Critical issues in elearning project management

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Critical issues in elearning project management

• Ed-Media 2005 Conference
• Montreal, PQ June 30, 2005
• Beverly Pasian, M.A.
• Gary Woodill, Ed.D.

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What is elearning project management (ePM)?

• Combination of knowledge, skills, and the
  application of certain methods, templates and
  principles to the management of an online
  learning project

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Emergence of ePM

• Growing sophistication of elearning projects
  requires new competencies to manage them
• Traditional PM models (construction, software)
  are changing to accommodate the technology,
  pedagogy of elearning projects
• Cultural issues, changes in resource use and
  project phases require variation on traditional
  model

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Edited Book Plan to Learn case studies in
elearning project management

• Introductory chapter
• Review of ePM literature
• 24 case studies
• 16 in academic settings
• 8 in corporate settings
• In final stage of negotiating with a publisher

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Lesson 1 Importance of Leadership

• Involves both Sponsor and Manager
• Key to project success
• Manager motivator and negotiator directs
  collaboration
• Balances various sets of stakeholder needs
• View of projects as complex adaptive systems
  leadership is fluid

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Lesson 2 Importance of Communications

• Essential part of project plan
• Supports awareness-raising and acceptance of
  achievements and issues related to each project
  phase
• Plan must reflect needs and involvement of
  project team and stakeholders
• Prepare at beginning of project

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Lesson 3 Conflicting Cultures and Interests

• Most prominent between content developers (e.g.,
  faculty/teachers or instructional designers) and
  IT members
• Faculty (SMEs) and IT need their own separate but
  distinct roles on the project team
• Sense of competing ownership over the elearning
  medium (is it technology or teaching?)
• In academic settings, conflict between interests
  of managers and academics
• Conflicts between clients interests and vendor
  interests

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Lesson 4 Need for adequate time, budget

• Size of project should be carefully assessed to
  determine time, budget
• Typical problems underestimation, failure to
  identify resources and expenses
• More time, money needed during design,
  development phases
• Traditional projects require more during
  implementation

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Lesson 5 The Need to Manage risk and change

• Lack of usability studies with learners or
  instructors
• Cultural / organizational changes larger impact
• SMEs (faculty) may leave
• Change takes timeproject timelines may not be
  realistic
• Evaluation takes more prominent role in ePM (than
  traditional PM) are learning goals being met?
• - Kirpatricks stages of training doesnt work
  in academic settings
• Consensus building is ideal but not always
  possible
• Right LMS can be an enabler, wrong one a problem

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Lesson 6 The ePM Learning Curve

• Many e-learning project managers have little or
  no background in project management methods
• PM is often an added role
• Some find resources such as the PMI or SEI
  others make up their methods on the fly few
  resources on ePM
• Need to survey available tools and technologies
  facilitates learning and team building
• Need to start project process with standard PM
  tools
• feasibility study, needs assessment, stakeholder
  analysis, communications planning, etc
• In the end, the project team can become a
  resource to be shared e.g. from ePM novices to
  international consultants

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ePM Web Site

• www.plantolearn.com
• www.elearningprojectmanagement.com

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Other resources

• Plan to learn case studies in ePM (upcoming
  book2005)
• ???
• ePM Webinar series
• ???
• F2F seminar series across Canada and USA
• ???
• To get on mailing list, send e-mail to
• Beverly Pasian
• bpasian_at_bodec.com 416-803-3269