Week 5 5-2: MIS Project: Tactical Planning Discussion a. Organizational objectives Planning provides a means for actively involving personnel from all areas of the business enterprise in the management of the organization. Company-wide participation improves the quality of the plans. Employee involvement enhances their overall understanding of the organization's objectives and goals. The employees' knowledge of the broad plan and awareness of the expected outcomes for their responsibility centers minimizes friction between departments, sections, and individuals. Involvement in planning fosters a greater personal commitment to the plan and to the organization. These positive attitudes improve overall organizational morale and loyalty. A. General Information Project Organization Upon completion of the development of the site, the Total Incorporated (TEC) will assume full responsibility for web site content maintenance and administration. All content, coding and graphics will become the sole property of Woodworker Cabinets company The Total Incorporated (TEC) will maintain ultimate editorial control of content, without burdening the Woodworker Cabinets company or significantly delaying the publishing of new information on the site. Woodworker Cabinets company's IT department and marketing department will efficiently manage web publishing and updates processes, preferably by using a system with a browser-based user interface. Administration of web content will be based on roles to control access and work flow (e.g. author, reviewer/editor, publisher). -Exchanges between team's members must be limited to clarification of technical or problem statement matters. After milestones are reached, however, we will hold meeting discussions on completed tasks, which result in public information that can be incorporated into team projects. -Each team should have regularly scheduled meetings during which tasks are assigned, updates on previously assigned tasks are given, and general technical and managerial issues are discussed. In addition, teams members may find it useful to schedule sub-team meetings to resolve problems that may be of particular interest to certain group members. -It is crucial that all team members attend all appropriate team meetings, stay informed of team progress and display a professional, conscientious attitude! will project teams will find that teamwork and a positive attitude are necessary for high-quality work to be produced. -Roles that need to be filled by team members are listed below. These duties may be shared and a team member's role may change over time. •Project Manager - Produces the “work breakdown structure” with the team’s input (i.e., the list of tasks, who is responsible for each task, and deadlines); assigns tasks based on consensus; reviews status of tasks in meetings and makes adjustments to plans--also on a consensus basis. · will be assigned a project manager's assistant who will help team member.

1. Week 5
5-2: MIS Project: Tactical Planning Discussion
a. Organizational objectives
Planning provides a means for actively involving personnel
from all areas of the business enterprise in the management of
the organization. Company-wide participation improves the
quality of the plans. Employee involvement enhances their
overall understanding of the organization's objectives and goals.
The employees' knowledge of the broad plan and awareness of
the expected outcomes for their responsibility centers minimizes
friction between departments, sections, and individuals.
Involvement in planning fosters a greater personal commitment
to the plan and to the organization. These positive attitudes
improve overall organizational morale and loyalty.
A. General Information
Project Organization
Upon completion of the development of the site, the Total
Incorporated (TEC) will assume full responsibility for web site
content maintenance and administration. All content, coding and
graphics will become the sole property of Woodworker Cabinets
company
The Total Incorporated (TEC) will maintain ultimate editorial
control of content, without burdening the Woodworker Cabinets
company or significantly delaying the publishing of new
information on the site. Woodworker Cabinets company's IT
department and marketing department will efficiently manage
web publishing and updates processes, preferably by using a
system with a browser-based user interface. Administration of
web content will be based on roles to control access and work
flow (e.g. author, reviewer/editor, publisher).
-Exchanges between team's members must be limited to
clarification of technical or problem statement matters. After

