Project Management Tools

There are countless tools available for use to help manage projects. I've taken a couple to describe what they are and a evaluation of their resources.

1. Monday.com

Monday.com is a project management tool that helps team collaborate together. The format is easy to read and understand. This tool really makes it easy to go in, see where you are at, and know what you should be doing. There are many different customization settings that can help make it a more personalized program. Moday.com was formally named Dapulse. Moday.com is one of the most popular programs for companies of all sizes.

2.  Airtable.com

Airtable.com is project management tool that also helps teams collaborate projects. On of the first things that I noticed about this company is they offer both a free and a paid service. This is a big deal as some smaller companies are unable to afford expensive software but with this option, they are able to utilize their software and collaborate projects. Airtable.com has different kinds of displays. This helps if some people work better with a grid, or a calendar, or a form. I really like this feature. It helps get the task done but everyone works with what is most comfortable for them. AS an instructional designer, I am going to try using Airtable for my work and see how it truly works.

Communicating Effectively

Hello!

In this weeks assignment, we were tasked with receiving the same message via email, voicemail and in person. We needed to see how we felt about the communication. Below is my report. 

As I consumed the messages from these three different modalities, I realized the way the communication was given can really change how it is received.

My interpretation of the email seemed like the person was desperate to get the report from Mark and was even willing to do the work themselves with them requesting the data needed for their report.

The voicemail didn’t seem so urgent or desperate. The voicemail did seem that there was a deadline and that they needed the report but it was not dire at that moment.

Seeing the person request this felt like the frustration was non-existent and that they really wanted help. I felt that in this one, I would have been more likely to help as that physical conversation was showing as important enough to walk over to their desk.

The factors really depended on how I was feeling. Reading the email felt like it was important to them but they could put it off. I would say the urgency was different as they went on. Even giving the same conversation, you could sense the importance and urgency for getting it completed.

The form of communication that conveyed the true meaning and intent was the face-to-face. As I mentioned before, seeing the body language, having them physically come and talk to me shows that they need my help and would really appreciate it. It made me want to actually get that report done for her.

With the different forms of communicating, it is important to think about what message I want to portray and then decide what form of communication I would be using. There is a need for all of those communications, there is just a time and place for each of them. 

Resource:

http://mym.cdn.laureate-media.com/2dett4d/Walden/EDUC/6145/03/mm/aoc/index.html

Learning from a Project “ Post-mortem”

Looking back at a project you've done before can really help you learn how to do even better on your next project. This is something I am looking forward to. Currently I am an Instructional Designer at a large online retail store. I have been working on a project and it is coming to a close. There have been many frustrations with this project and I'm looking forward to moving on from it.

This is my first job as an ID. So, I'm learning by doing. I have worked with a mentor to help me do a good job. I have worked with her to find out why the project isn't going the way I wanted it to. While discussing with her about it, I found that I began working on this project before getting the learning objectives from the manager. I have ended up having to redo work because it wasn't what was wanted.

I've been looking and trying to figure out what else has caused problems and caused this process to not be as smooth as I want. I have learned that it does take time to learn the processes. I'm excited to see what else I can learn from this project to make my future projects even better!