Learning how you learn
I think a team is at its best when all of it's members have an awareness of the learning methods and techniques that work best for them. Experts in the field of learning have uncovered common characteristics between novice and expert learners, such as in this study 'Novice to Expert.doc' at the University of Milwaukee, by Barbara Daley, which takes into account the learner's motivation, and drive for obtaining results. According to this study, the expert sees learning as an "active and self-initiated process", while the novice requires to be guided in the learning process, and can be sometimes easily overwhelmed with information and fear. It's interesting to me that one's ability to learn could possibly boil down in some ways to 'confidence'. In my experience, that confidence comes from experience, from trial and error. This is what I mean by: "learning to learn". Consider, for example, the different learning patterns of an artist, a businessman and a librarian. Watching an artist build beautiful works is a magical experience. How did they learn to do that? At what point did they realize they were 'good enough' to put their art on display? At what point did they realize this would be their vocation? What is their mental model? A businessman sees numbers behind things, and has learned to see the value of something in terms of how the market will value it. He has learned to gauge his ability to sell that very thing to his network. At what point did that businessman learn to trust in his instincts about the value of things? A librarian often knows a myriad of facts and figures. How does a person like that know so much? How does one person's brain contain so much information. This bookish-type of learner is most intimidating to me, because I just don't have that gift. There are many more types of learners, and those who fall into the same "type" can have very different learning methods as well. That might be the most fascinating part of all.
How do you learn? More importantly, have you learned how you learn?
Here's a personal analogy.
I moved around a lot as a kid, completing most of my K-12 years in France, and finishing the last two years of high school in the D.C. area. As a 3rd culture kid, I learned how to adapt across cultures, to speak different languages, and to blend in socially as best I could. In school I developed techniques to learn materials, as many of us have, by creating summaries that drew parallels to my experiences. This technique has proven invaluable for me over time, and it's a foundation for additional techniques I've crafted: creating summaries of summaries, special note-taking techniques and abbreviations, cross-summary references, and using numbers instead of words to remember things. I'm still learning about how I learn, and I feel like I have a long ways to go still. I am fascinated by the learning process. Understanding my own learning process has been a pivotal part of my life, one that helped me survive the ever-changing environments of my youth. One of the biggest factors for me in "learning to learn" has been learning to trust in my learning abilities. An "I can learn this" mentality. That understanding has enabled me to thrive in my career.
In 2006 I was working at a big consulting firm, and the PMP credential was popular. To bid on certain projects, we needed to provide proposals showing not only technical expertise, but also credentials, namely PMP-certified resources. The company was paying for all the directors and senior managers to take classes and intensives to pass the PMP exam. I was a new manager at the time, so I didn't get the privilege. But I wanted the credential. I had all the project-management prerequisites (number of hours, etc.), so I just needed to pass the exam. I prepared for the test, and the experience I had learning the material and what I learned about myself were more valuable to me than the material itself.
I selected two books from which to learn the material: PMP in Depth: Project Management Professional Study Guide for the PMP Exam, and A Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge: (Pmbok Guide). I bought the books one weekend, scheduled the test for the next, and studied on the weekdays between. Here's the learning process I used for this 'learning project':
- I glanced through the books' indices and mapped out on paper the major points I needed to learn, including all the knowledge areas (inputs, outputs, tools & techniques), math equations and how to use them, keywords and definitions;
- I mapped out a strategy and timeline for how I would learn the material, and what I would know by when. I focused on learning concepts, processes and knowledge areas first, and math equations last;
- I summarized the material using acronyms, numbers, and a color-coded grid system for memorizing relationships between knowledge areas; and
- I repeatedly quizzed myself on the content.
I spent the first 25 minutes of the test doing a brain-dump onto paper of the entire grid I memorized. This worked well. If you're interested in my grid system and the technique I used, it's attached to this post as a download, or you can view it below.
This is a typical process for me on any given 'learning project', but this method of learning I realize does not work for everyone. My wife, for instance, learns by putting things into their temporal context--she recalls past events as if they happened yesterday. I could ask her what was I doing on March 2, 2006 at 5 p.m., and she would figure it out within a minute by using historical landmarks embedded in her brain. I don't know how she does it. It's amazing. But it's frustrating, too, because I can't get away with anything. My dad, as another example, was a bookworm and had developed a mental cataloging system for his thousands of books, magazines and newspaper clippings that was otherworldly to me. On any subject I discussed with him, he could point to a half-dozen books, articles, down to the page number and paragraph on-the-fly, often citing the actual author of the article whether it be from the New York Times newspaper, a book, or encyclopedia. For him, understanding the authorship, and context of a piece of knowledge on any given thing was central to his learning process of the thing itself. For him, a map could be used not only to provide directions, but also to tell a story of a place. His method of learning was to take notes, boxes and boxes of notes, then to file the notes, and do further research related to ideas he had in his notes. He was successful because of his ability to learn, and help others learn about things of interest to them.
In Conclusion
Our ability to master the learning process can be a very exciting endeavor, not only for our careers, but more importantly, it greatly enriches our lives, and gets us further in touch with the things we care most about. Learning is a lifelong habit, and achievement. If this resonates to you, have some learning tips or ideas on the subject, feel free to share them in the comments of this post. Happy learning!