2. milestones are reached, however, we will hold meeting
discussions on completed tasks, which result in public
information that can be incorporated into team projects.
-Each team should have regularly scheduled meetings during
which tasks are assigned, updates on previously assigned tasks
are given, and general technical and managerial issues are
discussed. In addition, teams members may find it useful to
schedule sub-team meetings to resolve problems that may be of
particular interest to certain group members.
-It is crucial that all team members attend all appropriate team
meetings, stay informed of team progress and display a
professional, conscientious attitude! will project teams will
find that teamwork and a positive attitude are necessary for
high-quality work to be produced.
-Roles that need to be filled by team members are listed below.
These duties may be shared and a team member's role may
change over time.
•Project Manager - Produces the “work breakdown structure”
with the team’s input (i.e., the list of tasks, who is responsible
for each task, and deadlines);
assigns tasks based on consensus; reviews status of tasks in
meetings and makes adjustments to plans--also on a consensus
basis.
· will be assigned a project manager's assistant who will help
team members. The project manager's assistant will have the
following responsibilities:
-provide help with project requirements and systems analysis
and design;
-provide technical assistance with Access, Project and
FrontPage;
-attend team meetings for one-half hour each week;
-bring difficult technical or team problems to my attention, and
-provide feedback to SEO and project manager on the progress
of teams.
•Systems Analyst and System Administrator (FT) - Determines
user needs and translates them into data flow diagrams, a

3. database design, and rough designs for forms and reports.
•Programmer/Analyst - Designs and creates queries, data entry
forms, reports, macros, and a user interface; tests components
with test data; provides finished components to the Application
Version Manager. In addition, Improve ONLINE
TRANSACTION PROCESSING, Improve ONLINE
ANALYTICAL PROCESSING and MERGING TRANSACTION
AND ANALYTICAL PROCESSING.
•Database Manager - Maintains the official data dictionary and
database tables on the Woodworker Cabinets company's Local
Area Network; approves any database changes; provides test
data; and provides copies of the database for use by
programmers.
•Web Master, Java Application developer (FT) - designs Web
pages and places project materials on the Web.
•Application Version Manager - Reviews application
components for correctness, imports them to the master copy
application program on the Microsoft Project (MSProject) 2003
software another page on this site after some customizations:
Local Area Network (LAN). (Note that it is not possible for
two or more persons to use the same Access database on the
LAN at the same time. they’ll have to do all of their work on
their own copy of the database and then have the version
manager import their objects to the master copy database.)
Some of the objectives for project management that all teams
and members must follow include:
-Use Microsoft Project Microsoft Project (MSProject) 2007
softwareanother page on this site after some customizations:
-Each team member must have meaningful and important work
to do.
-It is critically important that each team member understand
tasks assigned to her/him and commit to realistic
specifications and deadlines.
-Team members must show up on time and be prepared for
meetings.
There should never be the excuse that “I could not get my task

4. done because 'so-and-so' did not get his task done in time for
me to use his results in my task.” Design tasks to allow parallel
or partial parallel processing. When serial processing is
necessary, all team members involved need to be vigilant and to
pitch in to make sure things happen on time
Point of contact:
Name
Position
Email
phone
Sam and Ashwak Aldossari
Senior Management Sponsor
[email protected], [email protected]
123456
John Davis
Senior Technical Sponsor
[email protected]
345679
Joe Green
Project Manager
[email protected]
4567798
Tom Sunday
project manager's assistant
[email protected]
678989
Herb Walker
Systems Analyst
[email protected]
678790
Jason Black
Programmer/Analyst

5. [email protected]
67890
Ron Smith
Database Manager
[email protected]
567899
Mary White
Web Master Web Master,
[email protected]
6778900
Dany Tomson
Java Application developer (FT)
[email protected]
90000006
Tomas Kouper
System Administrator (FT)
[email protected]
99999777
Dived kamiron
Application Version Manager
[email protected]
890999
Karen Brown
Procurement manager
[email protected]
5667889

6. .
b. Marketing goals
Woodworker Cabinets company has been successful in gaining
market share because of its aggressive pursuit of product
quality, create, publish and continually improve the
architectural woodwork industry standards, ease of use,
flexibility, and customer service. Additionally, customers
understand that their products may be applied to a wide range of
uses for business and personal . By leveraging their reputation
for superior quality and user-friendly products, and capitalizing
on new technology, Woodworker Cabinets can position itself as
the premier provider of elite designs and craftsmanship in
today’s marketplace
B.Executive Summary
Over view:
Total Incorporated (TEC) has recently approved the Web site
upgrade for Woodworker Cabinets Company. project to move
forward for project initiation within the research and

