BUS377 WEEK 4, Part 1: Learning in Projects Slide 1 Introduction Welcome to Managing Project Risk. In this lesson, we will discuss learning in projects. Next slide. Slide 2 Topics The following topics will be covered in this lesson: Learning at Escend Technologies; and Types of project learning. Next slide. Slide 3 Learning There are many different definitions for learning. However, for the purposes of this class, learning in projects is the flexible adjustment of the project approach to the changing environment as it occurs; these adjustments are based on new information obtained during the project and on developing new solutions during the course of the project. Each new activity will provide new insights and information, which can be used to revise the project plan, the resources required, and the stakeholders to be dealt with. While each of the changes may be minor, the project itself may look quite different at the end from the original plan and intention. Next slide. Slide 4 Learning at Escend Technologies To demonstrate the project learning approach to unk unks, we will use a company called Escend Technologies as our example. When Escend Technologies was founded in 1999, it had a business plan as is common in new venture funding. The business plan contains a description of the market, description of the core product, and a development plan consisting of key milestones to be met by startup at key points in time. Monthly board meetings track progress according to the key milestones. Escend was built on the idea to help semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers connecting and collaborating with their extended sales force. The founders originally conceptualized the opportunity as one of collaboration among industry players who would want to be part of Escends B2B, business to business, community. By the middle of two thousand and three, Escend was on the brink of bankruptcy. The planning approach used was not suitable for a startup in an unknown territory. Escend faced too many unk unks: in its technology, in the industry, and in the customer needs. The milestones laid out in the business plan were unrealistic. Faced with time pressure and market dynamics that they did not understand, the team was forced to improvise around the plan and they found themselves frustrated by the simultaneous pressure to act and the inability to understand what was going on around them. Changes in the value proposition were not the result of systematic investigations into the industry or the needs of its customers. They were simply reactions to events that occurred around them. They lost sight of the original objective of making money in a market opportunity and instead focused on trying to implement the business plan. The business plan became the objective, and the message was changed from time to time to help get the business plan back on track. When Escend reque ...

1. BUS377 WEEK 4, Part 1: Learning in Projects
Slide 1 Introduction Welcome to Managing Project Risk. In this
lesson, we will
discuss learning in projects.
Next slide.
Slide 2 Topics The following topics will be covered in this
lesson:
Learning at Escend Technologies; and
Types of project learning.
Next slide.
Slide 3 Learning There are many different definitions for
learning. However, for
the purposes of this class, learning in projects is the flexible
adjustment of the project approach to the changing environment
as it occurs; these adjustments are based on new information
obtained during the project and on developing new solutions
during the course of the project. Each new activity will provide
new insights and information, which can be used to revise the
project plan, the resources required, and the stakeholders to be
dealt with. While each of the changes may be minor, the project
itself may look quite different at the end from the original plan
and intention.
Next slide.
Slide 4 Learning at

2. Escend
Technologies
To demonstrate the project learning approach to unk unks, we
will use a company called Escend Technologies as our example.
When Escend Technologies was founded in 1999, it had a
business plan as is common in new venture funding. The
business
plan contains a description of the market, description of the
core
product, and a development plan consisting of key milestones to
be met by startup at key points in time. Monthly board meetings
track progress according to the key milestones.
Escend was built on the idea to help semiconductor and
electronic
component manufacturers connecting and collaborating with
their
extended sales force. The founders originally conceptualized the
opportunity as one of collaboration among industry players who
would want to be part of Escends B2B, business to business,
community.
By the middle of two thousand and three, Escend was on the
brink of bankruptcy. The planning approach used was not
suitable
for a startup in an unknown territory.
Escend faced too many unk unks: in its technology, in the
industry, and in the customer needs. The milestones laid out in
the
business plan were unrealistic. Faced with time pressure and
market dynamics that they did not understand, the team was

3. forced to improvise around the plan and they found themselves
frustrated by the simultaneous pressure to act and the inability
to
understand what was going on around them.
Changes in the value proposition were not the result of
systematic
investigations into the industry or the needs of its customers.
They were simply reactions to events that occurred around
them.
They lost sight of the original objective of making money in a
market opportunity and instead focused on trying to implement
the business plan. The business plan became the objective, and
the message was changed from time to time to help get the
business plan back on track.
When Escend requested an additional six million dollars from
outside investors, they thought that the negative reaction was
due
to the message, not the business or management team, was the
problem. The board continued to behave as usual by rewriting
the
message to investors, without critically examining the
management team or the approach to the business opportunity.
It
was not until this funding situation reached a critical point that
the
board woke up to the situation at hand and things began to
change. Unable to raise outside money, the board, including the
key investors, had to critically assess both the management
team
and the business opportunity. The task fell to Elaine Bailey, a
general partner at Novus Venture, one of the original funding
partners. Her job was to determine whether Novus should
participate in another round of funding or pull the plug on the
venture.

