CS250 as a Project (status report)

     As we enter our fourth month in IT Project Management, let us take a quick look at how things are going so far (from a project perspective).  We have learned some paramount information concerning project planning, communication, dealing with different personalities, keeping motivated, and utilizing teamwork toward projects and project management.

     The group projects for actual clients have displayed real-world problems which project managers have had to overcome.  This is a great teaching tool, in that it shows no matter how much you learn in a classroom environment, it means nothing until applied to real-life situations and application.  While everyone thinks that a project will not fail, because we follow all the rules learned in the classroom, they are quickly learning how easy it is for a project to fail if not constantly maintained.  Communication has been the key to knowing where the projects are, and what still needs to get done.

During the progress review, how might a project manager assess the contribution of each member of the project team?

     A project manager can assess the contribution of each member of the project team based on the type of information each member provides to the review.  If the member is detailed in their progress report, it is an indication that the member has put a lot into the project.  Information provided such as percentage accomplished, milestones reached, graphic descriptions of work accomplished, and pitfalls overcome, suggestions, collaborations and tangible results are strong indicators that that member has been contributing a lot to the project.

     On the other side of the spectrum, if the member has very little information to provide, or provides numerous excuses why something is not done, it is a good indication that the member has contributed little to the project. 

     Good communication is also a good indicator for project managers to know a member’s contributions.  Maintaining good records, such as weekly reports, helps the project manager see what a member has accomplished each week.  Also, constant communication between the project manager and the project members keeps the project manager apprised of where each member is with the project.  A member who does not maintain regular communications, or maintain weekly reports, conveys a message to the project manager that they are not contributing to the project.  Even though they might be getting a lot done, without good communication, the project manager does not know.

Why is user-centered development critical to successful systems development projects?

     User-centered development is critical because it is the end-user that is going to be using the product.  In the world of technology the consumer user outnumbers the professional user by a substantial margin.  It is essential to listen to the end-user when developing systems. If the system is too complicated and difficult to understand and use, then the project has failed to meet its goal. 

     In addition, when developing a specific system, it is the end-user that knows what they want the system to be able to do.  An engineer or software developer needs to know what exactly the end-user desires in the capabilities of the system.  A programmer can speculate what he thinks the end-user will need the software to do, but without getting that information from the user, the project will fall short. 

     Today’s technology is much too dynamic compared to twenty-five years ago.  In the late 1980’s – early 1990’s, developers put together software packages and users bought them and used them.  Now, with open-source and mobile applications, it is much simpler for the user to find an application that suite their particular needs.  If they cannot find it, they can have one built to their specifications relatively easy.

     The more end-users involved during development ensures that all required operations will be included in the final project.  This is definitely an environment where a “bottom-up” methodology is the better way to go. 

Evaluating My Own Presentation

In my presentation, I was innovative in coming up with a desired solution to the scenario given about creating catalogs for an online clothing company.  My introduction could have been better, but my overall structure flowed with the desired information and how I wanted to present it.  I also need some improvement with timing, which could be integrated into my notes for presentation. I could have been strengthened by a couple of PowerPoint slides, but I wanted to refrain from using any type of technological crutch for this presentation.  Overall, I feel I got my message across to the audience.

Tips for Presenters of Presentations

Here are a few tips for presenters to help when preparing for and giving presentations.

• Ensure you know the material being presented.
• Practice your presentation prior to the actual presentation.
• Have a structure to the presentation, intro, body, & conclusion.
• Interact with the audience.
• Keep the audience's attention, through humor, stories, fluctuation in voice level, etc..
• Be confident during the presentation.
• Keep good eye contact with the audience.
• Ask questions and get audience participation occasionally.

What Aspects of the Workplace Might Motivate People's Acceptance of Change?

     Change is one of the hardest tasks in a workplace.  Most people learn to do something one way and stick with “that’s the way it has always been done,” or “if it isn’t broke don’t try to fix it.” Within the last twenty years technology has advanced, and continues to advance, at such an alarming rate that change has become a constant variable in any business.  To stay current and competitive businesses need to constantly keep changing the way they conduct business.

     Getting people to accept that constant flux of change in the workplace requires constant support and motivation.  To accomplish positive change acceptance, people need to be involved from the top-down and bottom-up.  Executives and managers are generally the older population of a workforce and are more susceptible to change resistance. While at the other end of the spectrum, the blue-collar workforce might be resistant to change based on complacency.

     Management will be more motivated to accept change if it is presented in a clear and concise method explaining the monetary value.  If the suggested change reduces costs and increases revenue, making the business more successful, the greater the chance of acceptance.  Unfortunate to say, but the bottom line in any business is to make money and stay in business.

     The blue-collar workforce requires a different approach.  Incentives or personal benefits provide more successful results when instituting change.  The lower level workforce, while still concerned with money, is more focused on a personal level than a company level.

     To universally incorporate change it must be presented in a gradual way, and not immediate or forced.  People need time to adjust /prepare for change. With any technology change, time will need to be allotted to train the workforce on the use of the new system.  Change needs to be presented in a positive and constructive way, to incorporate a general acceptance.  A happy employee is more susceptible to change than a disgruntled one.

Five Characteristics of What Makes it a Great Speech

     In my quest to determine five characteristics of what makes it a great speech I listened to one of the masters of presenting and speaking, Steve Jobs.  Specifically I watched his commencement address at Stanford University, delivered on 12 June 2005. I have always been mesmerized by his keynote speeches over the years.  How he makes simplicity sound so relevant and desirable. I also figured he represents technology, which is paramount in the basis of these blogs.

The five characteristics that I devised from this speech that make it a great one are:

 1. Effective - Jobs takes the audience on a journey through three stories of his life. From his upbringing and pre-Apple years, to the Apple years and beyond, and finally a lesson in mortality.

 2. Realistic - He personalizes the content of his speech with his own life events and lessons. Keeping it on the level of the creation process, and not the business process.

 3. Creative - At the end of the speech, Jobs quotes a catch phrase from a 1970’s publication that is relevant to his philosophy on life and the way he lived it. "Stay hungry, stay foolish."

 4. Dynamic - He was very candid in talking about his cancer, and how it effected his train of thought and decisions.

 5. Achievements - At the end he explains how everything that happened in his life, even the seemingly bad things, lead to bigger and better things. He ties it all together at the end, having given the audience a lot to contemplate for their own lives from his own example.

     While this speech has become even more famous since his passing, it sends a profound message of following one’s dreams and how doing something you love is more successful that doing something for money or fame.

How does the IT environment contribute to the success or lack of success in systems development processes?

     The IT environment contributes to the success of system development when the IT environment is kept within the decision-making process and communication is maintained throughout the development process.  A strong IT environment has a representative involved with all aspects of a system development process.  The IT specialists experience and limitations are know and figured into the process, which helps to determine if additional training or out-sourcing is needed.  IT can also provide guidance and innovative strategies that might have been overlooked.

     An IT environment fails when IT is reactive, and not proactive and innovative.  Project managers who do not know the capabilities of their IT can set unrealistic goals or tasks that cannot be performed.  Poor communication can lead to bad system development, where the end product does not meet the requested parameters.  Also, inadequate resources or overworked personnel can lead to poor output. 

     Keeping the IT environment positive and motivated is key to success in the system development process.