7. development (R&D) group. This project will result in the
redesign and deployment of of Woodworker Cabinets web site
with the goal of being a true corporate web presence that allows
for fully interactive, highly collaborative user experiences align
with
corporate strategy of providing progressive solutions to clients
which improve productivity will provide software tools
through corporate website. These tools allow customers to
design their own on the website cabinets either online in real-
time or in an offline mode. The customer then submits the
design and other pertinent information. Such as requested
delivery time and quantity needs to the company . Woodworker
Cabinets company believes that new technological
developments will enable their team to develop a solution far
superior to what is currently available
The project name:Web site upgrading for Woodworker
Cabinets.
original estimates
The Procurement Management Plan should be defined enough to
clearly identify the necessary steps and responsibilities for
procurement from the beginning to the end of a project. The
project manager must ensure that the plan facilitates the
successful completion of the project and does not become an
overwhelming task in itself to manage. The project manager will
work with the project team, contracts/purchasing department,
and other key players to manage the procurement activities.
The Project Manager will provide oversight and management for
all procurement activities under this project. The Project
Manager is authorized to approve all procurement actions up to
$70,000. Should provide several cost proposals to accomplish
the budget must encompass all design, production, and software
acquisitions necessary for development and maintenance of the
web site. Any procurement actions exceeding this amount must
be approved by the Project Sponsor.
The Project Manager will also measure performance as it relates
to the vendor providing necessary goods and/or services and

8. communicate this to the purchasing and contracts groups.
Plan revision and points of contact
The Communications Management Plan sets the communications
framework for this project. It will serve as a guide for
communications throughout the life of the project and will be
updated as communication requirements change. This plan
identifies and defines the roles of Woodworker Cabinets project
team
members as they pertain to communications. It also includes a
communications matrix which maps the communication
requirements of this project, and communication conduct for
meetings and other forms of communication. A project team
directory is also included to provide contact information for all
stakeholders directly involved in the project.
The Project Manager will take the lead role in ensuring
effective communications on this project. The communications
requirements are documented in the Communications Matrix
below. The Communications Matrix will be used as the guide
for what information to communicate, who is to do the
communicating, when to communicate it, and to whom to
communicate.
Meetings:
The Project Manager will distribute a meeting agenda at least 2
days prior to any scheduled meeting and all participants are
expected to review the agenda prior to the meeting. During all
project meetings the timekeeper will ensure that the group
adheres to the times stated in the agenda and the recorder will
take all notes for distribution to the team upon completion of
the meeting. It is imperative that all participants arrive to each
meeting on time . Meeting minutes will be distributed no later
than 24 hours after each meeting is completed.
Email:
All email pertaining to Woodworker Project. Cabinets should
be professional, free of errors, and provide brief
communication. Email should be distributed to the correct
project participants

9. Informal Communications:
Communication Type
Responsible
Format
Description
Frequency
Participants/ Distribution
Deliverable
Weekly Status Report
Project Manager
Email
Email summary of project status
Weekly
Project Sponsor, Team and Stakeholders
Status Report
Weekly Project Team Meeting
Project Manager
In Person
Meeting to review action register and status
Weekly
Project Team
Updated Action Register
Project Monthly Review (PMR)
Project Manager
In Person
Present metrics and status to team and sponsor
Monthly
Project Sponsor, Team, and Stakeholders
Status and Metric Presentation
Project Gate Reviews
Project Manager
In Person
Present closeout of project phases and kickoff next phase
As Needed
Project Team
Phase completion report and phase kickoff

10. Technical Design Review
Project Manager
In Person
Review of any technical designs or work associated with the
project
As Needed
Project Sponsor, Team, and Stakeholders
Technical Design Package
While informal communication is a part of every project and is
necessary for successful project completion, any issues,
concerns, or updates that arise from informal discussion
between team members must be communicated to the Project
Manager so the appropriate action may be taken.
Points of contact
Plan revision:Business Need/Problem
Woodworker Cabinets website Problem:
Woodworker Cabinets have a web site but it is more of a
passive, institutional advertisement vehicle, with no interactive
capability beyond simple informational inquiry capability using
HTML forms technology.
The
Solution
: Woodworker Cabinets has to upgrade its Web site to compete
more effectively. So, to do that will demand the implementation
of highly interactive, collaborative capabilities as part of any
web presence.
Statement of Work : Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial

