The project had a strong risk factor in that it did not have a clearly written objective yet there was a clearly understood expectation that it needed to fill the gap of knowledge for teacher’s use of email and word processing by offering a hard copy of instruction to use the Microsoft software. As the project began to develop and parts of the handbook were completed it could be seen that it was a good source of professional development for staff. Soon district heads, the drivers, sought to add many additional components and software applications to those being addressed in the manual. The complexity grew and limit of the features to be covered by this handbook were less clear. It was desired that PowerPoint, a Microsoft presentation application, would be added to the list of software in the handbook. There were so many features and plug-ins associated with the program that defining the final list to include required many hours of planning and debating. The focus of the project became less clear and the perceived effectiveness of the handbook dropped. The project lacked what the Portny text calls a change control system which would have helped to Identify alternatives to the changes, triggered communications that would have informed stakeholders better, identified the impacts on the project (Portny, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, and Kramer, 2008).
The project finished up late, but did produce a very helpful handbook that was scaled back to earlier goals of instructing in the use of email and word processing and included an introduction to PowerPoint and presented several URLs for external tutorials on its use.
References
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.
