A personal project
experience that I have had was in my under-grad. I was taken a geography course
and part of the course was to do a group project where we had to choose a
chapter from the course texts book. As a group we choose a chapter from the
book and then each group member choose the section that they were going to
cover in a power point presentation. One of the groups did not participate in
any of group meeting and did not provide a power-point for the presentation. The
way the stakeholders dealt with the absent group member was to continue to
communicate with the member and find and a time and day that would be best for
the group member. This approach still did not work, so the group leader decided
that we all would take additional section from the missing group member so that
we could turn in the project and present the project to the class. The project
scope creep issue that occurred was monitoring the scope which states that
since the scope creep is a major cause of cost and time overrun, the project
manager must control changes to the project charter and project scope by
following the change management and the plan that was created during the project
phase ( Lynch and Roecker 2007). Looking back at the experience now there are
many things that could have been done different such as choosing group member
that were accountable and that were willing to do their part of the project. As
the project manager I would make sure that all of the group members communicate
during the project phase and also setup a time to meet to go over the progress
of the project. I would make sure that everyone in the group was on the same
page when we present the project so that the group will receive a positive
grade.
As an instructional designer
making sure that I am able to provide step-by-step instructions to students so
that they clear on the expectations of the course. To also make sure that I am
able to guide the students with videos from instructors that have experience
field, assignments and project that will help the learners to grow in their
perspective fields, and providing discussion questions that will help them
learn from the instructor and classmates.
Lynch, M. M., & Roecker, J. (2007). Project managing e-learning: A handbook for successful design, delivery, and management.
London: Routledge. Copyright by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Reprinted by permission of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC via the
Copyright Clearance Center.
Aneesah,
ReplyDeleteDid the professor for the course state his contingency for a group member who did not do his or her part of the work? Was there any accountability for that person? Were the members of your group able to "fire" that person? Did you allow him or her to present with the group? As the project manager, I would look to get rid of dead weight and ensure that he or she does not receive any credit for the team's work. What happened after you guys completed the project?
Hello Gerrit,
ReplyDeleteYes the group member showed up on the day of the presentation and presented his part with notes and extra handouts they we did not know about until he started to present. Everyone in the group was very surprised they he showed up to present but also had handouts for the class. The instructor could see what was happening and did not allow him use the handouts but he could only present his section with the notes he provided. The group received a good grade and we told the instructor what was going on.
Performing tasks with team members you're not familiar with is almost impossible. One of the classes in this program involved a group project and I remember my anxiety of being new and wondering how we would all work together through digital connections. In the end the instructor found ways to make each group member accountable and each of us had the chance to lead the project tasks for the week. You're right when you state "Looking back at the experience now there are many things that could have been done different such as choosing group member that were accountable and that were willing to do their part of the project." Experience, creativity and proper planning can help to reduce scope creep.
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