A few years ago, a previous organization I worked with had signed a contract for a learning management system (LMS). The system they had at the time was built in-house, extremely old, and extremely complex. Our business needs and requirements had outgrown what the LMS currently offered. Upon meeting with several different LMS companies, one had been chosen and contract signed. Half the project was completed before everything had to be cancelled and the project was a bust.
The project’s failure was based on overpromising of capabilities and lack of communication of what resources were available. The LMS company made promises and ensured that what our organization needed, they would be able to deliver. Our organization’s mistake was not checking and getting it in writing and in the contract that their capabilities could handle what our organization’s needs were. There was a document that was put together at the time, but not everything had been included. They put together the MoSCoW document- must have, should have, could have, and won’t have.
For this project, there was no Project Manager (PM) involved. Had a PM been involved, I feel it would have been more successful and the right LMS platform could have been chosen for the organization’s needs. The PM could have had regular meetings, ensured those pertinent to the project (stakeholders) were involved in the project when appropriate. The executives at the time, in my opinion, were just eager to obtain an LMS versus ensuring the proper fit. They just wanted everything to be done and on a new platform as soon as possible and I think had there been a PM involved, they could have been able to shed light on the potential issues sooner rather than later after 9 months of dedicated work from both companies ended in failure.
As that particular project failed with that LMS platform, a new one has begun two months ago with a different LMS platform that does seem as if it will be a good fit. A PM has been hired from the LMS side and a PM was also hired within our organization to work solely on this project. I feel this time around will be successful with someone who can organize everybody and all the tasks to remain on schedule and within the proper scope.
Nicolle LaVallee Rodriguez 
Good example Nicolle, your depiction of the problems, and the solutions generated from the organization not having a proper analysis during the planning stage of the project, really exemplify why a post-mortem analysis of this project will be beneficial to the company in the future. According to Pastore (2003), ‘at its heart, the post-mortem is an end-to-end review of the project from its conception to its delivery’. Projects that fail or succeed, that affect the entire organization, and have an extensive budget provide great examples of elements that can be address in a formal final analysis. A good post-mortem after a bad project relies requires honesty and a willingness to improve (Pastore, 2003). Discovering what, and why something went wrong, will provide insight on what to do in the next project. It seems as if the organization did take notice and did a review to discover a PM would be beneficial to the project. Strong leadership and processes ensure improvements will be made, and increase the success of this project.
Pastore, M. (May 7, 2003).Post-Mortems Key to Successful Future Projects. Retrieved from http://www.cioupdate.com/reports/article.php/2202921/Post-Mortems-Key-to-Successful-Future-Projects.htm
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Hi Nicolle..it was definitely setup for failure because of the absence of a PM. The problem on identifying and mapping the features of the LMS to the organization’s requirements are best resolved with a PM at the helm. The PM could have requested for a demonstration period to test out the product instead of the organization just relying on what the vendors declare. Portny et.al. (2008) cited that one of the very common mistakes in executing projects is jumping directly from the conceive phase to the perform phase. The define phase could have been performed and this is where requirements mapping is done to ensure that the organizational needs are addressed by a product or system implementation.
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafer, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management: Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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Hello! Nicolle,
That’s tough, I’ll remember to avoid circumstances like the one you’ve described, the MoSCow document you described is similar to “The Conceive Phase: Starting with an Idea, Consider the following two questions to decide whether to move ahead with a project: 1) Can the project be done? 2) Should the project be done?” (Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafter, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. 2008, p. 77). Aside from making sure, the team members a participation a work order agreement should have been done. To have made sure the team members were able to deliver and if the right resources were needed or capable of helping with the project. It isn’t your fault you just started something that was already there, take it as an experience and what to do and not do next time. If a similar situation occurs again, you have an idea what to expect and do. I guess EDUC 6145-1 Project Management in Education and Training has taught us the importance a PM is when it comes to projects.
Reference
Portny, S. E., Mantel, S. J., Meredith, J. R., Shafter, S. M., Sutton, M. M., & Kramer, B. E. (2008). Project management (p. 77). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Juan.