11. document that they will constantly update and use as a baseline
for their project. Depending on the size and complexity of the
project, and their knowledge about the subject matter, they will
need to organize meetings with the stakeholders in order to
refine the SOW and get it approvedStatement of Work (SOW), a
crucial document that they will constantly update and use as a
baseline for their project. Depending on the size and complexity
of the project, and their knowledge about the subject matter,
they will need to organize meetings with the stakeholders in
order to refine the SOW and get it approved.
Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial document that they will
constantly update and use as a baseline for their project.
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, and their
knowledge about the subject matter, they will need to organize
meetings with the stakeholders in order to refine the SOW and
get it approved. Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial document
that they will constantly update and use as a baseline for their
project. Depending on the size and complexity of the project,
and their knowledge about the subject matter, they will need to
organize meetings with the stakeholders in order to refine the
SOW and get it approvedStatement of Work (SOW), a crucial
document that they will constantly update and use as a baseline
for their project. Depending on the size and complexity of the
project, and their knowledge about the subject matter, they will
need to organize meetings with the stakeholders in order to

12. refine the SOW and get it approved
Woodworker Cabinets Sam Woodworker, the CEO and owner
and CEO Ashwak Aldossari desires a project plan from the
executive committee within 15 weeks specifying how to make
these aspects happen:
1 - Sam told his executive team that he plans to have a basic
cabinet design tool on the corporate website in place within the
next two months. These tools allow customers to design their
own on the website cabinets either online in real-time or in an
offline mode
Communication TypeDescriptionFrequencyFormatParticipants/
DistributionDeliverableOwnerWeekly Status ReportEmail
summary of project statusWeeklyEmailProject Sponsor, Team
and StakeholdersStatus ReportProject ManagerWeekly Project
Team MeetingMeeting to review action register and
statusWeeklyIn PersonProject TeamUpdated Action
RegisterProject ManagerProject Monthly Review (PMR)Present
metrics and status to team and sponsorMonthlyIn PersonProject
Sponsor, Team, and StakeholdersStatus and Metric
PresentationProject ManagerProject Gate ReviewsPresent
closeout of project phases and kickoff next phaseAs NeededIn
PersonProject Sponsor, Team and StakeholdersPhase completion
report and phase kickoffProject ManagerTechnical Design
ReviewReview of any technical designs or work associated with
the projectAs NeededIn PersonProject TeamTechnical Design

13. PackageProject Manager Communication
TypeDescriptionFrequencyFormatParticipants/
DistributionDeliverableOwnerWeekly Status ReportEmail
summary of project statusWeeklyEmailProject Sponsor, Team
and StakeholdersStatus ReportProject ManagerWeekly Project
Team MeetingMeeting to review action register and
statusWeeklyIn PersonProject TeamUpdated Action
RegisterProject ManagerProject Monthly Review (PMR)Present
metrics and status to team and sponsorMonthlyIn PersonProject
Sponsor, Team, and StakeholdersStatus and Metric
PresentationProject ManagerProject Gate ReviewsPresent
closeout of project phases and kickoff next phaseAs NeededIn
PersonProject Sponsor, Team and StakeholdersPhase completion
report and phase kickoffProject ManagerTechnical Design
ReviewReview of any technical designs or work associated with
the projectAs NeededIn PersonProject TeamTechnical Design
PackageProject Manage
Information in the project summary areas was started during the
project concept phase and should be included here. Information
includes the project name, original estimates, plan revision
numbers, points of contact, etc.
2- a complete redesign and deployment of the site with the goal
of being a true corporate web presence that allows for fully

