January 2009 Archives

Today I rediscovered the importance of follow up. In December, we set up a plan for some game developments. Today I discovered the plan was not going as it should. Whose fault was it? That's the first, usual, thought we all have. Truth be told, I don't care to point fingers usually. In this case I have to point to myself.

Why? Because I didn't follow up with everyone to make sure the plan was understood and proceeding. It's not enough to plan; you have to follow up periodically with all, making sure all understand the plan and that it's working.

In this case it's not a big deal. We'll have another meeting early next week and get back on track. And you can bet I'll follow up on that meeting!

I'm fortunate enough to be working with some fine folks on a book about Nursing Education and Educational Technology. We've had several meeting via Skype so far to nail down the chapters, flow, etc. Now it's time to actually write something!

I've been waiting for an example or two upon which to base my approach, but I decided last week to step up, stick my neck out, and write a draft of one of my chapters. This could mean one of two things. The rest of the team will (at least mostly) like what I did and adopt my model for their chapters. Or, the rest of the team could politely tell me to hold my horses until one of them comes up with a working model for me to follow.

If the first case, I'm leading but could be burned. In the second case, I'm following but safe. A year ago I would have taken the second route without hesitation. Somehow over the years I've become more timid; more afraid to make a mistake.  This is a funny place to be for the guy that innovated cross-platform courseware design in the early 90's! Back then it was all high risk, and doom if we failed.

Leadership is about the possibility of failure. If you are innovative then you are taking chances, and that means you can fail. I need to keep reminding myself of this, take calculated risks, and be prepared to pick myself up if I fall.

This post is about the types of needs we face as instructional designers, and my thoughts on the matter. I referred back to my old bible, "Instructional Design," edited by Leslie J. Briggs to pull out some of the following definitions.

Normative Needs

This is when an established standard is in place. For example, your town might have a normative need to string it's Christmas lights by Dec 15 each year.

Felt Needs

Just as it reads. Asking others, "What do you want?" will get at felt needs.

Expressed Needs

This happens when a demand occurs. For example, in our current financial crisis in the US, the public has expressed a need for a stable economy. Some might say they've demanded it!

Comparative Need

This is the "they have it so we must have it" need. For example, Open Course Initiatives in higher education may fall into this category.

Anticipated Need

You don't need it today, but all your facts and figures indicate you will need it in the future. For example, many in the US anticipate a need for alternative energy sources.

I believe many higher education and technology needs fall into these categories. For example, when the Blogs at Penn State were in the planning stage, it was because a comparative need existed - we did it to keep up with other institutions. It's not as simple as that, however. There was an expressed need by administrators for PSU to create a publishing platform for PSU faculty, staff, and students. For some folks, it was a felt need.

So when you look at the needs for a given situation, I doubt you'll be able to find just one "needs" label to apply. Yet we often do just that - we are given one need, or we discover one need, and off we go without considering the other types of needs that might apply.

This has the potential to lead to less than optimal outcomes. Ignoring felt needs may alienate key stakeholders you'll need later on. Without considering normative needs, you may run into cultural barriers that impede your process. I could go on here, but I hope you get the picture. Next time you start on a project, needs defined already or not, take a few minutes to consider all the types of needs listed above, and what it means to your project. You might find it saves you hours of effort later on!

I mean that literally, in the vacation sense. I was off most of the past two weeks recharging my batteries, doing all those odd jobs around the house, eating way too much, and learning about my new PS3.

It was a time of reflection for me. After a week or so I finally relaxed. Then I realized just how stressed I was. I know I realized this intellectually before the vacation, but it took a week for my body to realize it.


So what can I do? Well, I decided to enact the following:

• Schedule more of the short "to-dos" on my calendar so I can off-load them mentally until I work on them. This also gives me the time to work on them, let's people see what I'm doing, etc. The only downside here is I have to stick to the schedule. No slacking!
• Really start to use our Project Management Tool, BaseCamp. We starting using this in December; now it's time to make it a "can't do without" habit.
• Face difficult conversations head on instead of avoiding them. That doesn't mean I'll be nasty, but I won't leave things hanging either.
• My day, before I even get to work, is really hectic. I need to restructure my morning activities to reduce this stress as much as possible. For example, I can pack my gym bag the night before.

Most important, look for other opportunities to reduce my daily stress level. My job, like yours, has stress associated with it. Some of that is beyond my control. Some of it is caused by the way I interact with the world. That I can change.