Forum v WhatsApp

All my OU modules have had an associated forum.  Students are encouraged to participate and the forum is moderated by one (or more) members of staff.  I've had varying experiences of different forums and found that their success largely depends on how they are moderated.  On my most recent module I also joined a student WhatsApp group.

The forum

Membership of the forum was automatic and participation was encouraged.  It was also the place to get advice and input from the moderator (one of the tutors) and as a result the conversation was very much focussed on the module content and not chatty.  As a university led initiative core information was provided for all students (eg name!) and you could also access other information if shared (eg link to their study history, blog etc).  Not having subscribed I engaged with the forum when I was logged onto the OU site and was studying.

The WhatsApp group

The group was self selecting and was badged as an informal chat group for students studying the module.  Sounds good I thought - a chance to get to know some of my fellow students informally.  What I hadn't realised is that I would end up with (what felt like) a random collection of phone numbers and no easy way of associating the number with a person - and many people don't sign their message.  However, the volume on the WhatsApp group was definitely greater than the forum and many people indicated that they found the chat with fellow students very supportive and had made really good friends through this medium. This never really resonated for me as receiving a 'well done' or other supportive message from an anonymous phone number didn't 'float my boat' or make me feel in any way connected to the person or the comment. 

And boy did people chat - my phone was switched off for a couple of days and I came back to several hundred messages - the forum never generated that volume of interest!  But many students asked 'how to' questions on WhatsApp first rather than on the forum (and often got directed to the forum where the question had already been asked/ answered).

So much of my experience and involvement was driven by the way the technology works.  Neither WhatsApp or the forum are good at managing threads so finding previous conversations of interest was difficult on both mediums.  And neither have a way of acknowledging a comment with out posting so in both cases I ended up with long streams of messages saying eg 'well done'.  

Will I join a WhatsApp group for my next module?  Probably not - I'm not sure the chat really added value to my study and, for me, didn't work as a mechanism to connect to people.

Reflections on a completed module: M815 Project Management

What was the module? M815 Project Management

Whether you are a project manager, an aspiring project manager or a member of a project team, this online module will support you in improving your practice and making your contribution to the project even more effective. You will gain an understanding of the essential steps in the project life cycle and reflect on the techniques available to you and how they can be applied. You will have the opportunity to review, in the light of your new knowledge and experience, a project on which you have already worked. The topics covered include stakeholders, finance, risk, people, project administration and quality. The module takes a broad approach to technological projects and will be relevant to project managers and those wishing to increase their knowledge about project management. The tools and techniques presented will be of use to project managers and team members in improving the effectiveness of their teams. This module is accredited by the Association for Project Management (APM). It refers to the APM Body of Knowledge (6th edition), British and International Standards, Prince2 and many other established sources

Module dates:  May20-Oct20

Why did I choose it?

I needed to complete one further module worth 30 credits before doing the MSc dissertation - so looked to see what modules were available which would fulfil this need.  Of the options this was the most obvious choice as I've worked in projects for many years - plus work is very busy at the moment so I thought it would be easier than tackling something completely unknown.  Only concern at the start was the comment that the module would take a broad approach to technological projects as I've not worked in technology for a long time (and don't plan to in the future!)

Was it what I expected?

The module very much did what it said on the tin.  Much of the material was known to some extent though it was useful to bring a range of project management material and thinking together in one place - thought the 'branding' of the APM did feel somewhat overpowering at times.  Just because the module is accredited by the APM doesn't mean that it has to be drummed through all the materials.

The coverage was very comprehensive and covers a huge amount of ground in the 6 months with pointers to more detailed sources for specific areas eg green book for business cases.

What did I think?

Like the MBA modules I did the feedback/ guidance was to 'apply the module materials'.  So frustrating to feel constrained not to bring in other sources. 

The style of the TMAs was different to previous modules - less narrative and more like a school maths exam ie calculate the value of x rather than looking at wider issues.  Testing my ability to add isn't going to be of huge value to me in a real project given the preponderance of software tools in the workplace.

The most useful part of the module was the EMA.  There were two aspects that were particularly useful:

• Having to really narrow down the topic for analysis to a very specific situation will be useful for the research module
• The process of applying academic rigour to analyse a real project situation after the event enabled me to identify some root causes of issues in that project in a way that hadn't been possible previously 

Overall - I did learn some new material and consolidated previous understanding.  Did I enjoy the module?  Not sure - it felt more like a means to an end.