14. interactive, highly collaborative user experiences, such as
online chats with sales, product support, and design staff.
3- In particular, and at the very least, Sam wants the cabinet
design staff to be able to work in real time
with customers to create and submit their designs.
So, Upon completion of the Upgrading and development of the
site, the company web site will better reflect the mission
ofWoodworker Cabinetsand incorporate the latest web
technology. The Total Incorporated (TEC) will assume full
responsibility for web site content maintenance and
administration. All content, coding and graphics will become
the sole property of Woodworker Cabinets Company.
In addition, they can:
1- Create a flexible, informative web site that is easy to
maintain. They must develop a friendly site that can deliver
large amounts of constantly changing information to their target
audiences with interactive, highly collaborative user
experiences. Such as: online chats with sales, product support,
and design staff. So as result, cabinet design staff will be able
to work in real time with customers to create and submit their
designs. They can see how much it will cost and get the list of
all products.. In addition to designing a user-friendly site with
an intuitive interface, they must also develop a web-based,

15. database-driven administration tool that allows key management
personnel to easily update content without directly accessing
source code.
2- Total Incorporated (TEC) will maintain ultimate editorial
control of content, without burdening the Woodworker Cabinets
company or significantly delaying the publishing of new
information on the site. Woodworker Cabinets company's IT
department and marketing department will efficiently manage
web publishing and updates processes, preferably by using a
system with a browser-based user interface. Administration of
web content will be based on roles to control access and work
flow (e.g. author, reviewer/editor, publisher).
Stakeholders
Those involved in the project include:
1-Executive: The Director are the persons who pay the bills
SEO Sam and Ashwak Aldossari, Senior Management Sponsor,
Senior Technical Sponsor, and project manager , the key
decision maker for this project.
2-End-User: company Managers of Woodworker Cabinets
departments :Finance/accounting ,Marketing/sales , Human
resource, Information technology and
Production/Manufacturing and Development , who will
provide input, then review and approve the site and potential
users of the site. Some of them will be part of the pilot group
and participate in “friendly user” . such as : Procurement

16. Manager
3-Expert: experts in other fields. Those who we need input from
them People like, Programmer/Analyst, Database Manager ,
Web Master, Java Application developer (FT), System
Administrator (FT) and
Application Version Manager Systems Analyst.
Stakeholders
-Those involved in the project include:
-The SEO, Director, the key decision maker for this project.
-company Managers executive teamsexecutive
committeeexecutive committee executive committee , who will
provide input, then review and approve the site.
-company's departments staffs and potential users of the site.
Some of them will be part of the pilot group and participate in
“friendly user” .
a crucial document that Sam and Ashwak Aldossary and project
manager Ashwak Aldossari. Ashwak Aldossari. Ashwak
Aldossari.Ashwak Aldossari.will constantly update and use as a
baseline for company project. Depending on the size and
complexity of the project, and the knowledge about the subject
matter, they will need to organize meetings with the
stakeholders in order to refine the SOW and get it approved. A

17. well-thought out SOW generally contains the following
sections:
Project Objectives:
Project Purpose
Using Information technology IT they can redesign and
deployment of the site with the goal of being a true corporate
web presence which will provide software tools through
corporate website. These tools allow customers to design their
own on the website cabinets either online in real-time or in an
offline mode. The customer then submits the design and other
pertinent information. Such as requested delivery time and
quantity needs to the company. In addition , fully interactive,
highly collaborative user experiences. Such as: online chats
with sales, product support, and design staff. So as result,
cabinet design staff will be able to work in real time with
customers to create and submit their designs. They can see how
much it will cost and get the list of all products as Sam and
Ashwak AldossariAshwak Aldossari Ashwak Aldossari wants.
using Information technology IT they can redesign and
deployment of to better reflect the mission of the woodworker
cabinets Woodworker Cabinets Woodworker Cabinets
Woodworker Cabinets and incorporate the latest web technology
with the goal of being a true corporate web presence which will

