InstructionalDesignProjectManagement2.

0:AModelofDevelopmentandPractice
JenniferStaley,M.Ed.
Director,InstructionalDevelopment&Design
AmericanPublicUniversitySystem
PhilIce,Ed.D.
Director,CourseDesign,Research&Development
AmericanPublicUniversitySystem
Doacademicsatyourinstitutioncringewhentheyhear"projectmanagement","timelines"or
"deadlines"?Asaprojectmanager,doyoustrugglewithbalancingyourprojectmanagementprinciples
andpracticeswiththeuniversitysacademiccoursedevelopmentanddesignphilosophies?Theseare
typicalchallengesandyouarenotalone!Throughtheblendingofcollectiveefforts,bothbusinessand
academicgoalscanberespected,realizedandtransformedintoanew,agile,scalablemodelbyleveraging
Web2.0projectmanagementandcollaborationtoolstosupportacollaborativecoursedevelopment
processpackagethateventhemostreluctantandskepticalacademicandprojectmanagercanworkwith.
Background
TheorybecamepracticewhenAmericanPublicUniversitys(APUS),a100%onlineuniversity,was
taskedwithfacilitatingthedevelopment,designanddeploymentof47newgraduatelevelmaster
classroomsin2008. The InstructionalDevelopmentandDesign(IDD)team,partoftheAcademic
ServicesDepartment,workedcloselywith theAcademicsDepartmentby recognizingthecontributionsof
bothdepartmentsandblendingtheirmodelstogetherinordertoachievetheirdesiredoutcome.
Priortothisproject,thistypeofprocess,includingtheleveloffacilitation,interactionand
implementationofasupportsystemwasnotinuse attheUniversityandbothdepartmentswere
determinedtopilotthisnewprocesssuccessfully.TheAPUSIDDteamhadbeenformedsixmonthsprior
tothisprojectandhadthreefulltimeemployees.The InstructionalDesignCoordinatorsrolewasto
manageand leadtheprojectandallpersonsinvolvedwiththedevelopment,designandintegrationofthe
courses.The InstructionalDesignerworkednotonlyonthedevelopmentonsomeofthecourseware,but
facilitatedcommunicationbetweenthecontractedInstructionalDesignersandtheCourseDevelopers.
Finally,the WebIntegratorintegratedthe courses,andallofthelearningobjectsassociatedwiththe
course,intothelearningmanagementsystem.TheschoolhadaDean,AdministrativeAssistantandsome
facultymembers.So,itwasclearthatAPUSwouldneedtocontractnotonlywiththeirfaculty,butwith
subjectmatterexperts,instructionaldesigners,andotheroutsideconsultantsinordertodevelopthese
coursesinthedesiredtimeframe.
Weapplied projectmanagementprinciplesandtoolsto directtheprocess,trackandreporttheprojectits
team members,monitorthebudget,andresolveissues.Next,weimplementedanOnlineLearningModel,
theCommunityofInquiry(CoI)framework (Garrison,Anderson&Archer,2000,87), throughwhich this
coursewarewastobedevelopedanddesigned.Then,wecreatedacoursedesigntemplatewhich notonly
facilitated theapplicationoftheCoI,butassistedtheintegration team withtheconversionandintegration
ofthecontentandlearningobjectsintoourlearningmanagementsystem.Next,weidentified,evaluated
thenhired nearly60subjectmatterexperts,instructionaldesigners,andcontentapprovers. Regardlessof
theirpriordevelopmentstatus,theSchooldesiredthatthecontentandmaterialsbedevelopedbyandfor
theUniversityaswellasalignwithallrequirededucationalandnational standardsandprogram
requirements.Contentandmaterials,oncedeveloped,hadtobeefficientlyandeffectivelyintegratedinto
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ourlearningmanagementsystembyIDDstaffwithintegrationproficiency,butwithoutabackgroundin
thesubjectareaorinstructionaldesign.Tobalancetheseseeminglycompetingrequirementsandachieve
thedesiredresults,theIDDteamcreatedaCourseDesignTemplate. Finally,wefeltitimportantto use
toolsthatwould facilitatecollaboration,establishcommunity,andencouragecommunication amongthe
teammemberstosupporttheirprocess.TheInstructionalDesignCoordinatorandmembersofthe
Academicsdepartmentperformedaresourceandstaffingassessmenttodeterminestaffingneedsforthis
project.Itwasimmediately clearourcurrentstaffingwasnotsufficientto fulfilltheneedsoftheproject.