Igniting the spark

While writing the EMA for my current module (last before the research module) I'm getting distracted by trying to think about what my research topic might be. There are so many areas and such a depth of material narrowing down the selection is going to be hard. The advice which struck home was that I'm going to have to live with this for a year so it had better be something I enjoy! 

Active travel is a definite candidate. Something I'm involved in, passionate about and would have access to be able to do primary research. My niggling concern about doing anything in this area was the fact that I might be too passionate which might cloud my objectivity and impact on my academic rigour.

The other obvious candidate would be a work based study - but soooooo many areas, complexities and emergent issues so how on earth could I narrow down the choice. The advice of my friend Amanda on the need to really narrow down the selection keeps ringing in my ears.

Several years ago I was involved in a development programme when I was working with Network Rail called APEx (achieving personal excellence) run by Warwick Business School. Something I learned during that experience was to 'notice what you notice'. So what did I notice?

On a team call last week my colleague Joost mentioned he was really missing being able to spend time with his team and that there were people in his team he'd never yet met in person. All because of Covid-19. I noticed this comment and it sparked a train of thought.

What is interesting is not only did I 'notice' the comment, my subsequent thoughts dipped with huge enthusiasm into communities of practice, appreciative systems, learning systems

Think I may have found the route to choosing my research topic :-)

Earning value from my studies

A situation arose at work recently. One of our partners, upon whom we have some key dependencies, notified use that some dates in one of their projects and moved back.

Looking at the information provided I was struck that delivery of the first milestone had slipped by 5 weeks. This was because the work had taken longer than planned - remotes working and COVID-19 restrictions had played a big part in the delay. All the subsequent milestones were now predicted to move back by the same amount.

As I looked at this what came to mind was my recent reading on this Earned Value. It didn't feel credible that the subsequent milestones just move back. That would assume that only the first phase of work would take longer and all subsequent phases would adhere to their original planned durations. But COVID-19 restrictions and remote working continue to be in place - and with predictions of a second wave may get tighter. What would feel credible is for the duration of each phase to be extended by a proportionate amount and the end date of the project to move back further than 5 weeks.

This was again brought to mind when reading Schon and his concept of reflective practice and the difference between earning-on-action and learning-in-action.  In this situation I have demonstrated both.  Learning about the concepts of earned value and doing theoretical examples for a TMA (on-action) versus the dynamic reflection in the midst of action when faced with an emerging situation (in-action).  

References:
M815 - project management - earned value
TU812 - Systems Thinkers - Schon

Relevant or useful?

I nearly wrote this a couple of weeks ago but stopped. At the time I was annoyed and frustrated and would have simply ranted rather than reflected. The urge to write was sparked by a comment on this morning's edition of The Out of Doors Show where they were visiting St Kilda and the question was posed "... but what value did it add?"

During my undergraduate degree there was a module which I really didn't enjoy. The main reason was that I couldn't see the value in learning about how how different optical measuring devices were made or how different manufacturers used different approaches. The relevance of learning about these devices felt redundant as the industry (outside of the university) was moving to digital and I felt I was being forced to learn about something which was obsolete and irrelevant. Twenty plus years later the feelings remain - and I have never used anything from that module in real life.

Similar feelings have been sparked in this current module when learning about activity-on-arrow networks and activity-on-node networks. In twenty plus years of working in projects I have never used (or seen anyone else use) either of these. So again it feels like an academic exercise with no practical purpose.

I completely understand what use of these diagrams is intended for and the value that such an analysis can bring - but my experience is that in big projects it is done using a planning tool by a specialist team and in small projects it doesn't get done. Perhaps small projects might benefit from such thinking? Maybe - and it might increase their chances of successful delivery. But I don't know of any project manager who would willingly volunteer to go through the effort required.  A view echoed by fellow students on our WhatsApp group chat ....

It's not just me!

The first couple of modules I completed with the OU provided printed materials - both for the study guide and some of the core texts.  For the most recent and current modules all the material has been on line.

