Project Post-Mortem
I have never actually been involved in a project before, but I have been on several committees. The specific committee that I would like to focus on is one that was formed to help develop a standardized curriculum map for music, so that all Minneapolis music teachers were teaching the same concepts across the grades. The main idea was that any student could switch to any school in the district, at any grade level, and still learn the same thing.
The committee consisted of 5 elementary music teachers, 2 middle school music teachers (1 instrumental, 1 vocal), and 4 high school music teachers (1 instrumental, 3 vocal, myself included). There was also the coordinator of Curriculum and Instruction, The Arts, and the district Associate Superintendent. This group was voluntary, and there was no extra pay involved. The meeting schedule was established, so that during the start of the process, all members would meet once a week, and then eventually break off into sub groups, and meet once a month, and the large group would meet bi-monthly.
Over the course of the year this project completely collapsed. Although, several timelines were created, there was never a curriculum map that was fully developed or finalized. Eventually we lost our curriculum coordinator, and our area superintendent, and their incoming replacements seemed to lack interest.
What contributed to the projects failure?
The first thing to fall apart was meeting. Because this group was voluntary, and the schools in the district have different start and end times, it was hard for all members to meet. E-mails of the discussions were sent out, but very few people would reply with other ideas to add to the discussion. Eventually only one or two people would show up to do the bulk of the work. According to Greer (2010), what we failed to do in the onset, is plan and run a kickoff meeting that meets these objectives:
Clarify “broad brush” work product (deliverables)
Clarify riles and responsibilities of team members
Create a shared sense of purpose among team members
Obtain specific commitment of each team member to complete assigned tasks
according to schedule and budget constraints
Make sure all team members have what they need to start work (p.10)
Even though the group was voluntary there should have been something to keep everyone committed, and guarantee that even with an administrative change that there was buy in towards the project.
Which parts of the PM process, if included, would have made the project more successful? Why?
The problem with the whole project is that there was no Project Manager, there was no process, and there was no one in charge. At the least, there should have been a Project Charter (Greer, 2010) or Project Schedule (Greer, 2010). With everyone having a specific task and a specific due date, there is at least some accountability. Even if they can’t make a meeting, they can provide a tangible to work with in their absence.
Resources
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteYour experience is familiar. I have also worked on projects in the K-12 education setting that have fallen apart. Designing a project, whether it is a curriculum map or an online course, there are important project management considerations that often fall to the wayside.
In my experience, when educators work together on an ID project there is often a lack of expert instructional designers and project managers. Although there is sometimes no budget to manage in K-12 educational projects, there are time and resources which much be carefully considered early on in the design process.
It is also important to have a project manager who can complete these essential tasks in the initial phase of the project:
• Selecting the project team and defining team members responsibilities
• Prepare project action plan
• Set performance criteria (Lockitt, 2000)
If the project team does not have a clear plan, project timeline, and understanding of each team member’s responsibilities, the project may be at risk from the very beginning.
-Kaylin
Reference:
Lockitt, B. (2000). Practical project management for education and training. London: Further Education Development Agency.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your posting, even though I never saw anyone's SOW, I knew the project had one somewhere. As you described, I too have been in project meetings where everyone was gungho, fired up to save the world and being passionate about the project, I drank the Kool-Aid, wondering why my other team mates weren't drinking and then two meetings later these same gungho members couldn't be found. Our project's saving grace was we were all under some type of contract. I agree with you a lot of project management problems seem to stem from lack of communication, poor communication, lack of a clear understanding of project's goals, and consideration of the projects impact on individual's time. My sister is a PM and I uses to running things by her. I don't know if you ever watch the discovery channel and have ever seen a cobra dance but she once told me that being a PM is like dancing with a cobra, it’s amazing to watch the art of the dance. You have to know what tune to play to get the cobra to relax and trust you, charm them into corporations and have the skills to stay focus but look ahead for possible problems to avoid mistake that could cause the cobra to strike. PM's not only have to understand the process/concepts but also understands the art of being a PM.
Sorry the project didn't work out it seemed to be very good cause for a project. Music is important for children to learn, in my opinion it allows them away to express themselves and share a bond with others from the past, present, and create the new sound of the future.
Thanks again I enjoyed reading and blogging with you.
Sandra
Chris,
ReplyDeleteI can empathize with your project frustrations. I think this scenario is replicated in many instances where organizations or groups of individuals come together and decide to make an intervention on an existing need. This is a key reason why projects are initialized: they must be set to solve an existing need. A project is defined by Portny, Mantel , Meredith, Shafer, Sutton, & Kramer, (2008) as a temporary endeavor undertaken to create a unique product or service.
The challenge begins when project teams do not realize that what they are undertaking is a project and they need to set certain project "minimals". You admitted yourself that you did not consider this a project yet it has all the basic elements of a project. Your project appeared to have had a background, a scope, and a strategy. What the project appears to have failed on was management. If the project manager had understood expectations of this role and the responsibility that come with it, I am sure the outcomes would have been different. I am sanguine that the current program will provide us with the requisite skill to be the effective PM.
David
Reference
Portny, S., Mantel , S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., Sutton, M., & Kramer, B. (2008). Project Management planning, scheduling and controlling projects. Hoboken. NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc.
Chris,
ReplyDeleteIt's great that Minneapolis is focusing on music, especially when other school districts are completely dropping these programs. I'm sorry to hear that the standardized curriculum project didn't work. If it can be resurrected with some better direction, I think the outcome would be well worth it. I cry a little inside every time I hear that music programs aren’t getting the funding or support they need. When I was in high school, I was in every choir there was: concert, swing, and gospel. It made a big difference in my life. Today, my high school’s music department is a shell of its former self.
Anyway, it looks like your project suffered from a lack of definition. It seems as though all of the right people were involved in the project from the beginning, but without clearly defining roles, responsibilities, and work products, things fell apart. Everyone was clear on the end product, but there should have been a plan for getting there including the work products that external stakeholders might not see. Greer (2010) calls these interim deliverables. He also encourages project managers to document in high resolution everything that the project is going to produce because you can’t manage what you can’t see.
In the case of the standardized music curriculum project, a work breakdown structure and RASCI chart (Kosmala, 2009) would have been useful for the larger group and the subgroups. I hope that there’s still a faction of the administration that sees the value of completing the project. Perhaps you are the one to get it started again.
References
Business Dictionary.com (2011). Work Breakdown Structure. Retrieved from: http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/work-breakdown-structure-WBS.html
Greer, M. (2010). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Kosmala, M. (2009, August 24). Project Management: 6 Steps to Creating a Successful RASCI Chart. Retrieved from The Canoe Group Website: http://www.thecanoegroup.com/470/project-management-6-steps-to-creating-a-successful-rasci-chart/