1. eLearning projects October 4, 2013
Project Management
eLearning projects
October 4, 2013
Gina Haberman

2. Agenda
Projects defined Classroom vs. eLearn Project plan What makes a good plan eLearning development considerations How do you create a project plan – key elements Plan template or tool Best practices
Ask the question: give me a green check – Do you currently manage learning projects - Give me a green check if you manage eLearning projects

3. Projects - defined
“Project Management is the discipline of planning, organizing, and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of specific project goals and objectives.” “A project is a finite endeavor – having specific start and completion dates – and undertaken to create a unique product or service which brings about beneficial change or added value.”

4. Projects - defined
“The primary challenge of project management is to achieve all of the project goals and objectives while adhering to classic project constraints – usually scope, quality, time and budget.” “A project is a carefully defined set of activities that use resources (money, people, materials, energy, space, provisions, communication, motivation, etc.) to achieve the project goals and objectives.”
Source: Wikipedia,

5. Classroom vs. eLearn Projects
In the chat type what you think the differences are between a traditional classroom course and an eLearn course.

6. Project plan All good projects begin with a scope
Document planning assumptions
Organize all tasks associated with the project
Determine timeline
Gain agreement from stakeholders and team members on roles and responsibilities
Manage deliverables
Help manage staffing and potential holes
Acts as your road map for the project

7. Good plans include:
Detailed list of all action items for the duration of a project
Realistic timing associated with each deliverable
Clearly defines who is responsible for each task
Provides status of each task

8. eLearning development considerations
Know the development platform and the specifications
Multimedia
Audio
Flash animation
Video production
Think through technical considerations
Time to develop – build in extra time for testing
Stakeholders may need help visualizing end product
Audacity (free)
Wavepad
Narrator file

9. Where do I start? Determine your milestones and key dates
Key accomplishments within your project that significantly impact your overall success
Key Dates
Easiest to start with your delivery date and work backwards allowing enough time for each task that needs to be completed
Common L&D milestones:
Registration released
Venue selected
Completion of materials
Detailed design review
Leadership buy-in
Talent sourced
Common L&D timeframes:
Registration build – 1-2 weeks
Materials branding – minimum of 1-2 weeks
L&D announcement - sent 6-8 weeks before delivery
Reporting schedule - varies

10. Where do I start? Determine your interdependencies and contingencies
Identify your lynch pin deliverables – those that several other deliverables depend on
Determine how they impact the rest of your project
Think through how best to accomplish those to avoid bottlenecks and issues
Contingencies
Identify the highest risk deliverables in your project plan
Take steps to ensure they go according to plan
Think through “worst case scenarios” and what your back up plans could be
Manage change orders

11. Project plan template
Can be something simple in MS Excel or other project tool
Key point is – have one and use one!

12. Best practices Agree on project scope Always get stakeholder buy-in
Use the tools in excel - conditional formatting, drop downs, linked dates, etc. - to do some of the work for you
Make sure your plan covers the full timeline of the project, including everything that needs to happen after delivery
Agree with team on plan utilization and guidelines
Make a plan to manage version control
Use to drive agenda for team calls
Actually USE it!
Keep it simple!!!

13. Questions?
Feel free to reach me at