4. Next slide.
Slide 5 Learning at
Escend
Technologies,
continued
In July 2003, Elaine stepped in as interim CEO of Escend
Technologies to assess the company and recommend the next
steps. Her key insight was not to attempt to diagnose what
needed
to be done to implement the business plan, but to remind herself
of the objective, to make money in a particular market
opportunity, and to diagnose what they knew and what they did
not know about the market opportunity and Escend’s ability to
take advantage of this market opportunity.
Elaine recognized that significant knowledge gaps existed. She
identified three main areas with unk unks:
Customer needs, industry readiness, and product functionality.
Customer needs had the greatest knowledge gaps because
customers themselves could not articulate their needs. No one
had
yet to understand where the product would ultimately create the
most value.
In addition, as there were no competitors yet in this space, no
one
had defined the problem before, and no analysts were covering
an
companies in this part of the industry. In other words, Escend

5. was
a pioneer in unchartered territory.
These three areas required a different mindset at Escend than
had
been previously established. Escend was creating a new market
niche. The goal had to be to turn unk unks into known
unknowns,
foreseeable uncertainty.
In addition to the planning subprojects, the knowledge gap
around
customer needs and the readiness of the industry for a player
like
Escend become a learning project. Time was set aside purely to
reflect and to gather information from multiple parties about the
problem areas.
Next slide.
Slide 6 Learning at
Escend
Technologies,
continued
In developing the business over the twelve months, two large
business changes occurred, both of which changed Escend’s
strategy and neither of which could have been anticipate.
First, Elaine learned how fast the electronic components market
was becoming global. This implied a global platform and
design-
win tracking for component manufacturers when they were
bidding for their components incorporation into end products. A
global platform, another product redesign, would consume
precious funds and resources. They made a number of changes

6. to
the product. This also meant that their target customers and
growth strategy changed.
Second, firms in the industry network had limited visibility of
the
entire network. As a result, manufacturers were changing the
way
they sold products. Therefore, Escend would have to build
distribution functionality into the product. Through this all,
Escend’s business model slowly crystallized. In the fall of two
thousand and four, it seemed that Escend had turned the corner
and was becoming an excellent bet for the investors. Elaine
signaled her confidence by replacing herself as CEO.
Next slide.
Slide 7 Types of
Project
Learning
In general, there are three Levels of Learning. In single loop
learning, an organization detects errors and makes corrections
according to existing plans and policies. This is consistent with
contingency planning and classic project risk management. In
double loop learning an organization detects errors and makes
corrections in ways that involve the modification of the existing
plans and policies. The term double loop implies a correction
not
only in response to errors, but also in how the response is made.
This is consistent with the type of learning we will be applying
in
part two of this lecture. As the organization modifies its project

7. plan in response to acquiring new information, it is creating
new
policies and implementing these new policies as it proceeds.
The
final level of learning, deutero learning, involves changing the
learning system by which organizations detect errors and take
action. This type of learning will be discussed in later lectures.
Next slide.
Slide 8 Check Your
Understandin
g
Slide 9 Summary We have now reached the end of this lesson.
Let’s take a look at
what we’ve covered.
First, we looked at learning at Escend Technologies. The
learning
stages at Escend Technologies was first planning and
firefighting,
then diagnosis and learning, and finally, getting first results and
further adjustments.
Finally, we considered the types of project learning. In general,
there are three Levels of Learning, single loop, double loop, and
deutero. In single loop learning, an organization detects errors
and
makes corrections according to existing plans and policies. In
double loop learning an organization detects errors and makes
corrections in ways that involve the modification of the existing
plans and policies. The final level of learning, deutero learning,
involves changing the learning system by which organizations

