Program Goal 3
My dream position is personal. I want to not only be a consultant, but the owner of a consulting firm. Having a degree in Instructional Technology, with an emphasis in Instructional Design and Performance Improvement, coupled with knowledge of Project Management and leadership, the IT program aids in my pursuit of happiness. Taking many theories and concepts with me, I will not forget to use flexible attention, construct Gantt Charts, write, write, write, to control for cognitive load, and more. The four that I mentioned will be noted throughout my anecdotes in this writing.
As I turn on the TV, walk over to my bed, and sprawl out across the mattress, my wife enters the bedroom telling me to move. She says, “As big as this bed is, what makes you think you get middle?” As I laugh at her remark, she asks about my day. Taking a deep breath, I say “Oh, I can’t complain. It was productive.” Giving me somewhat of a stale face, she asks “productive how?” Why I did not see this coming, I don’t know? After all, we were together before I entered the IT program, which was ten years ago. So I turn to her and say “well, it would probably be easier for me to tell you what happened throughout my day.” So she says, “That’s fine, but before you start I’m going to need you to roll over on your half of the bed.” As I roll over to my half, I close my eyes and envision my day. Trying to recall the first productive thing that happened, I figure I should begin when I received the first document of the day.
Imagine going through a Twilight zone moment. Everything around you gets fuzzy and out of focus. Now, everything is clear.
“No, no, no. We need to shorten this section and get at the details. There’s too much information. Determine what is necessary and what can be removed.” Ring…ring, “Hello. What do you mean the deliverable might be late? If your team needs another eye on this task, we can bring in a financial analysis to assist in determining projects costs.” I make a call to my secretary saying, “I’m about to go for my afternoon jog. Be sure to forward all of my calls to my voicemail, thanks.” As I change into my running clothes, place foot into shoes and tie shoe lace, I smile and say “so this is the cost to being the boss.”
Taking in the scenery of downtown, I dash past the supermarket. Hoping to find fresh fruit being sold outside, I found myself seeing crates of eggs being brought into the store. Instantly thinking of the old saying, “Don’t count your eggs before they hatch,” I had an idea. Picking up my pace to return to the office, it hit me that earlier on the phone I did not check our project’s Gantt chart. Being so focused on the concern that there might not have been enough workers on the task, I forgot to look at the bigger picture. I needed to see the impact a late deliverable would have on the project, as well as what the protocol was for getting this project back on track.
Breaks can be a powerful tool when it comes to creativity and making connections to various problems. Something as simple as taking a jog, riding a bike, driving around the neighborhood, or working out can be enough to spark an idea. Prior to this program, it never occurred to me that seeing crates of eggs being brought inside a store could change the way that I was thinking about a project. It just shows you that sometimes the smallest, and possibly most random of things, can spark an idea. Explained in Program Goal 2, flexible attention is a way to make strong connections. Theoretically the more you focus on a problem, the more you are going to be concentrated on the details, and not on remote associations. It is good to zone out at times, letting your mind wander and form connections unconsciously.
I think the first time I encountered the concept of flexible attention was when I had written a poem in IT 500. The poem was supposed to have been written in 5 minutes. After the five minutes, I was then allowed to go back and edit or extend onto my poem (fixing grammatical errors and finishing broken thoughts/ideas). Appearing simplistic at first glance, I did not realize my poem abstractly explained my perspective towards design. It was not until I returned to the poem at a later time when I realized that there were several connections explaining how I truly saw design.
Flexible attention was a concept I did not know existed before the IT program, but am now aware of its significance. Corresponding to the concept of Carson’s CREAATES Brainsets, flexible attention shares commonalities with the absorb section of Carson’s model. In IT 500, I learned the purpose of Carson’s CREATES model is to help designers recognize how material is learned, applied, and made useful. Like flexible attention, when accessing the absorb brainset your mind is opened to new experiences and ideas, uncritically viewing your world. This allows you to take in new knowledge. Hence, the beauty of zoning out, taking your mind off of the current task, this is when new connections can be made. This is a concept I will definitely be using, whether consciously or subconsciously, it will be applied.
