summer 2005

12 june-4 august
online <syllabase>

ryan moeller, ph.d.

435.797.8637

course description and objectives

This course positions technical communicators as key players—if not managers—in the project development cycle and we will investigate several project management theories in order to articulate best practices for building and maintaining collaborative and innovative teams using tech-comm skill and knowledge sets. We will pay particular attention to the following set of intersections/questions:

• How can industry/corporate models of project management be used to facilitate relatively low-impact, volunteer-based, and/or distributed projects like those found in research and classroom settings? How can effective research collaborations affect industry models?
• How can project managers meet deadlines and foster creative and productive relationships among team members?
• What is the research that supports successful team building protocols, especially in distributed workplaces?
• What can technical communicators and academic researchers learn from the computer game industry about play, project management, and team-building?

Students' progress and achievement will be assessed through weekly posts to class discussion forums, a group management analysis of a distributed research collaboration, and a focused (3000 word), researched argument on the influences among technical communication, game design (optional), distributed workplaces (optional), and project management.