8. detect errors and take action.
This completes this lesson.
Week 4 Assignment 2 Submission
If you are using the Blackboard Mobile Learn iOS App, please
click "View in Browser”.
Click the link above to submit this assignment.
Students, please view the "Submit a Clickable Rubric
Assignment" video in the Student Center.
Instructors, training on how to grade is within the Instructor
Center.
Assignment 2: Escend Technologies
Due Week 4 and worth 150 points
Review your readings and discussions on the company Escend
Technologies described in Chapter 5.
These resources will help you complete this assignment.
Write a two to three (2-3) page paper in which you:
1. Examine the risks and explain how they were managed.
2. Compare the double-loop learning with that of Escend
Technologies, using the project from
Week 1, Discussion 1.
3. Recommend at least three (3) lessons learned for a project
manager to know for future
projects.

9. 4. Use at least two (2) quality resources in this assignment.
Note: Wikipedia and similar
Websites do not qualify as quality resources.
Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:
Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size
12), with one-inch margins on
all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-
specific format. Check with your
professor for any additional instructions.
Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the
student’s name, the
professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page
and the reference page are
not included in the required assignment page length.
The specific course learning outcomes associated with this
assignment are:
Evaluate the types of learning in projects.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in
managing project risk.
Write clearly and concisely about managing project risk using
proper writing mechanics.
Grading for this assignment will be based on answer quality,
logic / organization of the paper, and
language and writing skills, using the following rubric found
here.
https://blackboard.strayer.edu/webapps/assignment/uploadAssig

10. nment?content_id=_20785560_1&course_id=_205277_1&assign
_group_id=&mode=view
https://blackboard.strayer.edu/bbcswebdav/institution/BUS/377/
1134/Week4-
1134/Week%204%20Assignment%202%20Grading%20Rubric.ht
ml
Due Date
Monday, January 30, 2017
9:00 AM
Points Possible
120
Click the link above to submit your assignment.
Assignment 2: Project Team Selection
Write a one to two (1–2) page paper in which you outline best
practices for project team selection.
The format of the paper is to be as follows:
Typed, double-spaced, New Times Roman font (size 12), one-
inch margins on all
sides. APA format.
In addition to the one to two (1–2) pages required, a title page
is to be included. The
title page is to contain the title of the assignment, your name,
the instructor’s name,
the course title, and the date.

11. NOTE: You will be graded on the quality of your answers, the
logic/organization of the report, your
language skills, and your writing skills.
The assignment will be graded using the following rubric:
Outcomes
Assessed
Discuss the process of initiating a project and selecting a
project
team.
Use technology and information resources to research issues in
managing project teams.
Grading Rubric for Assignment 2 — Project team Selection
Criteria
0
Unacceptable
40
Developing
60
Competent
80
Exemplary
1. Outline best
practices for
project team
selection.

12. Did not complete
the assignment or
did not outline best
practices for
project team
selection; omitted
key information
Partially outlined
best practices for
project team
selection; omitted
some key
information.
Completed with
Sufficiently
outlined best
practices for
project team
selection.
Completed with
80-89% accuracy,
Fully outlined best
practices for
project team
selection.
Completed with
90-100%
accuracy,
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13. and/or included
irrelevant
information.
Completed with
less than 60%
accuracy,
thoroughness, and
logic.
60-79% accuracy,
thoroughness, and
logic.
thoroughness, and
logic.
thoroughness, and
logic.
Criteria
0
Unacceptable
10
Developing
15
Competent
20
Exemplary

14. 2. Clarity. Did not complete
the assignment, or
explanations are
unclear and not
organized.
(Major issues)
Explanations
generally unclear
and not well
organized.
(Many issues)
Explanations
generally clear
and/or organized.
(Minor issues)
Explanations very
clear and well
organized.
(Added helpful
details)
3. Writing—
Grammar,
sentence
structure,
paragraph
structure, spelling,
punctuation, APA
usage.
Did not complete
the assignment or
had 8 or more

15. different errors in
grammar, sentence
structure,
paragraph
structure, spelling,
punctuation, or
APA usage. (Major
issues)
Had 6–7 different
errors in grammar,
sentence structure,
paragraph
structure, spelling,
punctuation, or
APA usage. (Many
issues)
Had 4–5 different
errors in grammar,
sentence structure,
paragraph
structure, spelling,
punctuation, or
APA usage. (Minor
issues)
Had 0–3 different
errors in grammar,
sentence structure,
paragraph
structure, spelling,
punctuation, or
APA usage.
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