Repurposing with eyes wide open

We’re all continually forced to keep “doing more with less.” Everyone is facing it - big and small business, even the public school systems – and in every aspect. It’s just the times we live and work in.

As a result, repurposing is an option that has more appeal than ever. Repurposing – also known as using something created for one use for another use that may or may not be similar to what it was designed for – can be a very useful and effective solution.

If we go into it with our eyes wide open.

By that I mean, we have to realize that – all things considered – whatever we’re trying to repurpose wasn’t designed or built for the task we’re trying to use it for. If it was, using it wouldn’t be repurposing it at all. It would be using it for what it was made for.

But it wasn’t.

So, in repurposing we have to keep in mind that what we’re repurposing won’t fit the use 100+% and won’t do anything and everything we might need. But as long as it’s close or does most of them, then that’s the compromise we make in repurposing.

But if we do repurposing right, we will have went into it with eyes wide open to these compromises and are willing to put up with them to realize the cost benefit the repurposing allows us to reap by preventing a more expensive custom-built or new perfect solution.

Just to be clear; let me say again, I think repurposing is fine. We just have to go into it knowing there will be some compromises and it most likely won’t be a 100% perfect solution. But using a repurposed something allows us to hit most of the objectives and saves time and/or money.

Common sense, you say? I agree. But you’d be surprised how many times the “it’s not a perfect solution” can get trampled over and forgotten in a project - especially when project team members or project managers change..

Case in point; I was a participant on a project (but not the project mgr) where a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) software package was being purchased. At first, the software was selected because it filled almost the entire list of needs.

But...as time went by, more groups joined the project and next thing we knew our project had team members from different groups getting in arguments with one another, ladies in tears and all kinds of calamity and drama. Why all the fuss? Because the new stakeholder groups and personnel came into the project - late - with more desired features than the project originally started out with. You guessed it - scope creep! - and they'd allowed it to cloud the knowledge that the COTS software wasn't a custom built solution. Instead, it had been selected because it was being repurposed, if you will, to fit most - but not all - of our needs in one solution.

So, repurposing something is fine. But keep your eyes wide open and realize it wasn't custom built solution. In short, it ain't gonna be perfect. But, it works.

Beware: It’s not a miracle cure….

This entry is addressed more to the course champions and project managers of the world.

Imagine the football team that in the last 2 minutes of a tied game sees its big name quarterback come onto the field and…the team’s other 10 players just lay down on the grass and say, “Thank goodness you’re here. You take it from here and win this game for us.”

Believe it or not, this can happen in effect when a credentialed, seasoned instructional designer (ID) effort gets brought into a project. So, a word to the wise here, course champions and others – be it an individual or outsourcing to a whole team of IDs – is not, contrary to what you might think, the miracle cure for a project.

That’s right. Doing so won’t end hunger or bring about world peace either.

I know; it’s disappointing to hear this.

But, I think it’s necessary for everyone amongst The Powers That Be in a courseware initiative to understand this. Just because you bring in folks with courseware development credentials etc – while we can and often do some outstanding educational product development – we are only as smart or dumb as productive or not as your system keeps us.

By this I mean bringing in credentialed ID help doesn’t exonerate the other members of the process from contributing their fair share to the goals of the project. The course champion will still need to procure project funding, subject matter experts (SMEs) will still have to contribute both input and expertise and so on.

Remember; your design team, be they one or a hundred strong, is only is only as effective as the supply of content resources, SME expertise and availability etc keeps them.

If the data or expertise from which content will be built is not made available then you can’t expect a miracle from the ID portion of the team when it’s kept deaf, dumb and blind in the process. One option would be providing the ID portion the opportunity to do independent research – within limits. Just realize research hours go against the timetable and budget.

If the SMEs aren’t made available to contribute basic materials and expertise for content to be developed, then don’t be surprised if the ID portion of the team doesn’t create much basic (alpha draft) content and the schedule begins to fall behind.

Similarly, if SMEs don’t conduct effective alpha, beta and final draft reviews using their professional expertise and give timely feedback to the ID portion, how does it know whether and how to make what changes and improvements to the draft so it is satisfactory?

Adding credentialed and seasoned instructional design professionals to your project can really help it go from just an idea to a very high-quality reality. (The sooner in the project’s lifespan they’re brought in the better.) Just realize that bringing them in doesn’t mean the rest of the entire project team can just abandon any involvement in it. They’re just as critical with an ID on board as before.

Remember, a project team is called a team for a reason. If your project manager doesn't watch out for this "laying down" possibility, your project could be doomed.

Why use Single Points of Contact (SPCs)?

Have you ever participated in a scavenger hunt? If so, then you know what it’s like to go from place to place and have to find the various items on the list- all in hopes of getting them all before the other participants do.

This is what it can be like sometimes for busy professionals who need things – information, parts, photographs or whatever the need be.

That’s where having an organizational “single point of contact” can really help manage the project’s flow of needs and help the project meet the deadline.

How so, you may be asking?

Well, think of it like the old time grocery delivery boy. In those days, someone who was either too busy to shop for themselves or perhaps infirmed and couldn’t leave home still had to eat, right? So, grocers offered a service to customers allowing them to phone in their grocery lists and a few hours later a delivery boy would be knocking on the customer’s door ready to exchange the sacks of groceries for cash. (I know; that’s a service that went the way of doctors’ house calls and the Dodo bird. But it makes a great analogy to the single point of contact.)

In today’s world there is a glut of information deeply embedded in bureaucracies that one has to wade through to get it. Employees could spend hours or even days just locating the right person to talk to about something – particularly when interactions go across business units or companies.

Hence, it saves both time and budget dollars to flow things – as much as makes sense, at least – through single points of contact. Doing so will allow your employees to “one stop shop” as much as possible and get back to what you’re paying them to do. They simply call, email or IM the appropriate single point of contact, tell them the need and get back to doing what they do best. The single point of contact takes the search process from there. When they have the item(s) requested, they simply flow them back to the appropriate requester.

Sounds logical, doesn’t it? It works. Trust me. I’d encourage you to try it – I think you’ll enjoy the many benefits of the concept. I've "done this for money" myself and I've also worked other projects involving SPCs. It's a wonderful project management  concept to employ.