Oursolutionwastoseek,contract,andtrainoutsideconsultants:coursedevelopers,contentapprovers,
instructionaldesigners,andaqualityassurer/editor. Theselectionofcoursedeveloperandcontent
approverswasperformedbytheSchoolwhowouldassesstheirsubjectmatterexpertise.Thiswas
followedbyanIDDteamreviewinwhichtheirabilitytoimplementbestonlinepracticeswasassessed.
InstructionalDesignerswereassessedtodeterminetheirexperienceintheareaofonlinelearning,their
abilitytocommunicatebestonlinelearningpracticesandtheirunderstandingoftheCoI.Finally,aneditor
withlearningmanagementspecificexperiencewashiredtoassistinthetestingandevaluation ofthe
coursesbeforetheyweredeliveredtotheSchool.Asaresultofthis,we createdapool ofconsultants
whose abilitiesand style complimentedourprocessaswellastheiradherencetoourprojectexpectations
anddeadlines.
ProcessDevelopmentandPlanning
TheAPUSInstructionalDesignandDevelopmentProcessmodelisbasedon variousinstructional design
and instructionalsystemsdesignmodelsaswellascoursecreationprocesses.Havingfamiliarityand
experiencewiththeADDIE(Analyze,Develop,Design,Implement,Evaluate)InstructionalSystems
DesignModelIrealizedthatthiswouldnotfulfill ourprojectsdesignneeds,soIresearchedother
InstructionalDesignmodels.Ireviewed Dick&CareysSystematicDesignofInstruction (Dick&Carey,
1978)andReigeluthsElaborationTheory (Reigeluth&Stein,1983).WhileIfoundelementsthatwould
behelpful,these still addressedtheinstructionaldesignofacourselinearly,and Idesired aprocessthat
wouldbetterfulfillourneedforacollaborativeanditerativeprocess.NotonlydidIneedamodelthat
tookintoaccountanadditionalstepbetweenAnalysisandDesignintheADDIEModel,butIwantedto
beabletohaveacollaborativedevelopmentfeedbackloopduringthedevelopmentanddesignphasesand
feltthatIneededtochangetheImplementsteptoIntegrate.Furtherinvestigationsleadmeto
McGriffsDoctoralDissertation(2000),ProjectManagementforInstructionalDesigninHigher
EducationandcombinedwithPickett,Shea&Fredericksens(2001)SLNCourseDesignProcess,
providedmewith aframeofreference forcreatingandmanagingacoursedevelopmentanddesign
process.Ultimately,ItookpiecesfromthevariousmodelsandcreatedtheAPUSInstructional
Development&DesignProcessModel.
Projectmanagementtoolswereanecessitytoeffectivelyguideaprojectofthissizeandscope,trackand
reporttheprojectsprogress,monitorthebudget,andperformriskassessmentandresolveissues.Because
ofthisprojectsimportance,weleveragedprojectmanagementprinciplesheavilyinourplanningstageto
determinetheneeds,requirements,scopeandbudget.Wewerethenabletoprepare,thefirstofmany,
timelinesandanoverallprojectplan.Thisenabledustogatherourteammembers.Duringtheplanning
stages,perceptionsanddifferencesinlanguageweretheearlyobstacleshoweverourprojectbenefitted
fromourpreplanningwhichestablishedaflexibleworkflowprocessthatallowedfortherapidand
simultaneousdevelopmentofcourseware.Oneindividualcoordinatedtheprojecttoensureproject
coordinationandinformationconsistency.
Ourgoalwastokeepthingssimpleforallteammembers,while still providingaprojectframeworkthat
ensuredthesuccessoftheteam membersandthe project.Manyteammembersexpressedtheywerenot
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familiarwiththistypeofcoursedevelopmentprocesssowepresented theprojecttotheteam ina
collaborativecoursedevelopmentprocesspackage duringourweekly projectteam meeting calls.During
theteammeeting callswe furtherreinforcedtothe teammemberstheirrolesandresponsibilities
relationshipstootherteammembersprojectprocessexpectationsandsupportresourceavailabilityand
coursedevelopmentanddesigntoolsand supports. Theteammeetingswereheld throughouttheentire
developmentcycle andindividualsessionswereheld asneededorrequired tokeeptheproject
expectationsontrack.Duringtheteammeeting calls,requestsforfeedbackwereexpectedand
encouragedinordertomakeneeded adjustmentstotheprocess,deadlines,needs,etc.Teammembers
remarked how theyappreciatedbeingabletoprovidefeedback tothenewprocessastheyfeltthatthey
werecontributingtofutureiterationsoftheprocess.
