Scope Creep

Currently, our school is a selected school for the Race to the Top initiative set up by the Obama administration. Through this funding there are many requirements, many meetings, and much paperwork to complete. The scope of this project is quite large. During this process, our state is changing to the national common core standards. This process started last year with a Race to the Top team at our school. Then, I was brought on board as part of the sub-team this year. My role in the process is to evaluate the English standards throughout the district. Then, we just brought all teachers on board for curriculum alignment to the old and new standards. After the curriculum alignment is complete, we will begin to implement the new standards. The state initially set the scope and timeline for this project. However, the state did not have all of the information for the project when the timeline and scope was set. Therefore, all of the deadlines throughout the project have been subject to change. In fact, the original completion time for the project was 2014. Now, the state is saying that we should start implementing the new standards K-8 right now. This case is a perfect example of scope creep.

Scope creep is the uncontrolled changes to a project (Lynch, & Roecker, 2007). These changes come in various forms. For instance, the project may receive extra funding and, therefore, may need more attention given to it. On the other hand, the project may change because the stakeholders change their minds about what they desire (Lynch, & Roecker, 2007). In the case of our Race to the Top Initiative, there are several factors affecting the success of this project. The scope creep here is that the stakeholders (the state) didn’t realize the complete process of the project and had their timeline off. Since the original timeline is off, the teams can’t get to project completion successfully and with quality work. Since the state at first said there was plenty of time, our school district planned our work accordingly. Now, the state is saying implement now. Therefore, the team members here have to rush through the process. Rushing in this manner can cause mistakes and inconsistencies that will can cause problems in the end.

Since I am not in the managing role in this case, I can see what the poor planning has done. Now, I am not trying to accuse the state. They may be dealing with a faulty timeline from the federal government. I also want to try to stay away from any political talk here. However, I do believe that this is the problem in many grant funded school initiatives. As soon as it sounds like a good idea, someone jumps on it to get the project moving. Then, it starts to become a “we’ll figure it out as we go” project. As we know from our project management class, any good project cannot be managed in this manner. The project managers need to take plenty of time to analyze the situation, address all concerns, prepare a feasible timeline, and then prepare to design, implement and assess (Portny, et. al, 2008). Therefore, if I was project manager, I would wait until I knew exactly with what we were dealing. Then, I would start to plan for implementation.

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.

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.

Communication

According to Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer (2008), communicating effectively during a project is one of the most important parts of being a project manager. If communication is not open and poignant between team members and stakeholders, then a project can really fall apart. However, communication comes in so many forms that it can be hard to decide which will be the most effective. According to Dr. Stolovitch (n.d.), what people say is not as important as how they say it. He means that, when communicating, tone and demeanor can add or detract from your intended meaning. For this project, I look at and listened to the same message delivered in three different venues: email, voicemail, and face-to-face. While I understand the point of the activity, I did not really see any distinct differences between these three scenarios. I am sure that the activity wants me to say one was more effective in deliver or tone. However, the message sounded nearly the same to me in all three venues. I found all the them to be professional and even-toned. In each one, the person seemed calm and as if she is a team player. While staying calm and kind is effective, none of the scenarios seemed as urgent as the message information seemed. The speaker should have a little more urgency in her voice, and perhaps, she needs to set a timeline for the other person to get that information to her. By setting a deadline, the project manager is remaining in control of the project progression. As far as the most effective venue, each one has the some value.
The voicemail and face-to-face have an interesting element of the tone of voice that can help them. The tone of your voice can send a message (Stolovitch, n.d.). In the voicemail, the project manager can encourage the team members and/or be urgent with deadlines through his/her voice. The face-to-face scenario adds another element: the visual. In the face-to-face venue, the project manager can emphasize points through vocal and visual means. Also, in a face-to-face scenario, the project manager can get a confirmation right then instead of waiting for a return call or email, so there are advantages. However, in both these scenarios, the project manager should get the conversation in writing. This is where email would be effective. Email may not get the project manager a quick response, but it will get the discourse in writing. Having a written copy is vital to the project management process.

Therefore, even though I didn’t see much difference in the way the message was delivered, I do believe that project managers need to think about how they communicate. The project manager needs to think about which venue will get the answer needed in the quickest and most effective way. Then, the PM needs to think about getting a written record of the discourse.

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: Wiley and Sons, Inc.

Stolovitch (n.d.). Communicating with Stakeholders [video]. Retrieved from: http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/crs/default.learn?CourseID=6290461&Survey=1&47=8115912&ClientNodeID=984650&coursenav=1&bhcp=1

Project Post Morteum

My husband and I recently decided to refinance our house. With home values not at their optimal state, we knew that our home value had fallen some since we purchased it. However, we didn’t know how much, and we wanted to make sure that we got the highest appraisal value possible, so we decided to do home improvements. I was raised in a home of do-it-yourselfers, but my husband was not. Therefore, I decided to be the project manager for these projects. My husband was my team member, and I brought on my dad as the SME since his has built two of the house they have lived in. The first project was replacing the bathroom floor.
The previous owners of the house did not put in the bathroom flooring correctly, and as a result, the flooring was starting to peel backwards. My 1 year-old boy and 4 year-old girl had started throwing water out of the bath tub, and the floor boards were rotting. So, we needed to replace all of it. So, I consulted my SME, who told me that we needed to pull up all of it, put down new subfloor, and put down new tile. I consulted my resources and my team member (my husband) before I purchased anything. By including my husband in the decision making, it made the process take longer. My husband and I have very different opinions on home décor. After everything was purchased and ready, we decided my husband would strip the bathroom, and my SME (my dad) and I would fix the flooring. So, my husband grabbed a hammer and started ripping up the floor.
At first, it was easy because there were areas that were already ruined enough to just pull up. Then, it got difficult. It was taking a long time to get very little done. My husband thought he needed a different tool; he thought he needed a tile gun that would heat the tile enough to pull it up. So, I borrowed one; this was not the solution. The tile gun was just a glorified hair dryer. The tensions were starting to rise. Then, I decided to go to the hardware store and see what they suggested. After consulting the hardware store, I came home with a destruction bar to help, and it did help. The floor was torn up in no time. Then, my dad and I swooped in to get the new floor down. While this process took a while, it went smoothly.
So, what went wrong in the first part? Some project management steps were missing in the early stages that could have made this project go more smoothly. First, while I had a conversation with my SME (my dad) and with my team member (my husband), I should have had all of us meet together at the same time. This communication model would have helped all of us be on the same page, and it would have helped my husband clarify how to best perform his role (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). Also, as a project manager, I needed to give my team member the proper tool for success (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, 2008). Since my team member was not naturally good at home improvement, I needed to spend extra time planning his needs. Also, the project would have moved more quickly if I hadn’t included my team member in the decision-making. Unfortunately, that was not a choice in this situation.
Overall, the project ended up being a successful. However, it would have went more smoothly by have a better communication plan and better tools for my husband.

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.