I have really struggled with this.  Maybe an age related thing?  Options I have tried include:

• Printing out the course materials.  Fine until the page count mounts to over a hundred pages.  My home printer really can't cope with big print jobs and isn't sophisticated enough to print booklet style to save paper.
• Reading the material on line on the web page.  Really was a non starter.  One, I've never worked out how to highlight, comment and markup a web page to be able to refer back.  Also I do a lot of studying (not currently because of Covid-19) when travelling.  Trying to read a web page on a plane or overnight ferry was never going to work for me.
• Downloading as a pdf.  Sort of works but depends on how the OU makes the download available.  M815 provides a pdf for a block so there is one integrated file.  But one of the MBA modules provided the pdf as one per section:  this meant I ended up with multiple pdfs (each about 3 pages with an individual title page) which I then needed to edit together to get a topic.  One of the advantages of a downloaded file is that I can word search - 20x3page files makes this impossible.  Also - the links quite often don't work in the downloaded pdf so I have to keep going back to the website - or scanning in advance to check what files are referenced and download them too.  Also - when referencing in assignments you can't reference the downloaded pdf so have to go back to the web-page to reference the on line version.  However, at least with a downloaded pdf I can annotate it and make notes - and with the wonders of OneDrive I can access from laptop and tablet and synchronise between the all my devices.

Its never something that's been raised as an issue by anyone on the module forums so I assumed it was just me until I joined a WhatsApp group for my current module and discovered that many other struggle with this.  There was a long thread on this and it was noticeable how many people had looked at options to get 'hard copies' of the materials and various recommendations for printers.  The comment which particularly struck me was from one student who commented that she can read on line but not study on line.  This did lead to a question on the forum of the current module and one of the tutors commented that when doing detailed work she prints out papers so she can mark up and make notes on.

If its so common that people want hard copies why doesn't the OU offer a printed version as an option?

A tale of 2 PIDs

 This morning's module reading was about different approaches and methods for project management.  One of the methods covered was Prince2.  I felt the text to be didactic and it reinforced my existing prejudices against the method.

However it also enabled me to reflect on why two different Project Initiation Documents (PIDs) I reviewed at work this week prompted very different reactions.

The two documents were written by two different project managers for short technology based projects.

PID-1 was written by a junior member of staff with little project management experience and no formal project management education.  She had been supported by a more senior team member and had drafted a short (6 page) PID for my review.  It was clear, succinct and included the information needed to enable decision making within the context of the wider business.  And it articulated the main points in a manner all the key stakeholders can understand - very much using their language.

PID-2 was written by an experienced professional project manager.  Her document followed the requirements set out in Prince2 to the letter, was 24 pages long and had gaps still to be filled - including some really key ones such as the schedule.  While some of the minutia of items to be excluded from the scope were noted, there were key items missing and assumptions made about what the solution would be before the project starts.  The document was peppered with jargon and was not an easy read:  even for an experienced project manager and certainly not key business stakeholders.

As Ison said "we have arrived at a point where those who do project managing are not fully aware of what they do when they do what they do" (Systems Practice: How to Act, Ray Ison, 2017 pg 234)

APM Dimensions of Professionalism - Where am I now?

The Association for Project Management (APM) has identified five dimensions of professionalism to provide a framework for career development for a project manager

• Breadth: the knowledge needed to manage projects, underpinned by standards and the APM Body of Knowledge.
• Depth: the competencies, the knowledge and experience, that a project manager needs
• Achievement: academic and professional qualifications
• Commitment: planned continuing professional development 
• Accountability: being a professional, and working within a code of conduct.

So, where am I now? Or perhaps more to the point, how do I (objectively) assess myself against each of the criteria?

Breadth

I have worked in and led projects in many sectors (transport, electricity, gas, water, telecoms, local government, consultancy) in many different cultures and believe my CV demonstrates this breadth.  Does it cover the breath described in the APM body of knowledge? Unknown but at this stage I'm not sure I want to go into the detail within the document and am concerned I would get sidetracked from the module work.

Depth

As above I believe I can demonstrate depth - but I have not completed an objective assessment using the APM Competence Framework.  This may provide insights which would help my personal development and be useful in my new role.

Achievement

I do not have any APM qualifications however this module is accredited by the APM so will contribute to this.  I did PRINCE before it was PRINCE2 and its now well out of date.  I did Managing Successful Programmes (MSP) which I refer to and use every day within work.  At this stage in my career I'm unsure what a formal qualification would add for me.

Commitment

Currently evidenced by undertaking an MSc and this module.  Historically my approach has been ad-hoc rather than planned and can be evidenced through my CV and the range and variety of projects, programmes and different technical areas I have worked on.

Accountability

Having joined the APM as a student member I have agreed to abide by the code of conduct.



