Instructional Technology Plans for Higher Education Institutions

Technology planning is an indispensable activity for all higher education institutions nowadays. The major purpose of the technology planning is to utilize technologies effectively and implement them for communicative, managerial and instructional purposes. This chapter offers a dynamic and adaptable framework for technology planning project in higher education institutions. Basically, the framework compares the mission and vision in terms of three dimensions; Peopleware, Hardware and Software. Peopleware focuses on all people within faculty organizations such as students, academicians and administrators and analyze their current situation in terms of four different interrelated points (technology knowledge, value, belief and attitude) to depict their levels (naïve, apprentice, professional and experienced). In the hardware analysis, the author analyzes personal computers, networking tools, other peripherals (printers, scanners, and etc…) and the building. For software analysis, starting with the operating system, entire software required for instructional and professional purposes are documented. In the last step, project team analyzes the data holistically and creates yearly developmental activities in terms of applicable recommendations.

Project Management Assessment Methods

In this chapter, the author describes how one can implement and incorporate creative techniques to design, develop, document and disseminate a systematic process for conducting assessment, whether it be in a multinational corporation or it be in a small business environment. The author accomplishes this by providing models, samples and established guidelines for effectively using assessment results for continuous quality improvement. The author focuses on the importance of adopting modern techniques and stresses that technology should not be viewed just as a growing trend. The author shows how technology can be intelligently implemented as an invaluable assessment tool that can quickly identify areas for improvement so that a given corporation can continue to climb the ladder of success in a competitive global market of the 21st Century.

A Needle in a Haystack

Considering the high failure rate of information technology (IT) projects over the last 40 years, project managers should use all the tools at their disposal in order to make their project a success; however, more than half of all project managers fail to use a powerful tool that is readily available – a development methodology. A development methodology provides structure to a project, which facilitates communication, establishes expectations, enhances quality and promotes consistency. One potential reason project managers do not employ a development methodology is that selecting the correct methodology from among the hundreds available can be an overwhelming task. For this reason, understanding the decision-making process, and identifying those factors that influence it, is a worthwhile endeavor. While empirical research in this area is lacking, a review of the extant literature reveals several factors that are important when choosing a development methodology. In this chapter, many of these factors are identified, a model for categorizing them is proposed, and a model for selecting a methodology is presented.

Examining Stakeholders' Roles in Influencing IT Project Cancellation Decisions

The goal of any product is to be used. In a very real sense, people judge the success or failure of any product by the extent to which it is used by intended users in their daily practice. Understanding a product from the perspective of the end-user is one of the most important and often overlooked keys to the success of any project. Many products suffer from a lack of widespread utilization because developers and managers often have a deterministic view of the relationship between technology and users. This deterministic view leads to an over reliance on technical specifications as the driving force in the end users’ decision to adopt and use a product. However, a wide variety of human, organizational, social, and cultural factors also affect the acceptance and use of any product. Any organization, even those in the most highly technical and advanced fields, is, in reality, a dynamic example of a sociotechnical system in which people and machines interact, negotiate usage, compete for primacy, and generally co-exist. This chapter will provide a broad theoretical overview of the critical role that end-users play in the adoption, implementation, utilization, and institutionalization of any technology. A number of relevant theories will be discussed, including diffusion theory (e.g., Rogers, 1995), technological determinism (e.g., Ellul, 1967), sociotechnical systems (e.g., Volti, 2006), and utopian and dystopian philosophical perspectives (e.g., Rubin, 1996). In addition to a theoretical overview, this chapter will provide practical recommendations for developers and managers who wish to increase the utilization of their products by bringing the user into the development process. The practical recommendations will include a discussion of Ely’s (1999) conditions that facilitate the implementation of innovations. These conditions include developing a sense of dissatisfaction with the status quo, providing sufficient time to become familiar with a new technology, and generating meaningful commitment to the project by upper level managers. Also included in the practical recommendations will be a brief discussion of various organizational components that enable the introduction of innovations (Surry, Ensminger, & Haab, 2005). These components include the development and maintenance of an adequate infrastructure of supporting technologies, an emphasis on shared decision making, and ongoing support systems. Other recommendations to be discussed in this chapter will be derived from rapid prototyping models of development (e.g., Tripp & Bichelmeyer, 1990) and recent surveys of user-centered design methods.