As I step into the office my secretary says “Hey, while you were gone, you missed two calls. One sounded fairly urgent though. Something about needing to hire an analyst?” Taking a deep breath I respond while walking towards my office, “Yeah, we might be looking at bringing in someone to help on the Wysocki project. I’m not certain whether we will need an analyst just yet though. I’ve got a couple of things I need to check on first.”
As I reach my desk, I glide into my chair. Taking my computer off hibernate, inserting the Wysocki jump-drive, I search for the Gantt chart (discussed in program goal 1 - Project Management IT 530). Finding the chart, I open it and the projects Milestone. Looking for any overlap time between the current deliverable and the next, as well as the latest time to begin the next deliverable and still complete the task on time, I found a few days. Needing to see what the protocol was for extending past dates and overlapping tasks, I referred to the Milestone. The first thing that I noticed was that updates would have to be given daily as opposed to weekly. Second, more resources would need to be placed towards that tasked group; and third, the client would need to be informed of possibly having a delay in materials.
Thinking that a financial analyst would be a good idea (as long as they could ensure they could produce), it was time for me to draft a letter informing possible analysts of the task. Having a brief thought about my times in the IT program, I chuckle. After all, the IT program is where I first truly established rapport with someone through an asynchronous format. Not to mention, the IT program is where I learned how to write. So, pulling up a blank word document, it was time for me to write, write, and write.
Learning about Gantt charts in IT 530, the IT program has yet again given me a concept/tool to enhance my possibilities for success. As I explained in program goal 1, a Gantt chart is a tool that encompasses information about deliverables, milestones, and protocols. This chart can help assist me in the time management of projects, as well as preparing possible contingency plans for late deliverables/materials. The structure and organization of this chart can also help me in the attainment of short and long term goals. Keeping me on task, the Gantt chart will continue to be used throughout my life. As a consultant, this tool will be indispensable to me. You cannot be a good consultant without these skills/characteristics.
Coming into this program, I did not think that meaningful relationships could be formed through writing. As far as the concept of write, write, write is concerned, this is another tool that will be indispensable to me. This concept can be tailored towards any cause. For instance, writing to write can be tailored towards the composition of a letter/email, a project documentation, research paper, a PowerPoint, and more. It is the audience and task that shapes the form and content of the writing. Writing to write will allow for me to get out my thoughts, expand upon those thoughts, organize them, and then make my writing presentable. As shared within the anecdote, rapport can be built with others through writing. Rapport can be enhanced by being able to write out your thoughts prior to sending emails. This will ensure that you have addressed your messages with care and consideration before submitting them. The concept of writing to write will help me avoid missing connections that could have been made by taking my time to get out all of my thoughts, expand my thoughts , and edit my thoughts.
The member of my team working on the document needing to be shortened, walked back into my office, bringing to me a second draft. Perusing over the document, I determined that the second draft was much better than the first. So I acknowledge to my team member “this draft is much better. The language is easier to understand, I also see that you eliminated some of the unnecessary information that was making the reading stagnate. This draft is much more concise and to the point. Good work.” That is when I think “Haha…if that doesn’t remind me of Dave I don’t know what else does.”
As shown within Program Goal 2 under the heading Cognitive Load Theory, the IT program has taught me different ways to control for cognitive load. The IT program has shown me that I need to make sure that I am focusing on the main topic or concept, rather than all of the elements or characteristics involved with the task or feature. Implementing Cognitive Load Theory can exponentially help my writing, as well as creating deliverables that my learners can understand, process, and retain.
Understanding how to reduce cognitive load came from great mentors within the program. For instance, Dave has been a wonderful mentor to me. Dave has challenged me inside and outside of the class. Dave has helped pen my mind to the world of design. Not to mention, he’s been great at ripping my drafts (projects and papers) to shreds J I have no doubt in my mind that Dave’s teachings will allow me to teach others in a similar fashion. Stated within the movie Troy, “you must be able to follow before you can lead.”
All of the concepts mentioned in this goal have had a positive impact on my projects. Influencing my likelihood to use them again, the positive feedback I have received from the concepts and theories I have applied enlightens me that these concepts are keepers. There is not a project I can think of that could not benefit from the consideration of Cognitive Load Theory, the utilization of a Gantt chart, writing to write, or taking time away from a task to enact flexible attention.