Next steps / dimensions I choose to focus on over the course of this module:

• Depth - to carry out a competency assessment at start and end of the module to identify areas of focus and measure progress made
• Commitment - to shift from a reactive to proactive approach to CPD

Reflecting on risk

As is often the case a reflective learning post is prompted by a strong reaction to module materials.  In this instance I had a very grumpy reaction to the Risk Tributary section on my current project management module.

What was my experience?

• Probability.  No mention of likelihood (which recognises the possibility of more than one occurrence)
• No guidance on whether to assess the likelihood of the event or the consequences (which gives a very different view of what the resultant risk profile actually looks like!)
• Some very prescriptive dictates eg 
• if the organisation does not have a policy it will be necessary to produce a detailed risk management plan
• restricting when risks can be raised to the times defined in the risk management plan
• how to describe risks (MUST begin with the phrase / MUST be described ....) but only saying that probability/ impact SHOULD be recorded using an agreed rating method 😠
• Impacts - the focus was very much on financial impact.  No recognition at all that a risk may have a minimal financial impact on the project but a huge stakeholder impact.
• Missing was consideration of risk from the project and how it is managed/ delivered on the business.  The focus was very internal to the project itself.
• Decision trees but not event trees
• Issues - something to be escalated - but with no discussion on quantifying the impact they may be having

Reflecting

I have had so many encounters at work when a project manager has taken guidance like this and used it 'from the book' (ie not tried to apply) it without any consideration of the context of the business environment.  This has lead to frustration in the project team, the business, stakeholders and actually increased the risk of project failure.

For example re structured language - a risk manager on a recent project applied the instruction that risks MUST be described in the way mandated in the tributary.  Unfortunately none of the team were experienced risk managers and s/he ended up with a risk register that no-one understood or bought into. In effect it really wasn't worth the paper it was written on.  If s/he had understood the context and the maturity level in the team and worked to help them articulate their concerns we would have had a register which would not have complied with the 'standard' but would have been of much greater value to the team.

Outcomes

My reactions to this tributary have been influence by my work experience and the types of projects I've been involved in in the last few years - many of which have not lent themselves to this 'traditional' approach to risk.  Combined with experience of people not understanding the context or how risk management can and should be an integral part of the system.

Going forward - the tributary material has given me a better understanding of risk management from the perspective of a 'professional' project manager (institution).  And perhaps helped me articulate why I've never taken the plunge and actually joined a professional project management institution despite working in the field for >25 years.  And why I'm enjoying systems thinking so much!

Why M815? And why now?

Why choose to study M815 (Project Management)?

• Because it's an optional module for my chosen masters
• Because it offers a chance for some academic theory, rigour and depth to supplement my practical work experience
• Because it offered the opportunity to learn about how project management approaches have been applied in types of projects I've not been involved in before eg construction
• Because I wanted to broaden my horizons and extend my learning beyond my own experience

Why choose to study the module now?

Because I'm in the middle of my masters so the question would more appropriately be why did I choose to study for a masters now?
I didn't deliberately set out to study for a masters. Two years ago I went through a procurement exercise where I (as an SME) was bidding to get onto a framework contract for a large company.  One of the questions my company was asked was about training and CPD for staff (my company had 2 employees at the time) and I was horrified (and surprised) to realise that I hadn't completed any formal training or education for a number of years.  I had learned lots through all my interim assignments and projects but for that procurement exercise I lost 'points' as there was no evidence of formal learning for staff.
At the same time one of my clients was sent on a leadership development course by her employer - I had enjoyed my experience on such courses when in employment so started to look for something for myself.  De nada.    Lots of adverts for in house courses - but not open.  But lots of adverts for open leadership coaching courses which is not what I was looking for.  And as I searched and talked to people I started to think about something more formally academic - eventually finding the OU module on Systemic Change and through that the MSc Systems Thinking in Practice.

Unexpected consequences

Five weeks ago the office closed and I travelled home to work there for an unknown period of time.

I'm used to working from home: for much of the last 15 years I have worked at home for 1 day a week so didn't anticipate any problems. I have a desk, screen, keyboard etc and a decent office chair.  My home office is in the spare bedroom so doesn't need to be cleared up every night.  

It's also where I retreat to to study.  And there in lies the unexpected consequences. Because I work permanently from my home office Monday to Friday for fairly long hours - much of which is on video conferencing which I find very intensive (and others do too) the last thing I want to do is spend time in there studying at the weekend. 

Not the best situation at the start of a new module. 

Forums n things

Who would have believed that different forums would be so fundamentally different?  After all, each module has one to support student learning.