18. provide software tools through corporate website as Sam wants
by using 3D Design Software and automating some of the most
difficult drawing tasks and increase produce designs that are
dynamically updated as project data changes, enabling accuracy
and greater productivity from staff who no longer labor over 2D
drawing modifications. For greater Accuracy, better
collaboration with Suppliers and Customers which help the
company to be able to streamline production, reduce errors, and
accelerate client approvals for greater productivity and
outstanding customer service .
To be effective, their web site must be:
-Easy and intuitive
- Visually pleasing
- Informative
- Safe and secure
- Quick to load and operate
Objective
Their primary Internet objective is to continue to build brand
identity, awareness, and interest in the organization and the
services it provides.
Our Vision
- Maximize web-based technologies
- Build member loyalty and enhance customer relationships

19. - Improve program delivery and service
- Provide focused web-based solutions
-Leverage human capital
- Increase market share
1-Growth in company business where website upgrades make
company business more profitable by search engines which are
dying to get a hold of their website and rank it. So, When they
upgrade their website with high quality information and content,
then they are genuinely getting more business brought to their
website.
2- Improved companies' sales, services, shorted lead time on
receiving and delivering goods and services. Website Upgrades
Help Keep People Coming Back:
3-Concentrate on making customers happy by online chats with
sales and provide valuable information about products, like
shipment options according to customers preferences and
suggestion.
4- Attract the buyers for prompted products that will be
displayed at the site by presenting nice pictures.
Using Catalog With Interactive Features, using augmented
reality features to render the products in 3-D the contents
include video clips as well as integrations with Woodworker

20. Cabinets' presence in social media via blogs , community in
Facebook and Instagram. Other interactive elements include a
feature to change the designs and accessories in a photograph
by using a mouse to “pull down” a virtual window shade.
5- collecting and analyzing information about customers
behaviors or their activities on the website help in product
development which is an essential function of marketing since it
was the duties of the marketing department to identify what the
market need or want and then design effective product based on
the identified needs according data which provided by
customers behaviors, buying habits on the website and their
suggestions to customer services on the website. Offer different
products designs, style or types, features, colors and services.
6- Provide links on the website about Apps could help
customers using iPad or mobile phone to encourage them to buy
"All come alive in home using your App"
7- Using attractive advertisement on the company websites such
as special offers and explanation of product features and videos
8- Improve managing the data and knowledge infrastructure: to
find ways to effectively manage data from different sources as
well as manage their internal knowledge.

21. 9- Provide the Opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by
effectively managing their data resources and effectively
utilize, modify, and/or synthesize their knowledge
10- provides data-mining and knowledge management tools, to
find ways to effectively manage data from different sources as
well as manage their internal knowledge which support more
effective business processes and gather business intelligence,
organizations.
11- Improve ONLINE TRANSACTION PROCESSING. Fast
customer response is fundamental to having a
successful Internet-based business. Online transaction
processing (OLTP) refers to immediate automated responses to
the requests of users. OLTP systems are designed specifically to
handle multiple concurrent transactions from customers.
Typically, these transactions have a fixed number of inputs,
such as order items, payment data, and customer name and
address, and a specified output, such as total order price or
order tracking number. In other words, the primary use of OLTP
systems is gathering new information, transforming that
information, and updating information in the system. Common
transactions include receiving user information, processing
orders, and generating sales receipts. Consequently, OLTP is a
big part of interactive electronic commerce applications on the

22. Internet. Since customers can be located virtually anywhere in
the world, it is critical that transactions be processed efficiently
. The speed with which database management systems can
process transactions is, therefore, an important design decision
when building Internet systems. In addition to which technology
is chosen to process the transactions, how the data is organized
is also a major factor in determining system performance.
Although the database operations behind most transactions are
relatively simple, designers often spend considerable time
making adjustments to the database design in order to “tune”
processing for optimal system performance. Once an
organization has all this data, it must design ways to gain the
greatest value from its collection; although each individual
OLTP system could be queried individually, the real power for
an organization comes from analyzing the aggregation of data
from different systems. Online analytical processing is one
method being used to analyze these vast amounts of data.
12- ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING. Online analytical
processing (OLAP) refers to the
process of quickly conducting complex analysis of data stored
in a database, typically using graphical software tools. The
chief component of an OLAP system is the OLAP server, which
understands how data is organized in the database and has
special functions for analyzing the data. OLAP tools enable

