The email modality that was demonstrated is very respectful and to the point. Jane stated in her email what type of situation she was in and included a solution to the problem. Her tone of the email was business friendly and respectful. By using the email modality is we can also keep a copy in our “sent” email box or even print a copy with the date and time as Dr. Stolovitch mentions we should always keep documentation of our work in case a problem arises (Stolovitch, 2012).

Voice Mail

The voice mail was somewhat more telling of Jane’s state of mind; however, the urgency of her need was less apparent. In the voice mail, Jane’s matter of fact, even somewhat condescending tone gave me the impression that she really was only interested in getting Mark to do what she wanted even more so than getting the actual data from the report.

 

Face-to-Face

The face-to-face version was effective at conveying Jane’s need for the report and her concern that Mark’s tardiness in delivering it was causing her anxiety because of the threat it posed to her own deadline. In the face-to-face, Jane presented matter-of-factly and clearly, in both tone and body language, but she also demonstrated warmth and cooperation.  It was these characteristics that were missing in the email and voice mail modalities. The only problem with the face-to-face is that Jane must have known what little time Mark had available and she used that to her advantage. This in turn could have made Mark less receptive, simply because he was too hurried to give her his full attention.

 E-Mail – More Effective

 Of the three modalities, I found email to be the most effective and appropriate method for communication.  Given that Mark was in an all-day meeting, Jane must have realized what little time he had available.  This could have made Mark less receptive to her message, simply because the constraints on his time put him in too much of a hurry to give her his full attention.  The email created a paper trail of communication. It communicated clearly Jane’s urgency for the report as well as her understanding of Mark’s limited availability to meet due to all-day meeting. The email enabled Mark to respond to Jane as soon as he was able.

The voice mail was least effective, in my opinion, because of its somewhat condescending and demanding tone. Even the most congenial and cooperative colleague can have too much on their plate at any given time to respond immediately to another demand.

Implications

 Dr. Stolovich suggests that 93% of our communication is non-verbal and as such, when we communicate exclusively via e-mail, we lose about 93% of the message. It is my experience that carefully composed emails, can relate a positive, “can do” tone without losing that personal touch.  Writing these kinds of emails takes effort and is a skill that can be acquired and cultivated.

Dr. Stolovich also suggests that “important information should first be conveyed face-to-face with all the stakeholders present”. I have to agree with this.  When introducing a new project, it is important to have a face to face meeting so that everyone can put a face with a name, as well as get the same information about the new project. After this initial meeting, emails could be sent reviewing what was discussed at the face to face meeting.

Dr. Vince Budrovich mentions that it is important to “tailor your communication strategy to fit the need of the stakeholder.”  I think this is an important process to implement.  Everyone learns and communicates differently.  As an Instructional Designer, it is my job to fit the needs of the client. If my client would like a 5 minute daily briefing, I would schedule that into my daily appointments.

 

References

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). [Video]. “Communicating with Stakeholders”

 

Laureate Education, Inc. (2010). [Video]. "Practitioner Voices: Strategies for Working with Stakeholders"

 

 

 

 

Learning from a Project "Post-mortem

The blog assignment this week is to write about a project that I have worked on in the past that was not successful or did not result in the desired outcomes. I have been an elementary school teacher for 13 years. I have not led a special or specific project in my personal or professional life. I am not one of those do it yourself type people when it comes to home repair, baking or anything of that nature. I will pay for whatever service I need.  That being said, this assignment is hard for me. I can only relate to experiences in the classroom. I can honestly say however, that after teaching many years in the classroom (both brick and mortar and virtual schools), I am still learning how to be a more effective teacher. I will often make the mistake of assuming that my students have the prior knowledge needed to complete assignments when in fact they do not.  Here is an example of a recent fail.

I had to create a lesson for my fifth grade students based upon the following Florida Next Generation Sunshine State Standard: “The student will write directions to un-familiar locations using cardinal and ordinal directions, land marks, distance and create an accompanying map.”  From an adult standpoint, I assumed this would be an “easy” lesson to teach.   The majority of my students were familiar with a compass rose, as well as the cardinal and ordinal directions.  They also understood the importance of map reading incase their GPS systems fail.  The lesson went off without any major issues, or so I assumed.  It was when I began receiving the homework I assigned is when I knew this lesson had failed.

The homework assigned was to construct a map of your favorite park, town, favorite place, or create your own city, town, place or park.  Students were also encouraged to create their own road map.   In addition to these requirements, students also were instructed to: On a separate sheet of paper, you will need to specifically give instructions on how to go from one point on your map to another.  (You will need to do this for two separate locations)  Example: To go from the bank to the library you will need to go North on Baker street until you get to Lemon street, turn right, go 2 blocks and then turn left onto Orange Street. The bank will be on your left.

The majority of the maps looked great and met the requirements for compass rose, map legend, etc. It was the direction piece of the assignment that fell apart.   

After conducting a post-mortem, which is a review conducted after the project (or in my case a lesson) ends, I was able to identify mistakes that I had made when creating and delivering the lesson.  According to Greer (2010), a post mortem will assist in developing a list of lessons learned so mistakes are not repeated with future projects. I used the two step process recommended by Greer, (2010)

1.      Prepare a whole bunch of specific questions about the project and allow ample  time to think about them and prepare responses.

2.      Hold a meeting to discuss the responses to the questions. Note: The result of a discussion is often a list of "Lessons Learned.”

Additionally, Allen and Hardin (2008) recommend looking at both successes and challenges for the project as well as conduct an analysis of outcomes and strategies. 

Successes of the Project

            Students were able to successfully construct their own maps with correct usage of map key, map legend and map scale.

Challenges of the Project

            Students were not able to construct detailed instructions on how to get from Point A to Point B on their maps.  Some students did attempt this part of the assignment, with minimal success. Other students were either way off on their directions or did not attempt this part of the assignment.

Instructor Mistakes

            After reviewing the lesson, I realized I had not modeled how to create instructions from Point A to Point B. I assumed that students would be able to use the directions from the compass rose and design their own instructions going from place to place.  Based upon the positive interactions I received during the lesson itself, students seemed eager to complete this assignment.

            I should have given examples of how to create step-by-step directions. In addition I could have given sample directions as well as created directions with student help during the lesson.  Students would have had visuals as well as hands on experience and may have been able to successfully complete the assignment if these tools were available.

Instructor Re-Work

            Due to the failure of the second part of this assignment, I now have to go back and reteach this lesson.  I clearly did not meet the benchmark as required by the state of Florida.   This lesson has been an eye opening experience. If this had been an Instructional Design project for a client where money had been involved, this would be considered a huge fail.

            I am grateful for the opportunity to learn from my ongoing teacher experiences and will strive to always be an effective teacher even if that means teaching the same lesson more than one time.

 

 

References:

Allen, S., & Hardin, P. C. (2008). Developing instructional technology products using effective project management practices. Journal of Computing in Higher Education, 19(2), 72–97.

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