You would agree that risks are
inherent to all projects. However, if risks are identified early and managed throughout
the project, you may be able to minimize the impact of these risks on your
project’s success and outcomes.In this article we will examine the case of Margaret Jason. An experienced instructional designer who's faced with a task to literally rescue her team, following a recent client reaction.
Case
Study 24, “Margaret Janson: Developing Learning Objects for Adult
Learners”
The client, Australian
Vocational Network (AVN) has serious reservations about the ability of third
eye media to complete the project. Simon (the e-learning production manager
admits what Margareth mentioned as the team’s effort to meet the
submission requirements and completely overlooking the clients requirements by
doing what worked for them in the past, instead of what the client wants.
There are a lot of issues
emerging in this case study. Apart from the delays in the project start date,
more time was lost as one of the instructional designers resigned, there were
issues with obtaining and identifying content resources and no attention was
paid to the proof of concept. What tops it is the lack of communication and not
meeting the clients’ expectations. While there is communication between Simon
and AVN it seems, instructional designer who resigned was the champion in
running the project and the project direction and expectations were lost or not
well communicated upon her departure. In the end the project parameters were
discovered during the Proof of concept stage. As a result, third Eye Media has
reduced its credibility and reputation to AVN. This is shown by the giving Third
Eye Media three weeks to complete a new proof of concept at Third Eye Media
costs. Rawi 2014 mentioned the product/technology risk. It is clear
that what has been created by Third Eye Media does not meet the interactive
capabilities that AVN expected. Apart from poor communication, proceeding with
a project without first, being clear of the clients’ expectations and doing
things their way, they are about to lose USD 100,000.
Dr. Stolovitchadvised the need to have frequent communication and sign
offs to avoid these kinds of risks.
Simon and the team should be
aware of the AVN’s expectations, the lesson learnt and the risk of
them losing the USD 100,000 project. A new project schedule should be in
place, go back to the proof of concept rubric to find ways they can do a
quick re design of the training based on the clients’ needs. As an
experienced Instructional designer, Margaret can assist in making this happen.
She should start her task by looking at the required tasks/activities and
establish a support team. The re design process can start once they have
gone through the rubric (Assessment and Feedback Report). The re designed
course must align to AVN’s requirements as well as learners needs.
I believe that the relationship
between AVN and Third Eye Media will be repaired once the proof of concept and
time line is adhered to.
Reference
Ertmer,
P., Quinn, J. & Glazewski, K. (2014). The ID Casebook. Case Studies in
Instructional Design (4th Ed).
Upper Saddle River, NJ. Pearson Education Inc.
Laureate Education (Producer).
(n.d.). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling
projects [Video]. Available fromhttps://class.waldenu.edu
Rawi,
R. M. (2014, April 15). Project risk identification for new project
manager. Project Management Times. Retrieved from http://www.projecttimes.com