DevelopmentandDesignFramework
AtAmericanPublicUniversity(APUS),theInstructionalDevelopmentandDesignteamcreated amodel
to facilitatethecoursedevelopmentanddesign process,developan effectiveandmeaningful student
learningexperience and ensure courserigor.Wemerged the schoolsacademiccurriculum development
philosophies,standardsandrequirementswith instructionaldesign projectmanagementbestpracticesfor
coursedevelopment.Additionally,we adoptedoneofthemostrecognizedonlinelearning frameworks,
the CommunityofInquiryFramework(CoI)whichisutilizedbyvariousinstitutionsofhighereducation,
educationalleaders,andotherorganizations,providesexplanationforbestpracticesinonlinelearning
(Garrison,etal., 2000). All APUSCourseDevelopersandInstructionalDesignersareencouragedto
reviewtheGarrisonetal.(2000)study tofurthertheirunderstanding.
Tested,validated,andusedfordevelopment,instruction,assessment,andevaluation,theCoIguides
practitionersintheircreationandapplicationofmethodsandtoolsthatcansupportstudentlearningand
addtotheopportunitiesstudentshavefordeeperengagementinthecourse,increasedacademicsuccess,
andcontinuedpersistenceintheireducation.CommunityistheforemostcomponentoftheCoI.Students
whoviewthemselvesaspartofacommunityoflearnerswithinthecourse,andthroughouttheprogram,
aremoreengagedandresearchersinhighereducationhaveconsistentlyviewedcommunityasan
essentialelementinachievingthehigherlevelsoflearningassociatewithdiscourseandcollaborative
learning(Ice&Kupczynski,2009,par.2).
Threemaincomponents,orpresences,providethestructureoftheCoIFrameworkteachingpresence
socialpresenceandcognitivepresence(Garrison,Anderson,&Archer,2000Swan,Richardson,Ice,
Garrison,ClevelandInnes,&Arbaugh,2008.BelowisthemodeloftheCommunityofInquiryfromthe
article CriticalInquiryinaTextBasedEnvironment: ComputerConferencinginHigherEducation
(Garrisonetal.,2000).
(Garrisonetal.,2000,p.2)
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Communication,Collaboration,andCommunity
Wewantedtocreateacommunitythatencouraged ourgeographicallydispersed teammemberstobe
openandcommunicativewith oneanother,allowustomakeadjustmentswithagility,and supportthe
developmentprocesswith collaboration toolsthroughouttheentire project.Atthefoundationofour
philosophyisourprojectleaderwhoprovidesclear,consistent,proactiveandopen communicationatall
timesto all teammembers.Workinginthismannerallowedustogatherfeedback then successfullymake
adjustmentsasneeded,toprovidethemostappropriatesupportsfortheteam atthattime.
Tosupplementemailand the conference callinnumberweareusing thewebconferencing software,
AdobeConnectProfessional (http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatconnectpro/).Thisallowsustohost
meetingsduringwhich teammemberscan share information andideas,provideand receivefeedback,
sharefiles,chatwitheachother,conductpolling,and holdbreakoutmeetingsall froman internetbrowser
andtheAdobeFlashplayer(http://get.adobe.com/flashplayer/). Tofurthersupplementthecommunication
amongteammembersweaskthatthey downloadSkype (http://www.skype.com/useskype/)which isa
freesoftwaredownloadthatallowsuserstoholdfreephoneconversations,overtheInternet,withother
Skypeusers.Inaddition tothephonefeature,we usetheinstantmessageandvideochatfeatureswith
otherSkypeusersaswell.
Initially,ourprojectmanagementtool ofchoicewasMicrosoftExcel.Onadailybasistheprojectleader
wouldmanuallyupdated theprojectsstatusonthe Excel spreadsheetand thenemailittoteammembers.
