Top 5 Tips for Managing E-Learning Projects: A Quick Guide by Bianca Raby (Full Transcript)

Speaker 1: What a topic. How do you manage an e-learning project? I have built a course just to teach this, so there's no way one video can do the whole topic justice. However, in this video I will outline my top five tips to get you started. Hi, Bianca Raby here, educator, learning designer and at times project manager. Honestly, there was a moment in my career where I thought my life would just consist of document management, meeting notes and asana boards. Then I realized it's not really my best skill. Because of this I have felt the real pain firsthand, thus creating a bunch of tools and techniques to support PMs and of course getting more experienced and qualified PMs to add their touch to what we now call the OPTA way. So what did I learn that I can teach you in under five minutes? Well, here goes. Tip 1. Set expectations. Spend time getting everyone on the same page and that's your internal team and the client. Share success criteria, deliverables, timeframes, meeting plans, potential risks and role expectations up front. We use a project kickoff template to do this and we've popped one in the description below. Tip 2. Use the right software in the right way. You will need ways of working and this involves choosing and using the right software. We use Slack for quick communications, email for weekly project updates, G Drive for files, Zoom for live calls, Loom for video communications and Trello for tasks and Kanban boards. Don't know what a Kanban board is? That's cool. I didn't either until I started project management. So check out the links in the description for more on these. Also remember that often less is more when it comes to tools. It can be overwhelming enough for digital teams so be clear as to why certain tools have been chosen. Tip 3. Document and file control. E-learning projects are often very document heavy so it's important to set and use naming conventions. We often have to also create a hotlinks document for people to favorite so they can get to all the documents very easily. Create a clear folder structure and that anyone can follow so nothing is called Bianca's docs or Bee's stuff for client. Not useful and terribly hard to find later. So we use client code, modular course, document title and then document type as a format. Tip 4. Take an agile approach. Often the project managers are also the voice of reason and reassurance when everyone else is freaking out. Know the deadline for the client then make a different deadline for the team to give yourself some space. Always add 20% more time to everything and foster a collaborative team environment. Understand that life is life but have a plan for when things go wrong. We often highlight larger risks in the kickoff meeting but just know that there are always risks when working with people and technology. Also scope creep is real. Pay attention to this and when it might be time for a conversation about expectations. Tip 5. Effective communication. Probably goes without saying but I'm gonna say it anyway. Project managers have to be great communicators especially in remote teams. Set up weekly communication check-ins and be ready to address anything straightaway that comes up. There may be a need at times to have hard conversations so learning those interpersonal communication skills is very necessary. So helpful? Are you interested in the short course on how to manage course development projects? If you are register your interest below in the description. If you've enjoyed this video please be sure to click the like button, subscribe to the channel and hit the bell to be notified of our new videos. Oh and to help you quote projects in e-learning please check out this video. Thanks for watching and until next time stay awesome.