TEPM 6301 Team Assignment

One of the design objectives of TEPM 6301 is to simulate a project team experience. This
requires having multiple individuals working together to accomplish a defined goal. One of the
historic visible class outputs from this activity has been the creation of the ProjectNMotion
(PNM) video library now used in this and other classes. The key technical learning objective of
these past efforts has been about producing a tutorial related to an isolated segment of Microsoft
Project tool mechanics. There is still work that can be done in this area, but it seems timely to
alter and broaden the scope of the class project.
This semester team project goal begins a migration towards focusing on some project
management knowledge area aspect and create a tutorial to explain that concept to someone who
does not know what it means. One set of worthy topics could be the main knowledge areas (i.e.
chapter titles in the text for example). The design goal for these tutorials is a twelve to fifteen
minute WMD/MP4 file explaining that aspect of project management. Since the term would be
already technically defined by the text, the team goal would be more of organizing the material
into an interesting and worthwhile formats. As a quality test, if done successfully this output
product would be worthy of a viewing assignment to future 6301 students.
Previous tutorials in the library have been created by Camtasia (see www.techsmith.com) and
that is the defined technical delivery standard for the project. So, part of the assignment scope
would be to translate the customized lesson into this format. Summarized below is a short list of
steps involved in this activity:
1. Create a team size of three members
2. Team members are responsible for defining the target lesson topic and getting its content
scope approved by the instructor.
3. The topic options should focus on key project management topics such as the ten major
knowledge areas, or some other worthy project management topic.
4. The primary deliverable from this assignment is to develop a video lesson similar to the
existing PNM lessons that can be eventually sampled through Blackboard.
5. Deliverable technical specifics will be provided under a separate document later, but
essentially it is a loadable WMV file created with Camtasia along with supporting
artifacts. Dr. Richardson is willing to do the lesson voiceover to keep the library audio
track consistent, but that is not a mandatory requirement. The key is that the audio track
should be clear.
6. The course syllabus will outline the milestone calendar schedule events for this event
Historically, this assignment has caused students trouble for many of the same reasons a real
project has trouble. The most noticeable issue is learning to work together as a productive team
and the associated procrastination in getting started. This is a real world phenomenon and one of
the logic reasons for the assignment. Some team members will have trouble with face-to-face
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meetings, so virtual collaboration will be a challenge. This is also a real world phenomenon as
well.
Background
Selected artifacts developed through this project cycle will be added to the existing PNM library
to further enhance its scope. For this reason each lesson needs to maintain the standard look and
feel consistent with the current videosi.e., banner screen, colors, general format, length, etc.
The following steps are required:
1. Create a problem statement (Charter) for the selected topic to show why it is a valid
knowledge area for the library.
2. Develop a reading script for the lesson so that an outsider can read the audio track.
3. Create a set of technical or discussion questions (with sample answers) that would be
useful in fostering a group discussion of this topic. These questions should be submitted
to Blackboard for review by the instructor according to the syllabus schedule.
4. Produce a CD containing all project work artifacts including audio script DOC, PPT,
CAMREC, CAMPROJ, WMV/MP4, and any other work files. TA mid-stage status with
first cut script and PPT will be outlined in the syllabus as well as the final deliverable
schedule.
Be sure to read the item list above and plan your project efforts accordingly. A major part of this
exercise is to manage time as well as the output quality.
Getting Started
The first project step is to form the team. After this, the more complex task becomes organizing
the work required and completing the activity on schedule. The 6301 text and lecture material
will provide most of the technical knowledge required to design and produce the output, but it is
up to the individual teams to be creative in developing the specific content and this will require
some additional research beyond the class topic coverage. A major design goal is to make each of
the team deliverables appear as though the lesson comes from the same format as other lessons.
One strategy for this is to have Dr. Richardson read your script on an audio track (dont wait until
the last minute to schedule this).
Camtasia is the production utility that has been used in previous lessons and should be used for
the remaining ones. Details on installing this software will be given in class later. The goal is to
keep the design utility consistent for ongoing maintenance. This means the CAMREC,
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CAMSYS, PPT, MPP and DOC script files will be required in order to edit and regenerate a
lesson.
By week four the teams need to be formed and a topic area defined. More detailed background
reference material will be supplied later.
Raw Topics that have previously been attempted (None are production ready at this point)
Any of these topics can be repeated with the goal being to make them production worthy:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.

Capacity management
Life cycle design
Reporting
Risk
Procurement
Plan versus Actual status reporting
Project Simulation (using Full Monte)
Building a WBS
Project plan analyzer utility

Final note:
Form teams over the next two weeks and appoint one individual from the team as the team
coordinator lead who will be responsible for communicating with the TA via e-mail and supply
her with the names of team members. If you cannot form a team by that date, a team will be
randomly created and the team members can decide who will take the responsibility of
communicating status over the course of this semester.

TEPM 6301 Team Project Assignment Fall 2015

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