Communicating with Project Members and Stakeholders

Communication within a project is essential to its success. Good communication skills allows for active cooperation among many people in various levels of an organization (Kraut, Fish, Root, & Chalfonte, 2002). From the initial contact with the client, through the development of the project, and concluding with the post launch follow up, it is essential that those involved in or affected by the project have a means of communicating in both formal and informal ways. Within an instructional design project, it is the project manager who is responsible for establishing the expectations and methods of communication among those involved in the project (Portny, 2008).

Messages conveyed in writing, such as emails, have advantages and disadvantages. The written words can be read and reread, allowing the person receiving the message to review it as needed to assure understanding (Ferraro & Palmer, n.d.). The disadvantages include having no way to assure that the message was read, or that the message was received and interpreted as intended. Without the support of the tone and gesture of the author, the message may be misunderstood or even be considered offensive.

Communicating with voice mail, provides the benefit of hearing the sender’s voice and allowing some interpretation of the message based on the tone, inflections, and pacing of the sender’s message (Ferraro & Palmer, n.d.). The use of email allows those working at a distance from each other, to convey brief messages in order to maintain the productivity level of the project (Kraut, et.al, 2002). Although voicemail is somewhat more able to convey the verbal cues of the sender, it is still lacking in many other aspects of face-to-face communication.

Speaking with others face-to-face allows the interaction to be either formal or informal. Brief casual interactions are often used to communicate the needs of one team member to another. The benefits of being able to see those you are attempting to communicate with include being able to observe their emotion and response to your words, and giving you the time to adjust your tone, or words to better convey the desired message (Ferraro & Palmer, n.d.).

Utilizing the desktop audio-visual communication systems allows team members to have access to the informal approach of face-to-face encounters even though they may not work in proximity to each other (Kraut, et.al, 2002). The ability to communicate in an informal manner allows members of a project team to get to know and like each other (Kraut, et.al, 2002).

Communication within a project may require formal or informal means for distributing and acquiring information. Managing communications properly will promote productivity and success of the project.



References:

Ferraro, V., & Palmer, K. C. (n.d.). Differences between oral and written communication. South Hadley, MA: Mount Holyoake College. Retrieved September 25, 2011, from http://www.mtholyoke.edu/acad/intrel/speech/differences.htm

Kraut, R. E., Fish, R. S., Root, R. W., & Chalfonte, B. L. (2002). Informal communications in organizations: Forms, function, and technology. Morristown, NJ: Bellcore. Retrieved September 25, 2011

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.

Reflections on Project Managment

Taking time to reflect on the successes and gaps in a project after seeing it through completion allows instructional designers to develop as professionals (Greer, 2008). Greer suggests a two step process, first distributing a series of evaluation questions to the staff, allowing individual quiet time for relection and note making, followed by a face-to-face group meeting to discuss the project and to make note of lessons learned and recommendations for future projects (Greer, 2008).

This summer I accepted a new position as a summer school instructor for the migrant education program in my county. I was asked to oversee the middle school students and told there would be 50-75 students participating in the program.

During the initial staff meetings, I was given a list of priorities and content that I would be expected to build into the program. I was also introduced to 3 staff members I would be working closely with. One was an instructor focusing on a particular content area; the other two were instructional aides.

Having the basic information for content, time, and learners, I began brainstorming with my co-workers to determine how we could create a program to meet the requirements defined by the administrator. We evaluated of each other’s background and experience, and the available resources. We drafted a sample schedule for classes and content, assigned responsibilities to each of the team members, and met again with the administrator. I was informed that the high school teacher would not be available for the first two weeks, and I was to adjust my plans to incorporate 20-30 additional students. We were able to do this with the addition of one additional instructional aide.

Having been given the approval for our approach, I began designing the instructional materials that would be needed for the course.

I created a schedule grid to distribute to the management team to assist them in understanding where I would have my students and what we would be working on during various parts of the day. With course materials ready we launched into the first week of summer classes.

The program ran very smooth, and I received acknowledgement from many staff that the program addressed the many instructional goals we were charged with.

Two weeks into the program, we were given additional instructional goals, and had to make adjustments to our plan. Because of the visual grid I had created the lead teacher was able to sit with us and very quickly identify how the changes would be implemented.

I believe that the project was as successful as it was because we worked as a team, identifying the various instructional goals, and using each team member as a critical component of the class rotations. The time we spent together planning and preparing for the program paid off in having control over what could have been a very chaotic situation with 100+ students and a wide range of instructional goals.

One area where I would strive for improvement is that during project definition phase, during which 2 key people were not available. Because of their absence, I was not aware of a few critical instructional goals, and some of the documentation that would be asked for at the end of the program. When they were able to work with our group, we were able to make adjustments, but the late alterations created some reworking and pushed us to making a choice between what one manager made a priority and what the other was asking us to make a priority.

The tracking phase of the project would have been more successful and required less backtracking had the stakeholder that was financing the project been more involved up front and able to work with the entire team to explain their needs. Because they worked one-on-one with various team members there was some duplication in the effort to track results, and some areas were overlooked.

Project close out was left to a single person, requiring a considerable amount of time to correlate results and to locate documents needed to meet the needs of the financial supporter.

As with many projects, the experience I had this past summer puts me in a better position to anticipate issues and be even more successful with the design for instruction in years to come.


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 (special ed., pp. 42-43). Retrieved September 15, 2011, from http://sylvan.live.ecollege.com/ec/courses/72033/CRS-CW-5693700/educ_6145_readings/pm-minimalist-ver-3-laureate.pdf

Project Management for 21st Century Learning Designs

Hello and Welcome to my blog.

I am an Instructional Design and Technology student at Walden University. This program is a compliment to my Masters of Education in Integrating Technology in the Classroom. I am a firm believer that we are on the threshold of a revolutionary change in our education system.

                   21st Century Schools explains  

                       WHAT a 21st Century Education is........

Sir Ken Robinson explains WHY there needs to be a change........

and I am learning HOW to make the changes necessary to provide the education options available to meet the needs of the 21st Century learners I will encounter in my career.

Join me as we explore this exciting revolution!


Carol Biegun, MSEd
gradute student
Walden University
Instructional Design and Technology