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

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

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.”

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, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/project_management

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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!!!

Questions? Feel free to reach me at regina.a.haberman@us.pwc.com