You are on page 1of 4

AWickedProblemProject

PARTADescriptionofNeedorOpportunity
Theeducationalneedoropportunity: Thelackofcommunicationandoveruseofsocialnetworksatworkandspeciallywhenworkinginteamsisa problem.Or...isitanopportunity?Largeteamstendtomisscommunicateorrathernotcommunicateveryeffectively whenworkingonprojectsthatinvolvemultipleteamswithinanorganization.However,whenitcomessocialnetworks moreandmoreprofessionalsseemtobewillingtoshareinformationusingtheinnovativetoolsprovidedbysocial networkingsitessuchasFacebook,Twitter,GoogleBuzz,etc.Sowhynottakeadvantageofthatanduseasocial networkingtoolforinternalcommunicationpurposes.AtoolthatcanbeeasilyusedforthispurposeisTwitter.When groups(Lists)andhashtagsareusedTwittercanbeapowerfulandeasytousecommunicationtool. TechnologyIntegrationStrategy: IfirmlybelievethatTwittercanhelpalleviatethecommunicationbarriersthataregeneratedwhenagroupof peoplefocusestoomuchonthetaskathandthatforgetstoshareimportantinformationwithothers.Sometimesisas simpleascommunicatingthecurrentstatusofasingletasktocoworkers.Ihavenoticedthatoftentimestheproblem isnotthedeliveryofareportattheendofeachmilestoneorafinalreport.Instead,theproblemisthatthesmalldetails arenotcommunicatedtotheteamorteamsinvolvedintheproject.Groupmembersmaketheassumptionthatothers dontneedtobeawareofeverylittledetailorchange.However,iftheteamistobeacohesiveandsuccessfulteam, everydetailisimportant,nomatterhowsmallorinsignificantitmayseem.Twitterisafreewebbasedsolutionthatcan beaccessfromanycomputeroncampus.Inaddition,aTwitterappcaneasilybedeployedtomobiledevicessuchas smartphones,iPods,laptops,andiPads. Logisticsofsolution: Thescopeofthissolutiondependsonthesizeofthegroupandthenumberofprojectsathand.Forinstance,in agroupof25individualsworkingon10differentprojectsatanygiventimethetoolcouldbeusedonadailybasesby mostofthoseemployees.InourcaseinparticularIwouldliketostartbyimplementingthesolutionwithinmyteam,the CustomerSupportteam.TheCustomerSupportteamiscomposedofapproximately10fulltimeemployeesandfour temporaryorstudentemployees.Ifthesolutionprovestobesuccessful,thenIwouldliketoimplementitwithinthe entireITdepartment.Weareagroupofapproximately45employees.Those45employeesaredividedintofiveteams ofapproximatelyninepeopleeach.TheideaistocreateaprivategroupinTwitteranduseanspecifichashtagthat allowsustoeasilyidentifythetweetsthatarerelatedtoourITdepartmentandthespecifictopicorprojectname.All membersofthedepartmentwouldneedtofollowthegroupandthegroupwouldneedtofollowallmembersinthe Twittergroup.Thiswayeveryoneinthegroupwouldgetalivefeedofeveryone'stweetsandeveryonewouldbeable totweet. ShortTermImplementationPlan(duringthisclass): TwitterwillbeimplementedforthebenefitoftheemployeesintheITdepartmentatGRCC.Forthenextsix weeksIwouldliketogetabuyinfromtherestofthedepartmentaswellasapprovalfromourCIOifneeded.Once themajorityoftheemployeesareonboardIwillproceedwiththecreationofthegroupandidentificationofproper hashtags.Next,Iwillstartthedeploymentofthemobileapptoallsmartdeviceswithinmyteam,theCustomer Supportteam.Afterthecustomersupportteamhastestedthesolutionwithatleastoneprojectortasktheotherteams willbeaskedtojoin.TheMedia,Infrastructure,AcademicApplications,andAdministrativeApplicationsteamswillbe setupnext.Witheveryonefollowingthegroupandbeingfollowedbythegroupandtweetingregularly,thebenefitswill begintoshow.AllITmemberswillbeabletoaccessTwitterfromtheircomputeraswellastheirmobiledevices. LongTermImplementationPlan(afterthisclassisover): IftheimplementationofthisprojectissuccessfulwithinmyteamandwithinthedepartmentasawholeIwould expandittoalloweveryoneatthecollegetofollowthegroup.AnyonewithaTwitteraccountwhowishestofollowthe

groupwouldbeabletoseethelivefeedcommunicationthread.Atlarge,thisisspeciallybeneficialtostaffandstudents whodependoninformationsystemsbeingupatalltimes.Everyonewillbeabletoknowwhenthereisanissueaswell aswhenasolutiontotheissuehasbeenidentifiedassoonasthetechnician,engineer,oranalystknowsandtweet aboutit.Atthispointthedelaybetweenthetimeaproblemoccursandthetimestaffandstudentsarenotifiedranges between15minutestoanhour.Twitterwouldmakethattimedroptotwoorthreeminutesatthemost. IndicationsofSuccess: Oneofthemainindicationsofsuccesswouldbehavingeveryonetweetingregularly.Anotherindicatorof successwouldbeagrowingnumberoffollowers.Theultimateindicatorofsuccesswouldbetohaveeverystudent andstaffreceivingtechnologyupdatesrangingfromasimplechangetothewebsitetotherolloutofanewversionofa newLearningManagementSystem.

