Assessment Project Management in the Real World - Hour One

Welcome! Thank you for coming! I’m Jen Rutner… I’m Joanna DiPasquale… Before we get started…
Introductions We’ve been working together, building the assessment program at Columbia for nearly three years. One thing we’ve learned is that successful assessment requires some project management. And, they didn’t teach me that in library school. Disclaimer: We are not experts! How many here are assessment librarians, or are responsible for a range of assessment activities? How many are working on ONE assessment project in their area or responsibility? How many are on an assessment committee? How many chair an assessment committee?
Why are we here today? Assessment tends to be project-based in Libraries, in order to achieve the objectives of an assessment project, we need to use project management concepts. Assessment is by nature, project oriented. Eventually, many of these projects will be come processes, but now we’re dealing with projects. Libraries do not often have strong project management cultures. My experience at CUL… Every project needs some management. Assessment project management enables libraries to collect and analyze reliable data that will help them achieve their goals. A well-planned, well-managed assessment project helps assure this outcome.
Storage transparency means data transparency – which means a valuable and successful assessment project. Results are actionable, and without data, it is difficult to act! Data storage, form submission, and audits allow an assessment team to establish procedures, collect information up front, and determine methodology and protocol (like IRB).
What assessment projects are you working on right now? Each of these projects requires more than one person, and the aim is to create actionable data for our organization.
Before you create a team, consider – do you need a team? More work than you can do yourself? Interdepartmental work is necessary? Building a culture of assessment? Shared responsibility? Distributed authority? Most of the time we’re assigned a team. Some of these tools will help you work with the resources you’ve been given.
Building an effective team requires a good understanding of what your team needs to do and in what environment it will perform. You probably deal with many types of teams in your day-to-day job, such as committees and project working groups.
What are some of the characteristics of a good team? What teams do you really enjoy working with? Take a minute to write down three traits that you hope to find on your team. These are some of traits we generated from a brainstorming activity with the Assessment Working Group @ CUL.
This was a revelation to me, when I first created the Assessment Working group. We’re in the “norming stage” right now – after two years.
We have found communication styles to be invaluable in our work at Columbia. Styles provide a framework for you to understand your own communication, and develop strategies for working with your colleagues. We did MBTI, I’m an ESTJ, and Joanna is an ISTJ– if that means anything to you. Just knowing that we each have different styles helps diffuse tense situations. When staff are comfortable and open about their styles, they can find productive, effective ways to work together, even if their styles “clash.” Understanding the styles on my team, I can be a better leader by assigning different types of work to different people, and tailoring how I run meetings to allow for everyone’s styles.
Each of these tools has its strengths and weaknesses. Their general differences stem from how they measure personality – behavioral versus thinking and feeling, for example – to what they seek to assess (communication, traits, styles). We encourage you to explore these tools to help you understand how your personality, temperament, and interaction styles have developed, and how you can use that knowledge in your project management. I’m an ESTJ: “Assertive, practical, rational, loyal, opinionated and decisive, the ESTJ is an organized, take-charge person who brings others into line by assigning tasks and roles, giving clear-cut instructions, following up regularly to check progress and giving formal recognition to those who do as they've been told. The ESTJ usually prefers to enforce existing policies, rather than to innovate, revise or otherwise introduce unnecessary change into any system. Traditional and conservative, the ESTJ tends to apply a military model to most life situations, preferring linear channels of communication and command and eliminating any disorganization or confusion. In business, education, administration, law enforcement or the military, this type is evident as the outgoing, no-nonsense leader, gratified by the precision of smoothly functioning organizations and the power and control that come with being in charge. While others may charge that this type is sometimes short on feelings and finesse, ESTJs will tell you they express their caring by looking after others' welfare in unemotional ways.”
10 minutes for Activity 1, and discussion (Activity 2).
Activity 3 Who’s on the team? Why are they on the team? What will each member contribute? What decisions can each member make? What meetings does each team member need to attend? One team member can fill multiple roles.
Activity 3: Team member roles Think about a current team that you’re on, and assign roles to each person. What responsibilities does each team member have? What authority does each team member have?
You set the tone for the project, as the team leader. Team members will be more productive if they enjoy working on your team – thinking about project managers who you’ve worked for and respected, and would work for again. And, think about projects that you’ve hated, and what you can do differently. I like to do a debriefing with a colleague I trust after team meetings. Discuss what you think went well, what didn’t work, the dynamics, and how to approach the next meeting.
Break time!

Assessment Project Management in the Real World - Hour One

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