This class has taught me the importance to build on and into yourself as you continue to learn outside of professional settings. I have been shown the importance of taking the necessary steps to establish yourself further at every step of the journey. One of my goals for this course was to develop effective tools to plan projects and right away we got Project Plan 365 and the Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) document. This not only teaches you to think through the entire planning process but to find the key pieces needed to facilitate the project as well. This class has taught me how difficult or effortless planning can based on your own preparation and the team around you. Many focus on pushing out a product versus being sure there are not steps missed or incomplete in the production process. One thing I am looking forward to down the line is, collaborating with other stakeholders on enhancing the WBS document to ensure the complete process is in place. Another one of my goals was to find a real-world application for the tools provided and luckily/unluckily, there is a major transition happening at work that will allow me to put these skills to use. I can help facilitate the transition by bringing my ideas to the major stakeholders in a clear concise form document and together we can see what I, as at the bottom level, am missing from the executive point of view while providing insight to the executives from a day to day point of view.
According to Verzuh, the author of The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management, “project management is a skill that can be learned and mastered.” I believe that ultimately the goal of a Producer is to be a project manager. This course has taught me a lot regarding how to be successfully in the planning of a project. Outside of simply being knowledgeable of the task at hand, it allowed me to look at the team I assemble and how, who they are is key to success for us all. My goal is to leave this degree program with a comprehensive plan for starting my own company with an emphasis on who and what I need around me to be successful. I feel as though to develop my media company, Scarab Media Group, I will apply the Waterfall Methodology with each class as a benchmark for success. The waterfall will get strong as the show goes on and we analyze the wins and losses to continue to improve on the end product. “It takes the project as a whole and consistently understands the big picture, handling it in a powerful way. (Whitley, 2016)”.
References:
Verzuh, E. (2016). The Fast Forward MBA in Project Management. John Wiley & Sons. Retrieved from https://learning.oreilly.com/library/view/the-fast-forward/9781119148227/c10.xhtml
Whitley, J. (2016). Project Management: Waterfall VS Agile in Film Production. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/project-management-waterfall-vs-agile-film-production-jacob-whitley/
Ishmael McKinney-Mastery Journal 