Observations and comments

I'll begin with the serious portion....Chapman's 5 Steps to Project Success--the video. This was just what I needed to keep me up just a little bit longer. You said it was just a bit goofy? How about lotta bit goofy? Why, what, how, who and tracking.....You said I would remember the five steps despite the goofiness. Actually, these two statements are what I really remember best: Plan the work, then work the plan; and, Figure out what business you're in and then mind your own business. Can you tell that I enjoyed that video?

Okay, now for the fun stuff. I found the article by Robert E. Dugan, Information Technology Plans, pretty interesting. The question posed had to do with how effective institutions of higher education were in using technology and whether their investments in technology were meeting their goals. Other questions raised were, "Has the acquisition and application of information technologies improved learning? Have the costs associated with technology been worth it?" Granted, this article was written in 2002 and at this very moment I think I would be more correct than not if I answered those questions with a resounding, Yes. Despite those dated questions, there were very useful portions in the article. The utility of a technology plan as a guide was provided. Creation of the plan mentions involving as many of the players and end users, stakeholders, as possible. I like the conclusion made in the article in that "librarians and educators often plan for and apply information technology as an end (e.g., the need for more workstations) not necessarily as a tool toward improving an end such as a library service or an attitude such as lifelong learning."

There was so much reading on project management. I mention PMBOK in another discussion also so I'm not going to ramble on this topic. I understand it's importance and need to review a great deal of what I've read to begin to really put it to use.