2nd Day of Class - Reflection

Last September 7, 2024, is my second day of class as a Master in Information Technology student in University of Southeastern Philippines Obrero Campus. At exactly 9:45 AM I arrived at the campus to attend my class in the course ITCC112 - Advanced Technology and Project Management. This is the only subject I attend for face to face class since the other subject is in asynchronous and virtual meeting. Even though our class is 10 o’clock in the morning, our facilitator is already in the conference room where we conduct our classes. So as the classes starts, he shows one of many example of blogs and vlogs  to the class which gave us ideas on how to start or initiate our project management subject requirement for this semester. He also provided a huge hard-bounded Industry analysis document containing 300 to 500 pages just to give us an idea on what we should be working if we will conduct our industry analysis as a class which we will be thicker than the one he provided. Everyone was in shock and was overwhelmed on how can we make that kind of document with just a semester since that one took them a year to comply. In that video, we saw a vlog where students plan her entire graduate school timeline in a project management platform where she put everything what it needs to graduate I think that platform is called Open Project if recall correctly. That vlog gave me an idea on how to start a project and what to put in that timeline of the project so that it will guide me on how to leave the university successfully.

Then he gave us a problem to solve where there is a 9 dotted square (1 in the middle and 8 surrounded by the one in the middle) and ask us to connect all 9 dots in only 4 strokes of your pen without lifting it. At first, it was impossible to achieve since it cant be connect with only just 4 strokes because you need 5 strokes. But then after trying in almost 10 minutes and many number of times of trial and error testing, I manage to get it somehow by overlapping from the spaces and seamlessly connecting all dots forming a cursor type of arrow. The facilitator ask one of our classmates to stand and show his work which is the same for everyone to get it since maybe it is the only answer but in just different directions of the arrow or rather the starting point of the line. This represents that in order to achieve something or a goal in life, we need to think outside the box and think differently. Knowledge is not only limited to the four corners of the classroom but it Is part of life without noticing it but in order to get it we need to work hard and do a tremendous amount of research and discoveries in order to attain it. This lesson or activity really give a huge impact in some aspects of my learning where I just see what I want to see or what I get, but after hearing that statement I immediately have a sudden change of plans, learning strategy and mindset adjustment just because of that particular activity.

Then soon after that activity we immediately started our class for project management every one was asked by the facilitator “Why do project fails?”, We answered individually, other says management issues, timeline or deadline, change of personnel, not conducting enough research or lacking of information, unidentified clients, scope and limitation not set, time estimation is overlooked, the project leader and project manager conflicts, No proper risk management or proper mitigation plans if the project fails, No communication between project manager and project members and there is a lot more. The facilitator answers that we fail to plan and ask if everyone agrees, then everyone nod. But the ultimate answer for that is also explained by the facilitator. It is because we plan to fail. In that statement, I remember what I read before that asked “How big can you dream, If you knew you wouldn’t fail?”. So in that statement I reflected and learned that if you don’t have a proper vision of what you want or what you want to become in the future, the future will be hazy and unclear. But it is okay because on the road you will uncover truths and find answers but if you plan to fail, Failure is the only option. So in that context, we should not let our negative thoughts and emotion lead us to discourage and remove our motivation in achieving what you want in life. The facilitator then relate it to our preparation in our capstone project that we should have a plan on what project it would be because it is essential to us for us to achieve also his goal in teaching us which is to leave the portals of the university in a two or three years of time span.

The facilitator gave us a real-life example of how to manage a project properly which is I think the best example I have witnessed so far. He really gave his project management experience where he was asked by the university to make a website for University Information System across University Campus handling  80 On-the-Job (OJT)- students to make it. He started by project presentation and then the time-line represented by GANT Chart. It was really amazing how they successfully finished that project with 80 students and the facilitator leading them. The best part of that project management is the evaluation and testing where a couple of hundreds of students attending for the test inside the campus where the student  leads the testing showing actions to be made in the website and be followed by hundred students in order to check if the project is working  properly without errors tested by hundred of students simultaneously. Do you think how hard it is to manage hundreds of user at a time, handling maybe a millions of data in your project without breaking. It was really well-managed by the facilitator that he handled it seamlessly and perfectly.

After that topic, we proceed to discussing what is IT Information Technology, IS Information System and Management. He gave us formula to simplify and to give us better insight and understanding in that courses. It also gave us a clear and easier understanding of what is that course and how they differentiate with one another. So IT or Information Technology is HS Hardware + SW Software.  This formula captures the two core components that make IT or Information Technology. In definition, Hardware is the physical parts of a computer or any other technical equipment. This comprises input/output devices like as keyboards, monitors, and printers as well as networking hardware, memory, storage, and central processing units (CPUs). Since hardware provides the framework for data processing, storage, and transmission, hardware is the foundation of IT systems. While Software is the instructions or programs that tell the hardware what to do. It includes operating systems (like Windows or Linux), applications (such as word processors or web browsers), and more specialized software. Software serves as a gateway between human commands and machine-readable instructions, enabling a wide range of complex tasks like basic word processing and machine learning.Together, hardware and software create systems that solve real-world problems. Hardware alone is just a set of tools without purpose, while software without hardware lacks a medium through which it can operate. And that’s how I reflect IT = Hardware and Software.

IS or Information System on the other hand is formulated as IS Information System = HW Hardware + SW Software + Peopleware. This formula is somehow related to Information Technology but it includes Human Interaction or Human Involvement to the Technology. Peopleware refers to the human interacting in the hardware and software. These people may include IT professionals like system administrators, software developers, data analysts, and even end-users such as doctors, teachers, or office workers. Peopleware is crucial because it dictates how effectively an information system is utilized. People make decisions on how the system will be structured, how data is collected, and how to interpret the information it produces. Without the human element, even the most advanced hardware and software cannot be effective. Human creates technology so no matter how smart or advance the computer is, without human it cannot move on its own. This statement is the one that highlights on what I learned from our facilitator.

The last one is the Management. Its formula involves planning, direct, organize and control. Planning is part of management because it involves preparations and mitigation so that a certain project will lead to success. Direct since after planning, you should not expect everyone will be on the same page  but direct gives you power to properly give orders to follow the plan. Organize involves sorting things around you including plans and people involved it is essential so that the plan is going into proper and arranged procedure from start to end. And lastly, control, control means you have the power to handle a goal or objective according to your decision and strategy, this carries a huge burden and responsibility because this includes problem-solving and decision-making representing as a group or team.

 

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