Moving Train Library

I recently transitioned from working in a corporate setting to my previous stomping grounds within public K-12 education. This time around, I am working as a Teacher Librarian at a high school. Although the skills that I have developed are transferable, I am going to be documenting my new thoughts on a sister blog: Moving Train Library. Find me there!

Documenting Project Feedback

Introduction:  When working on a lengthy or on numerous projects, it may be very difficult to backtrack through feedback that has been provided back and forth among various parties. Thus, it can be very easy for miscommunication to occur regarding which specific issue is being referred to at any given time or to altogether lose comments or requests that may have been made along the way. In order to keep feedback organized, the learning activity below introduces one method for documentation. You may choose to adopt or adapt this system to meet specific needs of your particular project.

Activity:

1. Download the Feedback Template (Word file) to your computer.
2. Open the file with Microsoft Word.
3. Save the file with a new file name (e.g., Sample Website Feedback)
4. Navigate the sample website created by Mrs. Smith.
5. Mrs. Smith is creating a new website and has asked you to provide some constructive feedback.
6. Using the Feedback Template, please fill out the following general heading information:
• Subject: This should describe what the feedback is about (e.g., Feedback on Mrs. Smith's Website).
• Date: This field is updated with each revision of feedback.
• Latest Revised #: This field is updated with each revision of feedback.
• Revision #, Date, Reviser, File Name, Description of Change - A new row of this information is added with each revision, with the previous information being retained for historical tracking of revisions. 
• Revision #: Start with 1. Use a convention that makes sense to those involved. You may assign new whole number values with each revision. Or, you may choose to use decimal values for minor revisions such as 1.1, 1.2, etc. Another possibility is using letters for minor revisions such as 1a, 1b, etc.
• Date: For this date field, retain the date associated with each revision.
• Reviser: This is the name of the person who created each revision of the feedback form.
• File Name: This is the actual computer file name of the feedback form to allow for easier searching of versions.
• Description of Change: This is a summary of what changes are included with each revision.
7. Create at least (5) comments with feedback for improving the sample website. Each comment should have its own row in the comment table and also its own number so that comments may be referred to by number. You do not need to fill in the Updates column. The Updates column is used to track any updates that occur related to comments.
8. Save the sample feedback document. This is the document that you would then be sharing with others who may be adding additional feedback and/or who will be making changes based on your feedback.

Discussion:

1. What is the value of filling out the general heading information with the revision information?
2. Provide an example of how the historical tracking of revisions may come in handy.
3. Was it easy for you to determine when to add a new row for each comment?
4. If you were to put too much information per comment row, what complications may this cause?
5. If you were to adapt the feedback template, what changes might you make?
6. Share a situation when you might be able to use a feedback template similar to this one.

Summary:  When working on a very complex project, the amount of feedback that gets exchanged can be overwhelming. When feedback is only tracked through oral communication or through disparate emails or other documents, it can be very easy to lose track of the comments or for them to become lost in translation. Using a feedback template such as the one featured in the above learning activity is one method for organizing the feedback so that people have a common document to reference when discussing and acting on comments that have been made.

An Issues/Tasks Log

After finally starting to get a handle on document management, the next issue at hand was to get our running list of issues and tasks under control. While official PMs may use a tool like Microsoft Project to manage all of these items, the low tech option that we are using is a pretty nifty Excel document.

We had initally started off trying to keep track of items using Post-It notes on the wall, but this wasn't cutting it in practice. I've gone through many iterations of various lists and calendars throughout the course of this monstrous project, but we are committing to this latest version, and luckily, I think this one will stick.

The lesson is, while it doesn't really matter which tool you use, you must commit to something. Commit to a system of record from the beginning! As I've learned, it's okay to switch to a new system or adapt a current one, but no matter what, know what the system of record is at any given point.

Learning Document Management: Better Late Than Never

I love that my work is constantly challenging me in new ways. I've worked on projects in the past, but I've never worked on ones that involve as many different people as one that I'm currently in the middle of.