BB modules (business school led MBA owned modules) were specific to a tutor group so there were small numbers of students.  Interaction was directed by the tutor who started each thread and my experience was that there was limited interaction from students except where a TMA required you to post and you were marked on that participation.  At one point a student apologised for posting an questions/ comment on a topic which wasn't in direct response to a question set by the course/ tutor.  I also found it frustrating that there was an assumption that everyone on the module was doing an MBA

TU modules (STEM faculty) were messy, gregarious and included all students and tutors from the module.  The content was led by the students and which, for me, gave a depth and richness of content and allowed the content to expend, open new avenues and really helped my learning.  Everyone was engaged and brought thinking from many different modules and courses - I never felt that the forum was focussed on those heading towards the MSc (Systems Thinking in Practice) I felt un-inhibited and able to contribute openly and without feeling I need to use academic language or quote from texts.

And now an M module which has characteristics of both.  The moderator has opened the forum and created many threads.  However, so have students.  Someone has also set up a WhatsApp group - hours of my life may now disappear as I engage in a totally different way with my fellow students.

Reflections on a completed module: Marketing in the 21st century

What was the module? BB844 Marketing in the 21st century

The economic turmoil of the last few years has required organisations to undertake more creative marketing as well as be more responsive to the needs of the market. This online module explores a variety of marketing issues that emerge from marketing planning, such as marketing research, marketing segmentation, targeting and positioning. You will draw upon current theories and examples that illustrate how organisations of all sizes deal with environmental challenges and through this gain a strong appreciation of how marketing principles will not only benefit your organisation, but also how you can use these to improve your own performance.

Module dates:  Nov19-Mar20

Why did I choose it?

As part of a diploma I did some years ago I did an introduction to marketing.  Having worked with professional marketeers I had an awareness of the depth and complexity of the activity in practice so was interested in learning more.  I particularly wanted to learn more about current digital marketing practices ie new techniques needed for current marketing.

Was it what I expected?

We covered what I would describe as traditional marketing in depth.  So I now know much more about eg segmentation than I had before.  I had expected more focus on 'new' techniques/ technology - while this content was in the module it was right at the end and the structure meant that it would be easy to avoid covering this material.

The TMA and the EMA questions directed attention to specific parts of the module.  For example, the TMA focussed tightly on Unit 6 & 7, the EMA on 8 & 9 so it would be easy to miss out other units.  As in some previous assignments I found the assignments pure academic focus challenging when I got interested in trying to solve the real life situation and had to keep reminding myself that I should  'apply the theory to a situation' rather than 'improve a situation using your knowledge'..

What did I think?

I now have a much better understanding of marketing but I had hoped to have more of an opportunity to go into depth about social media, how to understand, use and measure the effectiveness of digital marketing techniques

Not an April fool

My EMA was due today.  But it isn't

Last weekend when I sat down to finish the last third of my EMA, I received an email from the University.  The gist of it was "you will not be required to submit your end of module assessments (EMA) for your module (module BB844)."

In effect, the uncertainties introduced by the coronavirus the university who had already cancelled all face to face exams had decided to cancel my EMA.  The module assessment will be based on the continuous assessment elements of the module - so I should get a pass.

I'm lucky - I'm safe at home and healthy.  But an event such as this does bring closer the reality of living through a pandemic.

Working and Studying

Who could have guessed that working and studying at the same time could be so difficult?

Some would say that it's blindingly obvious but I've had no issues for the last 18 months coping fine with both at the same time. So what's changed?

I have a new job - that's what's changed. But it's not just a job that's new to me - it is a newly created post in a newly created team to delivery a newly established programme. So I'm creating the job at the same time as trying to do the job (and the same applies to the programme etc). I also have a team of 10 people who are a mix of secondees and contractors and am in the process of recruiting permanent staff (the looming deadline of IR35 doesn't help here either!). And my office is 400 miles from my home so I have a weekly commute too. Actually - just writing this make me realise how nutty it is. No wonder I have had a bag of charity knitted squares sitting in my kitchen for 4 months waiting to be given to a friend to make into blankets.

I'm just about keeping up with this module. By dint of keeping my weekends empty not looking after my garden (OK it helps that it's winter) and doing almost no exercise (really missing my weekend bike rides) I am only 3 weeks behind and should be able to scrape my EMA in on time with enough to pass. The bigger issue is looking ahead to the next module. Will work calm down enough to give me space to study or will I have to take a break? Really really don't want to lose the momentum but may have to.