While Excelhasmanygoodfeatures,itdidnotallowustodynamicallyupdateprojectprocessnordidit
promoteasenseofcollaboration.Wesoughtabetterwaytokeepeveryoneuptodatewithprojectstatus,
teammilestonesandexpectations,etc.Whatwenowuseisthe webbasedprojectcollaboration
application,Basecampfrom3Signals(http://basecamphq.com/).OurprojectsinBasecamparesetupwith
theprojectsmilestonesanddeadlinesandtheteammemberresponsible.Inaddition,teammembercan
postmessagesanduploadfilestothewholeteamoraselectedgroup.Whenmessagespostedoranupdate
hasbeenmadetoamilestoneorifafilehasbeenuploadedeveryone thatispartoftheprojectreceivesan
automatedemail.Thisapplicationallowsustoshifttheentireprojectburdenfromoneindividualtothe
grouporteam.
Atfirstourcontentdevelopment,instructionaldesign and peerreviewprocessoccurred whenthecourse
designtemplate,aMicrosoftWorddocument,wassharedviaemail amongthethreeteammembers.As
the course isdevelopedmorecontentisadded.Thedocumentcangrowto asmany as100pageswhich
caneventuallyoverload everyonesmailboxcapacityincluding theprojectleaderandpossiblyothers
whohavebeen copiedonthoseemails.Also,keepingtrackofthe latestversionintheemailinboxcan
becomeoverwhelming asthedocumentmakesitswaythroughthenumerousprojectcheckpoints.Our
solutiontoimplementtheuseofthefree,onlinewordprocessor,AdobeBuzzword
(https://buzzword.acrobat.com)allowedtheteamtocreateandcollaborateonlinewithouthavingtoemail
largedocumentsorworryaboutversion controlofthedocument.The developmentteam canread,review,
commentonorcoauthorthe documentwhileinBuzzword andsendanotificationemailthatthe
documentisreadyforreviewratherthansending theentirefile.Itshouldbenotedthatanotheroption for
thesharingoffilesandversioncontrolcanalsobeBasecamp,howeverwefindAdobesBuzzwordtobe
thebesttoolforthedevelopmentofthecourse.Lastly,internally,weareusing Dropbox
(www.getdropbox.com)tostore and synchronizethe sourcefiles(SyllabiandfinalformsoftheCourse
DesignTemplate)from allprojectsanditallowsustheabilityto accessthefilesfromeitherourdesktop
orthewebaswellassharethefileswiththeappropriatepersons.
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FinalThoughts
Planningandcommunicationareessentialtoasuccessfulproject.Althoughourinitialplanningwasdone
rapidly,wecreatedastableprojectframeworkwhichallowedustostillbesuccessful.Wemaintaineda
commitmenttoconsistentlycommunicatewithalltheteammemberswhilewemaintainedtheinitial
projectframework.Ourcontinuousselfevaluationandthefrequentfeedbackfromteammembersnot
onlyledtotherealignmentandadjustmentofourmethodswiththiscoursedevelopmentanddesign
processbutitlaidthegroundworkforfuturescalableprojectprocessesscenarios.Itshouldbenoted that
although thisagilitywasbeneficialforfutureiterationsoftheprocessimplementation,itdidimpactthe
teammembershavingtomaketheadjustmentsometimessignificantly.However,becauseofthesupports
wehadinplaceandtheabilityofeveryonetobeasflexibleastheywere,thetransitionwasgenerally
successful,withverylittlenegativeimpacttothedeadlinesasawhole.Lookingforward wewouldliketo
explore two specificareasinourdevelopmentprocesssothatwecanbegintolaythegroundworkon
whichwecanbuildfuturedevelopmentanddesignprocesses.First, wewouldliketoexplorehowthe
threeCoIpresencesareimpactedbyouruseofpeerreviewersintheDevelopmentstep.Second wewould
like to continuetomonitorthesignificanceofthe impacttotheCoIdatawhen facultymembersdevelop
thecoursestheywillteach asamemberofourcollaborative developmentcoursedesignprocess,when
facultyteachacoursetheydevelopedontheirown,andwhenfacultyareprovidedacoursewhichwas
developedbyanothersubjectmatterexpertwithintheAPUSInstructionalDevelopmentandDesign
Process.
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References
Abdous,M.&He,W.(2008).Streamliningtheonlinecoursedevelopmentprocessbyusingproject
managementtools.TheQuarterlyReviewofDistanceEducation,9(2),181188.
Arbaugh,J.B.,ClevelandInnes,M.,Diaz,S.R.,Garrison,D.R.,Ice,P.,Richardson,J.C.,andSwan,K.P.
