Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
presentations and was presented with a copy of each final report and a CD-ROM with full
code for the prototype Web sites. Each of the businesses was delighted with the outcomes,
and each adopted one primary prototype, often incorporating ideas from others in their final
product. One company hired their favorite prototype team to complete the implementation
through a local hosting company; one year later, they are pleased with the resulting increase
in sales and national exposure.
Lessons Learned
In spite of the successful prototypes developed for our live companies, the process was
not as smooth as the author had hoped. While all the students must complete the prerequisite
core courses of marketing, accounting, networking, and various technical courses to give
them an adequate development background for the e-commerce elective, their work experi-
ence varies widely. On the average, they did not have an easy time communicating with their
client companies and felt unsure of making suggestions other than what they were directly
told. A skeleton milestone plan was available for teams to use to develop their prototype and
the ultimate project documentation. Few teams made any additions or modifications to the
milestone shell and, consequently, had some trouble putting together all the appropriate
components for the Web site and the business plan. While a team contract was used to
encourage an equal division of labor, on most teams, a single person developed the majority
of the site, and few students tried to learn tools they did not already know.
What was wrong with this approach? It certainly was typical of the kind of projects many
of the students would be involved with when they entered the workforce. The students with
the least work experience lacked the analytical skills to look at the big picture — in this case,
how e-commerce could benefit the business, and how to communicate with a nontechnical
client to get the information they needed for a successful prototype. Additionally, project
requirements indicated they should discuss other issues in their final reports, such as
security, hosting requirements, and additional Web site functionality that the clients would
need to understand to go forward. All of these topics were addressed over the course of the
semester in lecture and supplemental readings. Some teams did this well, and others did not.
While many students indicated in a follow-up survey that they learned more and had a more
successful project experience than in other classes, they clearly felt frustrated about aspects
of the project that did not go well or communication problems with their SME companies.
Structured Expectations and Process Improvement in 2001
In the fall of 2001, we had major obstacles to overcome in bringing a sense of normalcy
to the classroom after the terrorist attacks in the United States. Our students are typically older
than average (approximately 26), but many had never experienced a major crisis in their adult
lives. Not only did better structure in the classroom assist in getting the semester on track,
but new in-class topics and project processes were put in place to ensure that each student
was better prepared to work on a team and begin the consulting project.
New Processes
In an effort to address each of the weaknesses and feedback from the prior year's
projects, the following processes were added to the team project plan:
