When I first viewed the e-mail message, my reaction was that it was polite but impersonal. If a project manager sent this to me, and I was already feeling overworked, then it would be easy to put it off until I had the time to address it. Listening to the phone message was a little more personal, but again it would allow me to ignore it until I was able to work on the project. Hearing that human voice though was more meaningful to me than an e-mail message. The video was the most personal and the least impersonal. The eye contact and tone of voice of the speaker showed how important it was to the speaker for me to send my report to her.
The factors that influenced how I perceived the message were my own experience with these forms of communication and the tone of voice and body language. “Effective communication is influenced by spirit and attitude, tonality and body language, timing, and the personality of the recipient” (Stolovich, 2010). None of these things were present in the e-mail, only tonality and timing with the phone message, but all these were present in the video message. In my own work experience I have been the sender and the recipient of these communication methods. This experience has definitely influenced my opinions of these methods.
In my own experience with communicating at work, there are communication methods that work better than others. The ones I have found to be the most effective have been the times where an actual physical visit was made. It’s so easy to ignore or put off an e-mail and postpone a phone message, but a physical visit is very difficult to ignore. I am the elections chairperson for our local teacher’s union. Last week was insane for me, and I put off the e-mail requests from our president to set up a timeline for the next election. When he stopped my in the hallway the next day and asked me to complete it, I could no longer put off the request. That physical request was powerful because I was able to see the need to complete the task in his tone, his body language, and eye contact. After viewing the video this week, I realized that the message was important to the speaker and needed to be completed right away. That urgency was not communicated as well through the e-mail and voice message. Physical contact is everything.
As a future project manager, I realize that working with stakeholders and team members in a way that is as personal as possible will make the difference for the success of my project. If I am assembling a team and am requiring them to adhere to a deadline, then the most effective method for keeping that team on track will be personal. Regular meetings and physical reminders will make all the difference for a positive outcome in my project. “Project teams should have the opportunity to meet periodically to reaffirm the project’s focus and keep abreast of activities within and outside the project that affect their work and the project’s ultimate success” (Portny, 2008). It is so important to make sure that communication is present in every aspect of a project, and even if it’s an e-mail or a phone message steps should be taken to ensure that it’s personal enough and that the recipient understands the importance of responding and staying on track with the project. Communication is key, and no matter what form it comes in, it’s power will make or break a project.
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.
Stolovich, D. (2010): Communicating with stakeholders [video]. Laureate Education, Inc.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Post Mortem Analysis: RIP Yearbook
The project I am involved in this year is that of Yearbook adviser. While the project hasn't exactly failed, it is not exactly the most well executed project I have ever done. It is my first year as Yearbook teacher, and I realize I have a lot to learn. Although the yearbook will be printed and delivered to the students on time, I have failed at many of the tasks that could have made my class run more smoothly and my product more polished. The students went over 2 out of 3 of their timelines, there wasn't a good enough representation of the student body in pictures, sales of the book are down from last year, and the students lack motivation to do a good job.
When I did the post-mortem analysis, the thing that stuck out for me the most was the fact that my stakeholders weren't as involved from the beginning and may or may not have truly understood their roles. If I had done a better job of communicating those specific details to them, maybe the deadlines would have been on time, and the finished product may have been done better. Also, the discussion of deliverables and creating a blueprint of the project made me realize that I could have improved in that area too. Had I spent more time mapping out all the specific details of each page with them instead of giving them a general topic and turning them loose on the page, I may have gotten a better product in the end.
Ultimately the project is a success because the yearbook will be completed, printed and distributed. The lack of success comes from the fact that it wasn't well planned, and the pages could have been a lot better. I should have spent time teaching my students about writing articles, interviewing students, and being creative. Instead I assumed they would be able to complete the pages with a general idea and the freedom to let their creativity flow. Boy was I wrong! What I needed to do was provide more guidance and training in order to best serve their needs. I needed to use the resources provided to me by my yearbook representative to motivate the kids to success. Their laziness and lack of creativity was a direct result of my lack of instruction.
From a PM standpoint, there are things I could have done as part of the process to improve my final product. In the video, Project Management and Instructional Design, there are tips for successful projects that I should have utilized. "Hold everyone accountable to the timelines, expect quality of product and outcomes, let the ID process guide the work, and ensure effective communication" (Stolovich, 2010). If I would have started by making sure that the students were aware of their timelines and held them accountable, then maybe they would have done a better job of meeting them. I reduced their grades based on late submissions, but maybe something more immediate would have been more effective. Also, I should have expected a high quality product and provided them with more training and tools to create high quality work. Training by me would have improved their final product. If I had used a model such as ADDIE to ensure that each step of the process was completed, then maybe my design would have given them a clearer picture of expectations. Communication is something that definitely should have been improved. Instead of telling them to get to work, I should have spent more time individually breaking down what needed to be done on each page.
If I had taken more time to learn about the process of creating a yearbook and spent time explaining that process in more detail to my students, then I'm certain that the project would have been a great success instead of the dismal performance it is now.
Stolovich, H. (2010): Project management and instructional design. Laureate Education, Inc.
When I did the post-mortem analysis, the thing that stuck out for me the most was the fact that my stakeholders weren't as involved from the beginning and may or may not have truly understood their roles. If I had done a better job of communicating those specific details to them, maybe the deadlines would have been on time, and the finished product may have been done better. Also, the discussion of deliverables and creating a blueprint of the project made me realize that I could have improved in that area too. Had I spent more time mapping out all the specific details of each page with them instead of giving them a general topic and turning them loose on the page, I may have gotten a better product in the end.
Ultimately the project is a success because the yearbook will be completed, printed and distributed. The lack of success comes from the fact that it wasn't well planned, and the pages could have been a lot better. I should have spent time teaching my students about writing articles, interviewing students, and being creative. Instead I assumed they would be able to complete the pages with a general idea and the freedom to let their creativity flow. Boy was I wrong! What I needed to do was provide more guidance and training in order to best serve their needs. I needed to use the resources provided to me by my yearbook representative to motivate the kids to success. Their laziness and lack of creativity was a direct result of my lack of instruction.
From a PM standpoint, there are things I could have done as part of the process to improve my final product. In the video, Project Management and Instructional Design, there are tips for successful projects that I should have utilized. "Hold everyone accountable to the timelines, expect quality of product and outcomes, let the ID process guide the work, and ensure effective communication" (Stolovich, 2010). If I would have started by making sure that the students were aware of their timelines and held them accountable, then maybe they would have done a better job of meeting them. I reduced their grades based on late submissions, but maybe something more immediate would have been more effective. Also, I should have expected a high quality product and provided them with more training and tools to create high quality work. Training by me would have improved their final product. If I had used a model such as ADDIE to ensure that each step of the process was completed, then maybe my design would have given them a clearer picture of expectations. Communication is something that definitely should have been improved. Instead of telling them to get to work, I should have spent more time individually breaking down what needed to be done on each page.
If I had taken more time to learn about the process of creating a yearbook and spent time explaining that process in more detail to my students, then I'm certain that the project would have been a great success instead of the dismal performance it is now.
Stolovich, H. (2010): Project management and instructional design. Laureate Education, Inc.
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