PMP Study Sheet and Learning Grid System
This is the grid system I used below on the 'PMP exam learning project' I wrote about above.
EXPAND ALL KNOWLEDGE AREA PROCESSES |
Initiating | Planning | Executing | Monitoring & Controlling | Closing | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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44 | 2 | 21 | 7 | 12 | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
C |
ommunication Management | 4 |
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C |
ost Management | 3 |
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uman Resource Management | 4 |
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I |
ntegration Management | 7 |
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P |
rocurement Management | 6 |
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Q |
uality Management | 3 |
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R |
isk Management | 6 |
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S |
cope Management | 5 |
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T |
ime Management | 6 |
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Legend
ACWP | Actual cost of work performed |
ADM | Activity diagramming method |
BAC | Budget at completion |
BCR | Benefit cost ratio |
BCWP | Budget cost of work performed |
BCWS | Budget cost of work scheduled (Planned value) |
CPI | Cost performance index |
CPIF | Cost plus incentive fee |
CPF | Cost plus fee (fee increases with services rendered) --> aka: CPPC |
CPFF | Cost plus fixed fee |
CPPC | Cost plus percentage of cost |
EAC | Estimate at completion |
EEP | Enterprise environmental factors (org. culture, proj. mgt. information system, HR pool) |
EMV | Expected monetary value Decision tree analysis (helps to show how to make a decision between alternatives). |
ETC | Estimate to complete |
EV | Earned value (aka: BCWP) |
FFP | Firm fixed price |
IS | Project management information system |
MR | Management Reserve (cost estimating) The difference between the maximum funding and the end of the cost baseline is Management Reserve |
OBS | Organizational breakdown structure Arranged according to an organization's existing departments, units, or teams. Activities are listed under each organizational unit. |
OPA | Organization process assets (policies, procedures, standards, guidelines, defined processes, historical information, lessons learned) |
PDM | Precedence diagramming method(activity sequencing technique) Method of constructing a project schedule network diagram that uses boxes or rectangles (nodes) to represent activities and connects them with arrows that show the dependencies. Also called "Activity-on-node (AON)" 4 types of dependencies (or precedence relationships): - Finish-to-start (most common: initiation of successor activity depends upon the completion of the predecessor activity) - Finish-to-finish - Start-to-start - Start-to-finish |
PIM | Probability and impact matrix Risks are prioritized according to their potential implications for meeting the project's objectives (assessed against Cost, Time, Scope, Quality). Each risk is rated on its probability of occurring and impact on an objective if it does occur. The organization's thresholds for low, moderate or high risks are shown in the matrix and determine whether the risk is scored as high, moderate, or low for that objective. |
PV | Planned value (aka: BCWS) |
RACI | Form of a RAM chart (see: RAM) |
RAM | Responsibility assignment matrix Example: RACI (Responsible, Accountable, Consult, Inform) |
RBS | Risk breakdown structure Lists the categories and sub-categories within which risks may arise for a typical project. Remind participants of the many sources from which project risk could arise. A relative scale representing probability values from "very unlikely" to "almost certainty" could be used. |
RBS | Resource breakdown structure Used to breakdown the project by types of resources. |
SOW | Statement of Work |
SPI | Schedule performance index |
SV | Schedule variance |
TCPI | To complete performance index (efficiency index) |
WBS | Work breakdown structure |
Formulas
EV (BCWP) | EV = BAC * ( WC / TW ) --> Work completed / Total work to be performed |
CV (ACWP) | CV = EV - AC |
CPI | CPI = EV / AC --> should be > 1 |
PV (BCWS) | PV = BAC * ( TP / TST ) --> Time passed / Total scheduled time |
SV | SV = EV - PV |
SPI | SPI = EV / PV --> should be > 1 |
ETC | ETC = BAC - EV |
EAC | EAC = ETC + AC |
TCPI | ( BAC - EV / BAC - AC ) |
BCR | BCR = Benefit / Cost --> should be > 1 |
Definitions
Constrained optimization methods: Linear, Non-linear, Dynamic, Integer, Multiple object programming |
Probability distributions: Beta (most common), Triangular, Normal, Uniform |
Risk response strategies: S.E.E. vs. A.T.M. (Share vs. Transfer / Exploit (acceptance) vs. Avoid / Enhance vs. Mitigate) |
Tuckman model: 5 stages of development --> Forming, Storming, Norming, Performing, Adjourning |
Management strategies: Avoidance (use for non-critical periods to cool off), Competition (= forcing, win/lose), Compromising (lose-win/lose-win), Accommodation (lose/win, risk of losing credibility & influence in the future), Collaboration (win/win) |
Contract types: FFP (lump sum, risk to buyer & seller), CPF (max risk to buyer, aka: CPPC), CPFF, CPIF, T&M (when you don't know the quantity of procured items) |
Controlling quality: Prevention (eliminate errors) vs. Inspection (ensure compliance), Attribute sampling (compare results w/ standard) vs. variable sampling (measure degree of conformity), Common cause (predictable variations) vs. special cause (removable non-inherent defects), Control limits (expected variation via mean of a normal distribution) vs. tolerances (acceptable range) |