Earlier this year, our company initiated a project to
certify students enrolled in an apprenticeship program. This endeavor required the
students to undergo approximately five months of full-time training and six
months of on-the-job experience. During the latter phase, each week, four days
were allocated for industry exposure, while one day was dedicated to classroom
instruction. One of the significant obstacles encountered in this project was
the addition of a six-week short course that students were expected to complete
before their placement. This decision was influenced by the school
administration’s desire to provide the students with dual certification
opportunities. As a result, the program facilitators had to reduce the
instructional time for some of the classes, which, in turn, posed difficulties
for students who were already struggling in those subjects. A prerequisite for
student placement in the apprenticeship program was completing all assigned
classes successfully and passing external assessments. However, our project
faced challenges concerning the targeted placement dates for the first group of
students. Some students did not complete all the required classes, and others failed
their external assessments.
At the time, the stakeholders had already committed to
the project and arranged to accommodate the students in their workplaces.
Therefore, program facilitators had to adapt to these changes by reorganizing
program schedules, reallocating their assigned resources to support the new
program they were now expected to deliver, and modifying curriculum plans. The
career services officers (CSO) had to meet with prospective employers to
request an extension of the project end dates. Additionally, partnerships were
formed with other employers who could not participate in the program. The
program coordinator had to facilitate a meeting with the students, some of whom
had stopped attending the training, and program facilitators with prior
commitments. During this meeting, they discussed the reasons behind the program
changes and addressed issues and concerns the students and facilitators raised,
including financial concerns and other commitments.
Looking back on the experience now, if I had been in
the position of managing the project, I would have incorporated the following
to manage the project better:
- Scope Change Documentation: Document all scope changes and the reasons behind them. This ensures transparency and helps assess the project’s overall success and lessons learned for future initiatives. Proper documentation of the addition of the short course as a formal scope change, along with its implications on timelines and resources, should have been maintained. This would help track changes and ensure all stakeholders are aware of the impacts. Evanick (2023) mentions that a recommended approach for managing project scope changes involves establishing a well-defined change control process from the project’s inception. This process should entail comprehensive documentation of all project requirements and a requirement for formal approval for any proposed changes.
- Stakeholder Communication: Open and transparent communication with all stakeholders, including teachers, students, and school administration, should have been a priority. This would help manage expectations and provide a platform for discussing the consequences of scope changes. Their insights can help identify potential issues and garner support for necessary changes. Evanick (2023) states that effectively managing stakeholder expectations involves establishing feasible project scopes and deadlines. By articulating precise and unambiguous project goals, deliverables, and schedules, stakeholders clearly comprehend what can be accomplished within the specified limitations, thereby averting impractical expectations.
- Risk Mitigation Planning: Identify potential risks early in the project and develop mitigation plans. Recognizing that scope changes can lead to problems, a risk mitigation plan should have been in place. This plan would include strategies for handling delays, providing additional support for struggling students, and ensuring that essential prerequisites are met. Doval (2019) added that risk management is centered on identifying and evaluating potential risks within a project, aiming to manage these risks to mitigate their impact strategically. Given the infinite array of events that could adversely affect the project, it is acknowledged that all projects inherently carry risks; thus, the focus is on minimizing their potential impact. According to Bridges (2023), project risks encompass the aggregate of all individual project-related risks that could influence the project’s outcome. When gauging the overarching project risk, it is essential to factor in both favorable and adverse risks to which your project might be exposed, considering their likelihood and potential consequences. One specific form of project risk is scope creep, which transpires when tasks are incorporated into the project scope without the requisite approval from the project management team, resulting in uncontrolled scope expansion that directly affects a project’s timetable and budget.
- Regular Monitoring and Reporting: Establish a robust project management framework that incorporates regular progress reviews and the ability to make necessary adjustments. This framework would aid in the timely identification of issues as they arise and facilitate prompt corrective actions without jeopardizing the project’s overarching goals. Dr. Stolovitch (Walden University LLC, n.d.) advises that project managers should regularly document the work status while monitoring project activities. This is accomplished by generating weekly status reports and establishing clear links between these reports and the project’s statement of work.
References
Bridges, J. (2023, January 27). What is project risk? 7
project risks to track. ProjectManager.com. https://www.projectmanager.com/training/what-is-project-risk
Doval, E. (2019). Risk management process in projects. Review of general management, 29(2).
Evanick, J. (2023, July 7). Creating an instructional design project schedule: tasks, milestones, and dependencies. ELearning Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/creating-an-instructional-design-project-schedule-tasks-milestones-and-dependencies
Evanick, J. (2023, July 25). Managing stakeholder
expectations in instructional design: effective communication and engagement. ELearning
Industry. https://elearningindustry.com/managing-stakeholder-expectations-instructional-design-effective-communication-and-engagement
Walden
University, LLC. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Monitoring projects [Video
file]. Retrieved from https://waldenu.instructure.com
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Antonette I enjoyed reading about the project you were involved in with your company. You stated that if you were in the leadership role of the project that one of the things you would have incorporated was stakeholder communication. You said, "Open and transparent communication with all stakeholders, including teachers, students, and school administration, should have been a priority." I completely agree. In any aspect where your amendments impact others communication is imperative. “Communication design practice is reconstructed by attending to the practical reasoning involved in recognizing the relevant problem to be resolved by changing the features of communicative activities and thus the way people interact and reason with each other (Aakus 2015).”
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Aakhus, M., & Bzdak, M. (2015). Stakeholder engagement as communication design practiceLinks to an external site.. Journal of Public Affairs, 15(2), 188-200. DOI: 10.1002/pa.1569.
It is vital to baseline a project before it starts. Stakeholders may start off a project aligned and ready to work together for a project’s life-cycle. Logging the changes to the scope is also equally important. When documenting the change, evaluating the difference and how it will impact the project will also need to be approved by stakeholders, as you mentioned. Refusal of change from stakeholders is not uncommon. Should this occur, one should identify the problem as to why there is resistance and confront it head-on. We cannot always assume that stakeholders will be as flexible as we need them to be. If the problem continues, you may need to solicit help from other stakeholders who may influence this person, like a friend or somebody the stakeholder respects (Walden. n.d). If all else fails, remove the person from the team and replace them with someone who can get the task done.
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Walden University, LLC. (Executive Producer). (n.d.). Project management and instructional design [Video file]. Retrieved from https://waldenu.instructure.com