On a daily basis, we are sending documents back and forth and then those documents get revised and sent back and forth. Needless to say, there is confusion on all sides regarding what documents are out there, which ones are which, and which ones are the most recent.

As a result, our PM (Project Manager) has introduced our group to the art of Document Management. This is something that speaks to me since I have a background working in libraries. It is all about the naming conventions of our files and tracking of versions. It still seems a bit overwhelming to get the sea of documents that exist under control, but as pointed out in my last blog post, we can treat today as Day 1 and move forward from here.

How do you manage your digital files out there? On a related note, do you have any secret tricks for bringing order to shared drives?

Letting Go of the Past and Moving Forward

Finding myself in the midst of a very long term project, I have learned the important lesson of reframing each day as "Day 1."

I think it is important to reflect on lessons of the past and to gain perspective from what has happened previously, but I'm also starting to see how destructive it can be to get caught up in what problems have occurred previously. While past events may have negatively affected where we are today, and while we want to address those issues so that they don't continue to persist as problems, it also doesn't help us get to the finish line when we continue to engage in blame games.

Thus, I like the idea of starting fresh with today marking Day 1 and reframing the timeline based on where we are and where we need to be. Today marks the time to let go of the baggage and figure out what now do we need to accomplish our goals and when.

Assignment Requirement: What I Learned In Creating This Blog

I will take a quick detour from talking about workplace infrastructure in order to fulfill a requirement for my course assignment.

What have I learned through the blog creation process?

Since I have had prior experience creating blogs, the whole process was pretty smooth. What I am reminded of, though, is how much fun it is for me to create blogs. I love the way that blogs allow the opportunity to create a stream of thoughts around a particular topic of interest. I had a fun time identifying a theme that interests me right now, and I took joy in coming up with a domain name, blog description, favicon, and header image. This is so much fun to me that it is work that I happily stay up late to work on!

What were my successes?

My greatest success with blogs or other websites is always when I can get all of the various format pieces to come together to form a nice, cohesive presentation platform. When it comes to the look and feel, I always like to start with the header image. In honoring copyright compliance, I located a Creative Commons image approved for use on Flickr. Since the rights for this image permit adaptation, I was able to crop the image and add the title text for the blog. I am a visual person and so things like updating the header make me happy!

Another thing that brings me joy is when I can try my best to be respectful and compliant when benefiting from the work of others. I have a background of working in libraries, and so I have been trained in providing attribution. Thus, another success was when I managed to locate an attribution generator that I have used in the past to create the attribution for the Flickr image. The attribution can be found in the text widget located in the right column, under the "Tweets" widget.

Speaking of the Twitter widget, I was excited that I was able to get this embedded by following some very clear directions. By adding this widget, I was able to fulfill another course requirement for posting a link to a Twitter account, which in this case is an account that I already had created in the past.

What were my challenges?

As far as challenges, I know right now that my biggest challenge will be in maintaining this blog over the long haul. As life's commitments come up, it seems like every blog that I've ever been excited about eventually ends up waning and going silent. I always intend to return to the blogs and update them, but I think that given the time demands of working, being in school, and spending time with my family...I am regretfully pessimistic about my ability to keep this blog going any longer than my other blogs in the past.

What Do I Mean By Infrastructure?

When I talk about infrastructure, what specifically do I mean? I mean anything and everything, and also I'm not entirely sure still.

I have been thinking very much about topics such as project management and program management. But, I am also busy ruminating on less tangible pieces such as workplace climate and culture.

One of my mentors, for example, has encouraged me to read Stephen Covey's book The Speed of Trust. While I haven't gotten too far in my reading yet, I keep coming across more in-my-face evidence emphasizing how much I need to keep relationship building as a critical element of the infrastructure.

Thus, just as I start seeking out information about Project Management Institute, I am just as excited to learn more about Situational Leadership. I am excited to jump into all of this at once, but I am indeed on a moving train. Furthermore, I have a whole team of passengers along with me, and so I'm still trying to figure out the best ways to contribute.