Personal Journal Entry for Week 12/1-12/5
Monday: Before Thanksgiving break, I made a list of all documents that we were required to create for class throughout the semester. During that same meeting, we decided which documents we would include in our binder and then assigned who would be responsible for the final versions.
Tuesday: The BAs asked us to meet them at the Tech Center so we could provide feedback on their presentation. It was a little rough at first but they continued to work on it until it was polished. We also saw the final version of the prototype which looked great. We told them to focus on practicing the presentation.
Wednesday: This night, I went to watch and support my BAs as they presented their prototype to the client. The presentation went well and I think the client liked the prototype.
Thursday: I booked a breakout room for Thursday to finalize the deliverables, which included changing the design and font of each document so the binder would look like a cohesive unit. We also reviewed Exam 3 material.
Personal Journal Entry 11/17-11/21
This week the PMs met on Thursday to decide what would go into our binder that we will hand in at the end of the semester. During this meeting, we evaluated the significance of each deliverable, assigned who will hand which one, and made plans to meet after break to review the progress of each deliverable.
We also asked PMs, who have met with the BAs recently, how the BAs were doing with the prototype. The BAs seem to have the prototype nearly finished. We decided we will meet with them either during break or right after break to go over the prototype, business rules and use case documents.
Personal Journal Entry 11/10-11/14
Sunday: A couple of us PMs met with the BAs. They demonstrated the prototype for us and we commented on how it could be improved. I suggested that they should think through every step of their prototype. For example, why would the user want to upload a photo to Twitter rather than Facebook. I think this will help the BAs focus on what questions the client could ask during the demonstration.
Tuesday Night: Emily and I reviewed the risk register for our project. We added a couple more risks but we don’t understand the probability just yet. We will ask Sean on Wednesday how he calculated the numbers.
Wednesday: I copied the format from our project charter and used it for the risk management document. This document now highlights the purpose of the document, the process and identified project risks. Will need to change this document so it is more specific to our project i.e. who is responsible and how many times we will meet to update the risk register.
Thursday Night: Originally, we planned on meeting at 8 in the Tech Center but this was cancelled due to rain and lack of availability among the team.
Personal Journal Entry Week 11/4 – 11/7
After our Wednesday class, we booked a breakout room for Thursday to review our project status and create a dashboard for the next time we review this in class.
I noticed for next Wednesday’s class, 11/12, we will need to bring a revised copy of our risk management deliverable. Normally, Tuesday nights work well for us, so I booked a breakout room to create a revised version that we will then present in class. On Wednesday night, 11/5, I sent an email to the PMs.
Thursday: I got a breakout room for the PMs for a weekly check in. There has been some miscommunication amongst the group. We have addressed this and hope that we can get things back on track. We discussed getting the entire group together this Sunday to go over the progress of the prototype. During the Sunday meeting we plan on bonding with our BAs, fleshing out the prototype some more, and identify business objectives. We also completed the weekly progress report during the meeting.
Personal Journal Entry Week 10/20-10/24
Tuesday Night: I scheduled a breakout room for Sean, Emily and I to create second drafts for the deliverables. We decided each document will follow a format and color theme to look like a cohesive unit. We worked on the change plan document. We would have liked to finish the Project Charter, however we are unsure about certain elements, such as constraints, and would like to collaborate with our BAs. The Tuesday meetings have been pretty productive.
I emailed an agenda to define what we will at least discuss in the PM meeting. What I am hoping we will discuss: progress of deliverables, how to revise the budget, the format for our one page slide for project progress and a possible study session next thursday, 10/30.
Thursday Afternoon: I scheduled a breakout room for all the PMs and a majority of us attended. After Wednesday class, we realized we will need to integrate our budget into our project schedule. We also need to crack down on our BAs and schedule a meeting with them next week to discuss the prototype.
Personal Journal Entry Week 10/13-10/17
This week one of the PMs sent a group message asking who wanted to create the Organization Chart, RACI, and Stakeholder’s Analysis. These three deliverables were due Monday 10/13. I created the Organization Chart and it was presented in Monday’s class. Professor Doyle made suggestions on where to place the SMEs in the Organization Chart. Emily asked me if she could make changes to it and then it was finalized on Thursday.
On Thursday, Zack, Zach, Emily, Michelangelo and I got together to discuss the project’s budget which will be reviewed in next Wednesday’s, 10/22, class. Soon we will need to discuss how to update the class on our project (focusing on the budget and progress) in one slide. We established a start and end date to our project; start date was the kick-off meeting with the BAs and the end date is when the BAs present the product. Most deliverables are in progress.
Next Tuesday, Emily, Sean, and I are planning to create more drafts to our deliverables. Since the BAs have Exam 2 next Tuesday, we should meet with them to discuss project progress.
We are still having a hard time establishing a weekly time to get together. We try to get together on the weekend but it doesn’t work out. I think having a weekly meeting on Thursday at 11am seems to work for most people.
Personal Journal Entry Week 10/6-10/10
Monday Evening: Zack L. and I met with the BAs to go over their 3rd interview questions. Our BAs focus is on digital marketing strategies and this interview is the most crucial because the interviewee is Somerville Lumber IT staff person. Also, the BAs seem very enthusiastic and open to suggestions when it comes to brainstorming ideas for their prototype. One thing I would like to improve upon is how to show them how to use their interview answers to create the prototype.
Tuesday Afternoon: Zach C., Michelangelo, Sean and I attended the 3rd interview. It went very well. I believe the 3rd interview answers will be extremely helpful when it comes to designing prototype.
Tuesday Evening: Sean, Emily and I met to discuss the template for the Project Charter. This draft is about 80% finished. Once finished we will discuss with other team members on how to improve it. I think it would be best to meet at the same time next week to finish this deliverable and work on another.
Thursday: I ran into one of our BAs and he wanted everyone get together to go over how to learn Justinmind. We are planning to meet on Sunday. I told him that I could help with analyzing the interview answers to figure out how to design the prototype to fit the client’s needs.
Personal Journal Entry Week 9/29-10/3
This week could have been more productive. The BAs had their first exam this past Tuesday and asked for our help Monday night. I believe they met up with at least one of the PMs to go over what could be on the exam and another PM provided a study guide on the Google Drive. After having two papers due and MIS 3535’s first exam on Monday, I had to take monday night off to recuperate.
We did express that the extra credit helps boost their grades in MIS 3504 and it is a good way to learn Justinmind. I think now they we will trust what we say more because they weren’t confident after the exam. Moving forward, the PMs and I will continue to stress that we are here to help them with anything.
As for the PMs meeting up collectively or making progress on the documents, I think this could be improved in some way. Now that the first exam is out of the way, I think we will have more time to focus on the deliverables.
MIS 3535 Personal Journal Entries
9/22-9/26
This week on Tuesday we met with our BAs to discuss their progress on the scope document. We reviewed the statement of purpose, objectives, assumptions and restraints. These meeting are proving to be effective because each time we meet with our BAs they have improve their document with the suggestion we have given them. For example the first time we met with them about the scope document we noticed that their objectives could be improve to reflect business objectives. We also said they should make the objectives business SMART objectives.
What does not seem to be working is how to motivate them to start playing around with Justinmind. When I was a BA I did not realize how important it was to play around with this program. We have stressed that it is very time involved and the sooner they learn the better. We will have to come up with another course of action when it comes to creating a sense of urgency for learning Justinmind.