IT Project Planning based on Business Value Generation

In this chapter the authors investigate the management of service innovation projects; can ICT based service innovation be facilitated by traditional project management thinking? Or should the initiators strive for more interaction with users and other stakeholders, thus organizing the initiatives much looser than what the traditional project work method allows for? Building on a large survey, the authors found that ICT based service innovation was not associated with a tightly run project – focused on cost, time and quality; nor with the presence of a professional project manager. Rather, successful service innovation was found in projects where the service providing organization and the users of the forthcoming services were well integrated in the project. They discuss three alternatives to the traditional project work form model, called Integrated Classic Structure, Mutual Adaptation and TQM, and assess their potential strengths and weaknesses in service innovation, as an agenda for further experimentation and empirical research.

Bringing the User into the Project Development Process

This chapter will discuss more than 20 system development life cycles (SDLC) found in the Information Technology project management arena, whereby, a comprehensive overview of the SDLCs history as well as the trigger that instigated its development would be laid out. Subsequently, the chapter will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using SDLC, whereby the chapter will explain where and when to use which SDLC. As such, the chapter will classify the different SDLCs into three non-exclusive categories: Traditional methodologies, agile methodologies, spiral methodologies and other types of methodologies that used in IT project Management.

Project Management 2027

This chapter describes a study into the expected development of the competences of the project manager in the year 2027. The study was performed amongst the members of IPMA-The Netherlands during the summer of 2007. In the study the 46 competences of the International Competence Baseline 3 (ICB 3) were tested against the expectations of the respondents for the development of project management. Based on four scenarios for the future of Europe, the members indicated which of the competences are expected to become more important, equally important or less important than today. The aim of the study was to provide insight in the expected future development of the project management competences. This goal is relevant for both practitioners and educators.The conclusions are that the study shows indications that project management is developing from an ‘occupation’ into a true ”profession”. Part of this development is a broader orientation of the project manager in which especially the competences related to the relationship of the project with its environment grow strongly in importance.

Future Trends

The business world is running at a faster pace than ever before. Globalization has partnered the world and new ways of doing business to meet increasing demands are inevitable. Teams now have members dispersed around the globe, distanced by location and brought together by technology. Where these geographically dispersed teams work is known as a “virtual” world. The “virtual” team is different from the traditional team many are familiar with requiring that new skills be learned to be a successful member. This chapter will introduce the virtual team and discuss how it is different from traditional teams. The skills required of the leadership and members of a virtual team will be identified and detailed. The various types of virtual teams will be examined to determine how they are utilized in today’s business world.

Planning for Integrating Technology

Three models structure the planning for technology integration into instruction. Institutional needs are assessed for three dimensions suggested in Gilbert’s, “Model of Human Competence.” The areas needing addressing are typically within instruction; therefore, the process steps of a generic instructional design model are used. Within designing for instruction, Bransford’s, “variables affecting learning,” are the focal points organizational planners need to consider in planning instruction. Instruction is framed as “faculty-as-learner centered instruction.” The variables are also a significant aspect of the content of instruction for faculty because faculty will use them in planning their own instruction integrated with technology.

Technology Exploration Process

This chapter presents a technology exploration process designed to support service innovation for information and communication technologies in a university environment. The mission of the technology exploration is to highlight possible applications of new technologies on the basis of prototypes which, following an evaluation phase, are used to develop new services. The exploration process is composed of several stages. In the first stage a number of proposals are generated beginning with the analysis of users’ expectations, best practices and technology developments. In the next stage prototypes for selected proposals are implemented. Only the most viable prototypes are then further developed to maturity, providing a reliable service. This chapter is based on the experience gathered by our team over a period of 18 months. During this period six prototypes have been developed, three of which have been further developed to full maturity. The introduction of a voice over IP service for all the university members illustrates the exploration process.