PARTBApplicationofTPACK
InpartAoftheWickedProblemProjectIdraftedaproposaltoimplementTwitterasaninternalcommunicationtoolthe ITdepartmentatGRCCcouldleverage.Whilethedraftisfairlyclearinstatingthepointoftheprojectitneededsome kindofexplanationoftheacademicbenefitsaswell.Therefore,IwouldliketoexplainhowTechnology,Pedagogy, Content,andKnowledge(TPACK)playanimportantroleintheimplementationofthisproject.Specifically,weare goingtolookattheTechnologicalPedagogicalKnowledge(TPK),TechnologicalContentKnowledge(TCK),and PedagogicalContentKnowledge(PCK)relationshipsoftheTPACKtheoryandhowtheyrelatetothisproject.

TechnologicalPedagogicalKnowledge InthisprojectTwitterwillbeusetosupportteachingtheimportanceofcommunicationamongindividualsor groupsofindividuals.Thereareacoupleofpedagogicallevelswithinthisproject.Oneisteachingthetechnologyitself andanotheroneistheconceptualizationofcommunicatinginatimely,accurate,andconcisemanner.Inaddition,the technologyusedwillallowforthecollection,compilation,organization,anddistributionofinformationpertainingtoa specificproject,assignment,ortopic.Twitteristheperfecttooltoexemplifyhowtousetechnologytosupportteaching withinthecontextofthisproject. TechnologicalContentKnowledge Twitterhasthepotentialtoturnacommoncommunicationproblemintoafeasiblesolution.Thissolutionmakes itfeasibleformembersofteamsworkingtowardsasharedgoaltosuccessfullyandseamlesslycommunicatewith theircolleagues.Communicationhasalwaysbeenabarriersuccessfulteamshavestruggledtoovercome.Often timestheproblemissimplyidentifyingthedegreeofgranularityeachprojectorteamneedstousewhen communicatingwiththeirteammates,teachers,superiors,orcustomers.Whatmakesitparticularlychallengingisthat peopleneeddifferentlevelsofgranularitydependingontheirroles.Forinstance,anengineermaywanttoknowthe technicaldetailsofeachtaskinaproject.TheCIO,ontheotherhand,willcaremoreaboutthescope,cost,andtime oftheproject.Twittercansolvethisproblemifteammembersuseittocommunicatealltypesofinformation.Witha 140characterlimitpertweet,teammemberswouldbeluredintocommunicatingtimelyanddetailedinformation.Atthe sametime,the140characterlimitwillforcecommunicationtobealwaysrelevantandfactfocused. PedagogicalContentKnowledge ThepedagogicalprinciplesofTwitterlists,hashtags,andsearchcapabilitieswillmakethecommunication problemmoreintellectuallyaccessible.Theuserorstudentwillexploreandlearnthepowerofbeingabletoapplydata miningtothetweetscontributedbyallmembersoftheteam.Withthebuiltinfilteringcapabilitiesofferedbytheuseof hashtagswithinalistlearningtofindpasttweetsandcompilingthemintomeaningfulsetsofinformationwillalmostbe aninherentfeatureofusingTwitterasacommunicationtool.Thereisalsoapositiveconnotationassociatedwith socialnetworking.Therefore,userswillnotseethisasreportingbutratherassharinginformationwiththeirpeers.

PartCImplementation
AspartofmyWickedProblemProjectIimplementedTwitterasaninternalcommunicationtoolformyteamatwork. Theresultsoftheinitialphasewerepleasantlyinterestingforthemostpart.InthispodcastIamgoingtoreportthe surprises,unexpectedbumps,andwhatwentwell. Surprises OneofthesurprisesIranintoduringtheimplementationofthisprojectwasthelevelof acceptanceit hadamongmyITcolleagues.Iamgladmybossandcoworkerswereas willingandenthusiasticaboutpiloting thisprojectasIwas. Unexpectedbumpsintheroad(Whatyouwouldrevise) OneunexpectedbumpIranintoiswaswasscopecreep.IfIcouldstartoverIwouldreviseisthescopeofthe project.Iwouldhavelikedtohaveabetterideaofwhatafeasiblescopeforaprojectlikethisshouldbe.AsIwas embarkingintheplanning anddesignphasesofthisprojectIfeltIdidntdoasgoodofajobindeterminingan accuratescope. Delights(Whatwentwell) WhiletheprojectwasabitofachallengetosellatfirstonceIexplainedthedetails,mostofmyteammembers seemedtobeonboardwithit.Theprojectwaseasiertoselltomycoworkersmainlybecausemostofmy teammemberswerealreadyusingTwitter.IwasdelightedtofindoutthatmostpeoplehadbeenusingTwitterforquite sometime. Picturesand/orvignettes Hereisa30secondsilentvideooftheteamsimplementationofTwitter.Thisisonly

phaseone.

