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ID Project Management: Tools and Techniques for Instructional Designers and Developers

ID Project Management, the award-winning text by Michael Greer, is a book of tools to help project managers take control of their instructional development projects.

Background | What This Book Can Do For You | Table of Contents | List of Tools and Techniques | What the Reviewers Say |  How to Order

Background

As most instructional design (ID) professionals know, there are all sorts of models and tools available to help organize the development process. But the job of the ID project manager is not so well defined.  Like any manager, the ID project manager must complete projects within limited budgets and schedules. Yet good instructional design and development principles often collide with these "bottom-line" constraints.  ID project managers must therefore walk a tightrope, suspended between their own ID conscience and their management's requirements for fast, cost-effective training.  Faced with these pressures, it is difficult to create high-quality instructional materials. To be effective, a good project manager must be able to perform exactly the right management interventions at exactly the right times.

What This Book Can Do For You

By providing a conceptual framework (a 10-step project management model) and the tools and techniques to make interventions within this framework, this book will help ID project managers quickly determine the proper course of action at any point in the development process.  Specifically, this book presents 37 different tools (worksheets, guidelines, checklists) and describes how you can use them to get concrete answers to questions like these:

If you plan, manage, or help to manage ID projects, this book is likely to save you time, frustration, and money by helping you make sure your ID team gets the job done right the first time.

Table of Contents for ID Project Management

Preface (pages xv - xvi)

Chapter 1: An Overview of ID Project Management (pages 1 - 14)

Chapter 2: How to Determine Project Scope (pages 15 - 64)

Chapter 3: How to Organize the Project (pages 65 - 94)

Chapter 4: How to Gather Information (pages 95 - 108)

Chapter 5: How to Develop the Blueprint (pages 109 - 118)

Chapter 6: How to Create Draft Materials (pages 119 - 130)

Chapter 7: How to Test Draft Materials (pages 131 - 148)

Chapter 8: How to Produce Master Materials (pages 149 - 164)

Chapter 9: How to Manage Reproduction and Distribution (pages 165 - 178)

Chapter 10: How to Manage Follow-Up Evaluation (pages 179 - 187)

Appendix A: Working with Vendors (pages 191 - 218)

Appendix B: Manager Activities Summaries (pages 219 - 222)

Suggested Readings and References (pages 223 - 224)

Index (pages 225 - 227)

List of Tools and Techniques

To Support ID Project Planning

To Support Gathering Information

To Support Creation of Blueprint (Design Document)

To Support Creation of Draft Instructional Materials

To Support Testing of Draft Materials (Developmental or formative testing)

To Support Production, Reproduction, and Distribution of Instructional Materials

To Support Vendor Selection and Management

What the Reviewers Say

In 1992 the Association for Educational Communications & Technology's (AECT's) Division of Instructional Development awarded ID Project Management its "ID Tool of the Year" award because of its unique contribution to the management of instructional development.  What's more, the series of articles on which the book is based was awarded ISPI 's (formerly NSPI) Outstanding Article Series.  

ID professionals agree, the material in this book is powerful.  Here is some reviewers have said: 

"... Mike's book, ID Project Management, is a real life saver... specifically targeted at people who manage ID projects... very much a "how to" book... Mike offers numerous tips, techniques, and tools that are guaranteed to help save you and your clients time, aggravation, and money... The most enduring value of the book lies in its extensive collection of job aids... 37 worksheets, guidelines and checklists...you will refer to again and again."  Jerry Rosen, Performance and Instruction, May/June 1992

"The scope of the book is wide, and follows an ID project through a logical sequence from start to finish in ten steps... I feel that this book is a very worthwhile addition to the professional library of any Human Performance consultant.. Whether s/he is just a beginner who needs a lot of guidance in approaching a new, confusing, and perhaps overwhelming task, or an "old pro" who will find a fresh approach and/or some handy job aids useful. I'm certainly glad that I've got it on my bookshelf, but I'm afraid that it won't retain its shiny new condition for very long."  Richard H. Miller, Columbia Northwest Chapter NSPI Newsletter, Spring 1992.

"This book is a compilation of tools and techniques that have a proven track record...A synthesis of patterns and practices observed by Michael Greer over the past twenty years. The book is an impressive resource and guide to those interested in ID Project Management. It is full of easy to use worksheets, guidelines, rules of thumb, and suggestions. It is especially exciting to see a book that follows sound ID concepts internally: varied text styles and font sizes, visually well organized, uncluttered pages, etc. It is thorough and well-written and would be a valuable addition to the personal library of any Instructional Designer and Developer."    Scott Schwab and Don Smellie (Dept. Head, Dept. of Instructional Technology, Utah State University, Logan, Utah) writing in Educational Technology Magazine, March/April 1992

Text Adoptions

A partial list of those who have adopted or volume-purchased ID Project Management:

Colleges and Universities

Business and Professional Organizations

How to Order