The planning of the project may be ending

But the project is just getting started. I already gave them an assignment that is specifically for the web site - writing up a brief history of the business and its plans for the future, as well as brief bios of the employees. I am also having them check on the amount of storage space that they have for the web site. If they want to include videos, they're going to need quiet a bit of room for them. I also need to tell them that they should check on their bandwidth they currently have available. I was reminded after I had met with them the other evening that is also very important. Overall they're very enthusiastic about my helping them create a better web site and were happy to have my help in planning. They even wanted to sign a form or send letters about how much they appreciated my help. Now lets hope that I can do just as good a job on their web site.

And another thing

Technology can be such a pain in the arse sometimes. Particularly if it does not want to work when it should.

What do you mean I'm not authorized to open a program on my computer?

One thing I learned this week is that for some reason my Inspiration 8, which I downloaded and registered on this computer suddenly tells me that it has been authorized to be run on a different computer. Huh? Just how does that happen? So much for using it on my projects.

Action Plan

Sounds like it could be the name of a movie. I think I have a grasp of how to create one, but I am not sure. The final project is under way and the end of the semester is getting closer. Then a nice break, followed by the next semester. I still need to make plans for that. At the moment though, I just need to focus on the rest of this one.

I am hoping for a meeting with my main stakeholders this week and need to make plans for it.

What good is a plan if you don't follow it

It was interesting to see the different aspects that some businesses neglect in creating a strategic plan, and how most of the people in an organization don't understand the plan once it is completed. Then there are organizations that will create a plan and then do nothing with it. That's something I don't understand, especially if you paid someone from outside the company to come in and help create the plan.

I have yet to hear back from my contact about how the artist survey has been going. Maybe he's having problems getting in touch with some of them. I will be doing a follow up to see how the responses have been.

Evaluation

One thing I learned from the reading is that they need to do a better job of proofreading the material before posting it, particularly if you are talking about evaluating.

I received the customer survey that was taken by my contact. The results show that there is an interest in their having a website, and some even included a few suggestions for it. I have a different survey that I am planning on having performed in regards to a portion of their content, and that's whether or not artists who have showcased their work would like to participate in the website and just what form would that be - links, inclusion of samples of their works, or if they would allow sales of either the works or prints of it. I know that they have had postcards of some work available in the business, but the site would potentially help them reach more people.

Proposing Solutions

Hmm. How do you do a causal analysis for a website? I'm not really sure. Anyway creating a future wheel sounds kind of fun and could still be useful for my strategic planning, so I am considering it. Fishboning, as strange as the name is (and I keep thinking about how I hate to eat fish) also seems interesting. I can see how it would be useful in some cases.

I finally decided on three questions that I could use in creating a customer survey about the need of a website for the business that I am helping. I have also been considering the scope of the survey. One day is not long enough to get a good sampling of the customers, but about a week's worth of gathering responses would be better.

On another note, I'm very happy with the Presidential election and unhappy about other results in this state and in others. I shouldn't have said though last week that there will be an end to discussion on the news. They never stop talking about elections as they are already talking about potential candidates for 2012 elections.

Resources

So I had to compile a resource list. I sent a list of what I had come up with, but unfortunately I did not hear back in time from my contact before I needed to submit the assignment. Which meant I had to think a bit more about what I already knew. Unfortunately there were certain areas that I could not cover. I don't think I will have a problem with the next part of the assignment though.

November is here, so time is running out. Hopefully I will be able to complete everything in time. And thankfully the election is almost over. I'll be glad for the end to the ads and talk on the news, etc.

Tech evaluation, surveys, and more

What can I say about the readings? It was hard to fit them in with creating an instructional design model for one thing. Some of the group processes were eliminated partially because of the number of people that might be needed for them or the time involved in using them.

I am still considering possible questions for a customer survey. I don't want to make them all strictly yes and no questions because that may not be enough information. I think the questions may be done with a scale instead, so that they can figure out how they feel about the web site and the content. I may limit it to three questions and then provide space for the responders to add comments and/or suggestions regarding the web site.

Project so far

There is always so much information to remember from the readings. Data - types and sources, methods of gathering. In the cultural factors, I knew there would be differences, but I never thought about how time is viewed. It's funny how some view being on time as very important and that being late is rude, and how others view it the opposite way.

Still I'm not sure how much I can apply to my current project in regards to IS, since it is used for appointments, client mailings, and other daily business, but it is not a very big component of what they do.