PartDFindingsandImplications:
UponcompletionofthisphaseofmyWickedProblemProjectIhavedrawnafewconclusions.Illgiveyouabrief summaryofwhatmyprojectisallabout.MyoriginalgoalwastoimproveinternalcommunicationwithinmyIT department.MysolutionwastouseTwittertogeteveryonemotivatedtoshareinformationabouttasks,projects,and activities.ImplementingthisprojectwasabitmoreofachallengethanIexpected.Thisprojectiscomposedoffour partsA,B,CandD.FormoredetailsaboutthehistoryoftheprojectpleasereviewpartsA,B,orC.Althoughthescope oftheprojectgrewunexpectedly,Ilearnedanumberofthings.Iwillexpandonthisconclusionsbelow. Formative:Didtheprojectgetimplementedasplanned? MyprojecthasnotbeenimplementedasplannedmainlybecauseitistakinglongerthanIexpectedtogeteveryonein myITteamtoactivelyparticipate.Iamafraidtheprojectwillcarryonwellbeyondthescopeofthisclass.Ialsofeel confidentthatitwillbeimplementedandadoptedbyatleast80%ofthemembersintheITdepartment.Ihavebeen constantlyreviewingandcustomizingtheoriginaldrafttoincorporatesuggestionsmademycoworkersandthe instructorsandclassmatesoftheclassthisprojectedoriginatedfrom. Summative:Evidenceofsuccessinaddressingtheproblemofpractice IdefinitelyfeelthattheresultsproducedbytheimplementationofTwitterasaninternalcommunicationtoolthusfarare solidevidencethattheprojecthasbeenandwillcontinuetobesuccessful.PeopleareTweetingabouttheirdailytasks, process,andprojectupdatesonaregularbases.furthermore,weareusingtheliveTwitterfeedtostayuptodate withwhatsgoingwiththeITpersonnelononcampus.

Howwouldyouapproachanotherprojectofthistypedifferentlygivenwhatyouvelearnedhere? Itseemstosoontobeabletoreflectupontheresultsoftheproject,especiallysincethisisanongoingproject.Ifeel thatwearestillinthecollectionofinformationandtestingphaseinthescopeofthefullimplementationoftheproject. However,OnethingIwoulddefinitelychangeiswayIwentaboutcommunicatingtheoriginalidea.Iwaitedtoolongand communicatedmyideatooslowtothegroup.Ifeelthatamoreaggressivecommunicationplanwouldimprovethe

resultsandgeneratemoreinterestfromthetargetgroup. Whatarethelessonslearnedthatothersmightbenefitfromknowingabout? OneofthemainthingsIwouldchangeisthelanguageontheinitialproposalfortheproject.Iwouldtailoredittomore closelymatchtheexpectationsofmytargetaudience.Iaddition,Iwouldidentifyatleasttwochampionswithinthe groupandhavethempromotetheideabeforesharingtheprojectproposaltothewholegroup. Inwhatwayswillyouendeavortodothesameprojectagain,andwhatwillyouchangeornotdo Iwouldnotfollowthesamelogicalorderwhencommunicatingmyintentionstotherestofmyteam.OnethingIlearned isthatitisveryimportanttohaveachampionortwosomeonewhoiswellknownandlikedbyeveryone.Iftheproject canbesoldtothechampion,thenthechampioncansaletheprojecttoeveryoneelse.AnotherthingIwoulddo differentisthetypeandamountofcommunication.Iwouldcommunicatemoreaggressivelyandinmoremeaningful waysthanjustsendingtheproposalouttothetargetaudience.

Researchwhichsupportsstrategies FourwayscompaniesuseTwitterforbusiness http://www.readwriteweb.com/enterprise/2009/03/4wayscompaniesusetwitterforbusiness.php TheBusinessValueofTwitter http://advice.cio.com/abbie_lundberg/the_business_value_of_twitter TwitterinHigherEducation2009:UsageHabitsandTrendsofTodaysCollegeFaculty http://www.facultyfocus.com/freereports/twitterinhighereducationusagehabitsandtrendsoftodayscollegefaculty/ ConsideringTwittering:OneAgencySuccessfullyMakesuseoftheNewCommunicationTool http://www.calea.org/caleaupdatemagazine/issue101/consideringtwitteringoneagencysuccessfullymakesusene wcommuni WhyYouShouldUseTwitterStyleCommunicationonYourProjects http://www.basdebaar.com/whyyoushouldusetwitterstylecommunicationonyourproject1347.html

You might also like