(2008).Developingacommunityofinquiryinstrument:Testingameasureofthecommunityof
inquiryframeworkusingamultiinstitutionalsample.InternetandHigherEducation,11(3/4),
133136.
Dick,W.,&Carey,L.(1978). TheSystematicDesignofInstruction.Glenview,IL.:Scott,Foresman.
FloridaGulfCoastUniversity.(2006).Principlesofonlinedesign:Instructionaldesign.RetrievedApril
22,2008,fromhttp://www.fgcu.edu/onlinedesign/designDev.html.
Garrison,D.R.,Anderson,T.,&Archer,W.(2000).Criticalinquiryinatextbasedenvironment:
Computerconferencinginhighereducation.TheInternetandHigherEducation,2(23),87105.
Ice,P.&Kupczynski,L.(2009). Studentperceptionsofgroupandindividualizedfeedbackinonline
courses. ConferenceProposaltobepresentedattheSERA2009ConferenceinSanAntonio.
McGriff,S.(2001).Projectmanagementforinstructionaldesigninhighereducation(Doctoral
dissertation,PennsylvaniaStateUniversity,2000).
Pickett,A.,Shea,P.,&Fredericksen,E.(2001).TheSLNcoursedesignprocess.TheSUNYLearning
Network:AdvancedLearningandInformationServices.TheStateUniversityofNewYork.
Reigeluth,C.M.&Stein,F.S.(1983).Theelaborationtheoryofinstruction.C.M.Reigeluth(Ed.),
Instructionaldesigntheoriesandmodels:Anoverviewoftheircurrentstates.Hillsdale,NJ:
LawrenceErlbaum.RetrievedApril21,2008,from
http://www.nwlink.com/~Donclark/hrd/learning/development.html#Reigeluth.
Swan,K.,Richardson,J.C.,Ice,P.,Garrison,D.R.,ClevelandInnes,M.,&Arbaugh,J.B.(2008).
Validatingameasurementtoolofpresenceinonlinecommunitiesofinquiry.eMentor,24I(2).
RetrievedAugust8,2008,from http://www.ementor.edu.pl/artykul_v2.php?numer=24&id=543.
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AUTHORSUMMARY
JenniferStaleyisDirectorofInstructional Development&Design atAPUS.ShehasaMastersof
Education andB.S.inManagement.Hernearly20yearsexperienceineducationandcorporate
environmentshasenabledhertonotonlysuccessfullyenvision,buildthenleadtheInstructionalDesign
teamattheUniversity,buttosuccessfullycreateandmaintaincooperativeinterdepartmental
relationshipswhileconsistentlymeetingdeadlinesinanagilemanner.Shemanagestheprocessthrough
whichnewprogramsaredeveloped,designedandlaunchedfacilitatesthecontinuousimprovementand
enhancementofcoursewareestablishesandmaintainsworkingrelationshipswithresourceprovidersto
determinecostefficientmethodsofintroducingnewtechnologiesand coursematerialsintotheonline
classroom.
PhilIce,Ed.D. isDirectorofCourseDesign,ResearchandDevelopmentatAPUS.Hisresearchis
focusedontheimpactofnewandemergingtechnologiesoncognitioninonlinelearningenvironments.
WorkinthisareahasbroughtDr.IceinternationalrecognitionintheformoftwoSloanCeffective
practices,aSloanCEffectivePracticeoftheYearAward 2007,applicationofhisworkatover50
institutionsofhighereducationin5countries,membershipinAdobe'sHigherEducationLeader's
AdvisoryCommitteeandmultipleinvitedpresentations,workshopsandbookchaptersrelatedtothe
integrationofemergingtechnologiesinonlinecourses.Examplesofhisresearchincludetheuseof
embeddedasynchronousaudiofeedbackmechanisms,usingweb2.0toolsforcollaborativeconstruction
ofknowledgethroughintegrationofRIAsandremoteobservationofstudentteachingexperiencesusing
asynchronous,flashbasedenvironments.PhilisalsoinvolvedwithsevenotherresearchersintheUnited
StatesandCanadainnumerousotherresearchinitiativesrelated totheCommunityofInquiryFramework.
Thisresearchhasresultedinthedevelopmentofavalidatedinstrumentthatcapturestheintersectionof
Teaching,SocialandCognitivepresenceinonlineenvironments.
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