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Nicole,
Your blog post reminds me of a question I asked myself for the last few years after I started my current Educator job, “Does every project need a project manager?” After working in the medical field for over 20 years, I never even knew what a project manager (PM) was. In the past four years I’ve grown to know what a PM does and how important they are to a project. I was still never able to answer my own question.
It sounds as if you have had that question answered yourself with the story that you told regarding the replacement of the old learning management system (LMS) in your company. Still, the question stands, does every project need a project manager? I guess that depends on the situation. So far, I’ve found that it doesn’t hurt at all. No matter the project scope and size, there are so many components to a project that a PM should be present. As you have found out, the whole project can easily become unraveled over time if there is no conductor (Laureate Education, n.d.).
As an employee of a healthcare system, the use of a PM is still foreign in the project process. Even though we have used them for some of the huge projects in the past, they are still met with the, “Just what is it that you do here?” Their importance is growing now and soon will be over-utilized. It sounds like your company has come to the same conclusion (I hope). Now that I am convinced that the role of PM is highly useful for projects, I am now asking a different question, “When will PM be so common knowledge that it will become second nature?” Only time will tell.
Thanks,
Brian
Laureate Education (Producer). (n.d.). Project management and instructional design [Video file]. Retrieved from https://class.waldenu.edu
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Hi Nicole,
Your example really demonstrates the real word challenges faced by many involved in the instructional design process. I can definitely relate to your experience being in public education where it seems there are many responsibilities and too few hands to take the lead. Your experience really underscores the importance of making sure that all stakeholders are involved, engaged and on the same page. This task generally falls to the Project Manager (PM) as you pointed out. However, without that crucial component, the project was doom almost from the beginning. The role of the PM ensures the continuity of the project from phase to phase and maintains communication with the relevant stakeholders. Due to this lack of cohesion. the project fizzed.
On small projects, an instructional designer may take on the role of PM. There may be some instructional design projects that do not required a separate PM role. Whether two separate roles or combined in one, the instructional design and project management must utilized a systematic approach that supports the life cycle of the project. Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015).
Reference
Greer, M. (2008). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
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Hi Nicole,
Your example really demonstrates the real word challenges faced by many involved in the instructional design process. I can definitely relate to your experience being in public education where it seems there are many responsibilities and too few hands to take the lead. Your experience really underscores the importance of making sure that all stakeholders are involved, engaged and on the same page. This task generally falls to the Project Manager (PM) as you pointed out. However, without that crucial component, the project was doom almost from the beginning. The role of the PM ensures the continuity of the project from phase to phase and maintains communication with the relevant stakeholders. Due to this lack of cohesion. the project fizzed.
On small projects, an instructional designer may take on the role of PM. There may be some instructional design projects that do not required a separate PM role. Whether two separate roles or combined in one, the instructional design and project management must utilized a systematic approach that supports the life cycle of the project. Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015).
Reference
Greer, M. (2008). The project management minimalist: Just enough PM to rock your projects! (Laureate custom ed.). Baltimore: Laureate Education, Inc.
Simonson, M., Smaldino, S., & Zvacek, S. (2015). Teaching and learning at a distance: Foundations of distance education. Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing, Inc.
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Hi Nicole,
Agreed. Ineffective communication or a lack there of can be a project killer. Yvonne Monterroso, states that “A recent study conducted by the Project Management Institute (PMI) revealed that ineffective communication has a negative impact on successful project execution”, (2013). Portney, Mantel, Meredith, Shafer, & Sutton (2008) states that inefficient communication can lead to gaps in project understanding, role requirement issues, and lack of stakeholder buy in etc.
Communication is vital in the successful completion of projects because the pm can set the tone for the project, explaining their expectations of quality for the project, time line for completion, thoughts on how the project will take shape, identify key stakeholders, etc.
Resources:
Monterroso, Y. (2013). Poor Communication Leads to Project Failure. Retrieved from http://www.coreworx.com/pmi-study-reveals-poor-communication-leads-to-project-failure-one-third-of-the-time/
Portny, S., Mantel, S., Meredith, J., Shafer, S., & Sutton, M. (2008). Project Management. Planning, scheduling, and controlling projects.
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