Communicating Effectively

During this assignment, I was presented with three different communication methods in which members of a workgroup were communicating on their project. The communication methods where email, voicemail, and face-to-face. As I initially reviewed the messages, I predetermined that the face-to-face method would be the most effective, as both parties would be able to communicate both verbally and non-verbally.

As I reviewed the email, Jane was communicating to Mark that she needed him to provide an ETA on a missing report. Jane stated that the was information she needed from that report for her own work, which was in jeopardy of missing the deadline if she does not receive the report soon. Jane also states that Mark can send the report in a separate email when it is ready. Based upon my experience, although Jane did communicate why she needed the information, she was not able to obtain any immediate feedback or acknowledgment that Mark will have the information ready for her, by the time needed. I do not believe the email was the most appropriate form of communication for her need in this scenario.

During the second method of communication, which was the voicemail, Jane stated the same thing that was presented in the email. The difference in between the two forms of communication was you were able to hear the urgency in Jane’s tone of voice. The email made it seem as though Mark has some time to get this information to her, since he may be busy, however, the voicemail made it appear the information was needed asap.

The final method of communication was the face-to-face, in which Jane stated the exact same thing as in the previous two forms of communication, however, unlike those methods you were able to see Jane’s body language and non-verbal communication along with her message. This form of communication would provide Jane with an actual time on when Mark would be able to provide the report or missing information immediately.

My interpretations from one modality to the next remained the same. With each form of communication, the more pieces of the communication (verbal and non-verbal) used to convey your message, will further ensure the information is received appropriately. With the email, there was too much room for interpretation when the report and missing information would be needed. However, with the voicemail and face-to-face, you were able to hear the urgency with the message.

I learned from this exercise that while emails may be easier to throw together and send out, it is not always the most effective form of communication, and may not provide the results that you may need.

Learning from a Project "Post-mortem"

As an instructional designer, I was tasked with developing an online training for an organization of 30k employees on the new ICD10 codes that will replace the ICD9 medical billing codes. The project request was submitted 2 years prior to the ICD10 codes usage being required by federal legislation. This time-frame typically provided me lots of time, since the standard development time for project completions was 12-16 weeks. Unfortunately, the development of this training hit many snags, which caused the project to almost miss deadline. I was able to however meet the project completion deadline after making many changes to the initial training request, and instead of developing 1 online module, I created 3 separate modules, in which the first was released by the date required by the federal legislation, and the last two remaining modules were released shortly after. There were three main issues that was impacting the project meeting the required release date and they include; System requirements not yet active or tested; extremely large workgroup (30 representatives) who had different ideas and views of how the training should be delivered and what to include, obtaining the necessary sign-off from everyone involved on the workgroup.

What processes, project artifacts, or activities did I include that contributed to the success of the project?

While it is not the norm to have such a large workgroup for a project, I went into the process understanding that I needed to be well organized, and document everything. There were many calls with the workgroup in which someone asked me who provided the instruction for me to do something a certain way, in which I would quickly access a communication sent to me with the request. In addition to being well organized and keeping track of all documentation, I also communicated with the workgroup on a weekly or bi-weekly basis to communicate the project status and any new developments. This kept the workgroup aware of my progress, and provided any information they may have needed to communicate to their individual teams. The last activity that I would contribute to the success of the project was my ability to think outside the box and be flexible. The legislation required that staff be trained on the ICD10 process by September 2015, however the law did not state what type of information must be included in the training. In order to meet the deadline, and taking into consideration that the organization’s systems were not yet ready for me to include simulations and screen shots in the training, I proposed that the initial online module I develop only include background information on the ICD10 codes and definitions. This was proposed because that was information that was already obtained and confirmed. For the systems training and functionality pieces, I was able to wait after September 2015 for the system to be enhanced and create the other two modules.

What processes, project artifacts, or activities did I not include that might have made the project more successful?

One of the items that I constantly think about, is I did not hold anyone accountable for their participation in the project besides myself. With that said, when business requirements that other departments were responsible did not meet their deadline, I did not further probe as to why the hold up and how this would impact the project’s timeline. I just assumed responsibility and tried to come up with a workaround. This added more stress to my work, in addition to not correctly identifying problem areas and documenting that information for my manager.