I had assigned a mini-project for investigating web sites to figure out what they like about them and what they don't like. Now I've got to create a questionnaire for them to use with their customers about what they would think about a web site. I already know that the people I am working with do not want people to be able to see their schedule online, so that won't be part of it. They did like the idea of customers being able to use a web site as a way of contacting them if they need to cancel or ask to reschedule. And I know that they would like to be able to sell some products through the web site.

SWOT

Questionnaires, surveys, interviews, and more. But how much data can there be for a business that has only been around for two years? Not a whole lot. But the SWOT should be very good for any business no matter how long it has been around. Understanding your current strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats is very important whether you're just starting a business or have been in business for 100 years or more. And with the way things have been going in the economy, I'm wondering which of them have conducted one recently. There seem to be quiet a few who haven't.

The mini-projects are going pretty well. They're going to have a list of web sites that they've reviewed for me soon for likes and dislikes. They've also been thinking about ideas for their video scripts.

And so far I think the project is going fairly well, although I may have to think a bit about other mini-projects I can have them work on.

How much IS can a salon need?

The answer, not much. They have computers, which do need upgrading. They have software specifically designed for salons, but they would know more about using it then I would. No servers are needed, there is no data center, and the network is small. Right now as far as IS is concerned, they're mostly interested in creating a better web site for their business.

I do know that they have some big plans for the business that they'd like to work on for the next five years. I hope that by helping with their strategic planning for their web site they'll be able to make those things happen.

So far, much of what I read does not really apply.

Where is Allison DuBois when you need her?

So we've just been reading about creating a vision statement for our projects, with a warning not to confuse it with the mission statement. There is a lot to read about it and to think about in how I can help with the creation of one.

I also wonder about how much to use from the readings, which seem to be mostly for big organizations, and apply it to a small business. How can I make this work out and do a good job for the people I am working with?

I asked my contact to have everyone start thinking about mission statements and for them to look at web sites, making note of what they like and don't like about them. So far I haven't heard anything back from them just yet. I also need to call him sometime tomorrow about setting up a time for meeting with them this week.

Making plans for making plans

When I registered for this class, I had never really thought much about planning beyond the every day tasks. I had never really had to. But strategic planning is a lot more involved than making a grocery list. It's more like creating blueprints for building a house. There's a lot of details to think about in both.

I also had not thought about the different types of needs and which ones that should be considered in strategic planning. Plus you have to be careful and not confuse wants with those needs. Reading about planning and needs assessments has given me food for thought. I think I'm going to need a big glass of tea or coke to wash it all down. And hope that for dessert I will have created a good strategic plan to be topped off with a good grade.

It's raining stakeholders...wait......

So this week we had to consider the stakeholders in our project, and how they are to be included in the planning. Of course the owner, manager and other employees in this business have to be included, but they're not the only ones who have a stake in the outcome of this project. Next we'll have to determine the purpose and scope of the project.

And at the same time, Arkansas has to deal with it's second hurricane remnants in two weeks bringing rain. Fortunately it looks like what's left of Ike won't be hanging around as long as Gustav did. It's been a very wet and mild year here. It's kind of weird seeing everything still so green this late in the summer. Most of the leaves on the trees are usually dead by now, as well as the grass. Hopefully there won't be any more hurricanes coming up into the gulf, but unfortunately there are still several weeks left in the hurricane season.

Also, I hope that the cable company will stop causing me problems with logging on to Blackboard and into my UA e-mail. It's hard to turn in assignments and check for e-mails from the instructor. It took several tries, but I finally was able to submit my assignments.

So many ways to plan

I had never really considered how many possible ways or how many steps there might be in creating a strategic plan. And you have to be sure to get the right plan for the organization that needs it.

I've made my choice for who I will be helping with a strategic plan. And fortunately it's right here in Fayetteville. Sorry Sarah, but since I'm not in Fort Smith now, it makes more sense to find one close by to work on.

And I've picked up several books to help me create better web sites. So when I've finished helping them to plan their web site, I may help them out with building it for them. I'm glad I took the course on using video so that I can film and edit one for the page if they want it. At least they shouldn't need it in German, unlike this one.

http://comp.uark.edu/~jterrel/eis/videoproject.html

New Semester

Well it's the end of the first week back to school. I'm still trying to get into school mode, even though it's only been a couple of weeks since I finished a summer class. But maybe that's part of it, since the time between was so short. Then there have been other stresses.

Anyway, I have been doing a lot of reading and thinking about the reading, and thinking about other things. One of those things being that I may have Asperger's, and recently learning that I have a cousin who was diagnosed with it and that my grandfather on my mom's side may have had it as well.

Fortunately the problems I was having with my air conditioning last week were resolved just as classes were resuming. But I'm still wishing for fall weather.