Week 5 15/5

Team-Assigned Tasks

Analysis Report: 90% complete, took 2 hours. Laura took the lead on this. I helped with proofreading, some content, and on presenting the report via screencasting. I requested client sign-off on the analysis report on Friday, but have not yet heard back.
Meet with Team: 100% complete, took 1 hour. We discussed the development of the analysis report. Laura and I met on Sunday to discuss the screencasting presentation specifically.
Completed Team 15/5: 100% complete, took 15 minutes. See the team site for details.

Reflection

Remembering: What did I do?

See the Team-Assigned Tasks for specifics.

Understanding: What was important about what I did? Did I meet my goals?

Important here was the first major deliverable task that I was not primarily responsible for. I had to trust my team members to deliver high-quality materials on time, while giving them the structure and guidance necessary for success.
I met my goals in part. The material was created and presented, but there was much harried work on my part Sunday morning, due in major part to the three team members working simultaneously, but not collaboratively, on edits of the analysis report. This led to my having to consolidate all three versions into one document at the end.
Additionally, I emailed the client for sign off on Friday. Normally, she gives me same-day turnaround, so I did not expect a delay. However, the U of M campus closing for weather put a damper on this.

Application: When did I do this before? Where could I do this again?

This coordination of moving parts will be a formative part of all projects I manage in the future.

Analysis: Did I see any patterns or relationships in what I did?

I am beginning to see that my vague, "let the chips fall where they may" approach to management leaves much unclear, and leads to unnecessary work.

Evaluation: How well did I do? What worked? What do I need to improve?

I did fairly well with management; the deliverables were completed on time (with the exception of client signoff). However, I will need to define the use of collaborative editing for deliverable content, and definitive deadlines for finalized content that gives the client at least two working days to sign off on ideas.

Creation: What should I do next? What is my plan/design?

I will begin work on the Project Plan tomorrow, on Google Docs, and complete it Tuesday. I will request feedback and edits from my teammates by Wednesday, and forward to the client for approval at that time. I will then begin working on the formatting. This process of incremental deadlines will prevent the last-minute rush of the past week.