CIS664 Week 6 - Learning Journal

Mid-term Learning Journal Entry
Bruce Thivierge 10/8/2013

1. What topics have you found especially interesting, and would like to follow up in more detail?
   Topics related to technology tools for global and virtual project management are most interesting to me, especially regarding my current situation at work. We have numerous projects underway involving global stakeholders and struggle constantly with data management and proper communication. There are numerous stages to our projects including proposal work, order receipt and entry, engineering and design, manufacturing, test and quality control, shipping, compliance verification, and more. Each stage generates it's own collection of information and has its own communication needs. Some stages need things like approval tools to advance through the stage while others need document tracking and management. Currently, all of this information is scattered about and not readily visible to all stakeholders. Add to that various methods of communication such as email and instant messaging and you end up with a large amount of project data. It would be very valuable to the company to have this project information consolidated and available as the project progresses and develops.
   
2. What are the three main things, that are new to you, you have learned in the course so far?  
   Three of the most useful things I have learned so far in this class all come from the six enablers for successful global management, but were expanded upon in other course information or during class discussions.
   
   1. Creating a project vision- create clear direction and objectives for the project. This leads into communication an is the basis for all successful project starts. PMs should gather team members physically or virtually and establish open communication channels from the very beginning.
      
      
   2. Having cultural awareness- understanding global differences in project stakeholders. Even within our class we have seen diversity in cultures and environment. We all from different age groups as well as backgrounds and all these factor in to how a class will interact. Add in the complexity of projects and the global cultural differences and class members can get a sense of the importance of this.
      
      
   3. Facilitate communication- make sure the right communication tool is used for the right situation; foster good communication within the team. This is extremely important in any project environment but even more so with global and virtual projects. This impacts not only project performance, but also personal impacts on employees. With team members scattered about, members can feel isolated and disillusioned if left out of the loop.
      
      
3. What are your reflections on this course, how well is it meeting your needs?   Which assignments were particularly useful?   Which ones were not?
   
   The course is meeting my needs and will enhance my ability to manage projects more effectively. The assignments are interesting and the workload thus far has been reasonable. I actually have found the class textbook very useful, interesting and easy to read and that is rare for a text. i usually find myself skimming and not getting much value from the text.
   
   
4. Reflect on your use of technology and explain how it can facilitate communication in virtual settings.
   

Technology is just another tool in the project manager's toolbox. It is not the end-all-be-all as some would like us to believe. Good project management practices are still necessary to ensure project success. Technology can assist that but will not make a project successful by itself.