23. users to analyze different dimensions of data beyond data
summary and data aggregations of normal database queries
Technology Briefing . For example, OLAP can provide time-
series and trend analysis views of data, data drill-downs to
deeper levels of consolidation, and the ability to answer “what
if” and “why” questions. An OLAP query for wood Woodworker
Cabinets. .com might be, “What would be the effect on profits if
wholesale book prices increased by 10 percent and
transportation costs decreased by 5 percent?” Managers use the
complex query capabilities of an OLAP system to answer
questions within executive information systems, decision
support systems, and enterprise resource planning (ERP)
systems . Given the high volume of transactions within Internet-
based systems, analysts must provide extensive OLAP
capabilities to managers in order to gain the greatest business
value.
13- MERGING TRANSACTION AND ANALYTICAL
PROCESSING. The requirements for designing and supporting
transactional and analytical systems are quite different. In a
distributed online environment, performing real-time analytical
processing diminishes the performance of transaction
processing. For example, complex analytical queries from an
OLAP system require the locking of data resources for extended
periods of execution time, whereas transactional events—data

24. insertions and simple queries from customers—are fast and can
often occur simultaneously. Thus, a well-tuned and responsive
transaction system may have uneven performance for customers
while analytical processing occurs.
As a result, many organizations replicate all transactions on a
second database server so that analytical processing does not
slow customer transaction processing performance. This
replication typically occurs in batches during off-peak hours,
when site traffic volumes are at a minimum. The systems that
are used to interact with customers and run a business in real
time are called operational systems. Examples of operational
systems are sales order processing and reservation systems. The
systems designed to support decision making based on stable
point-in-time or historical data are called informational
systems. The key differences between operational and
informational systems are shown in Table 4.3. Increasingly,
data
from informational systems are being consolidated with other
organizational data into a comprehensive data warehouse, where
OLAP tools can be used to extract the greatest and broadest
understanding from the data.
So, To be effective, their web site must be:
- Easy and intuitive
- Visually pleasing
- Informative

25. - Safe and secure
- Quick to load and operate
Project Objective
Their Vision
-Maximize web-based technologies
- Build customer loyalty and enhance customer relationships
- Improve program delivery and service
-Provide focused web-based solutions
- Improve business efficiencies and leverage human capital
-Increase market share by provider elite designs and
craftsmanship in today’s marketplace
Upgrade Woodworker Cabinets Web site Project aim to:
1- Their primary Internet objective is to continue to build brand
identity, awareness, and interest in the organization and the
services it provides.
2- Growth in company business where website upgrades make
company business more profitable by search engines which are
dying to get a hold of their website and rank it. So, When they
upgrade their website with high quality information and content,
then they are genuinely getting more business brought to their
website.
3- Help the company to attract the buyers for prompted
products that will be displayed at the site by using Catalog With
Interactive Features, using augmented reality features to render

26. the products in 3-D the contents include video clips as well as
integrations with Woodworker Cabinets' presence in social
media via blogs , community in Facebook and Instagram. Other
interactive elements include a feature to change the designs and
accessories in a photograph by using a mouse to “pull down” a
virtual window shade.
4-Concentrate on making customers happy by online chats with
sales and provide valuable information about products, like
shipment options according to customers preferences and
suggestion. (Payment options , fulfillment programs and good
CRM services. In addition, the majority of furniture can now be
bought online. Or they can pick it up at their nearest
Woodworker Cabinets store.)
5- Improved companies' sales, services, shorted lead time on
receiving and delivering goods and services. Website Upgrades
Help Keep People Coming Back.
6- Using 3D Design Software and automating some of the most
difficult drawing tasks and increase produce designs that are
dynamically updated as project data changes, enabling accuracy
and greater productivity from staff who no longer labor over 2D
drawing modifications. For greater Accuracy, better
collaboration with Suppliers and Customers which help the
company to be able to streamline production, reduce errors, and
accelerate client approvals for greater productivity and
outstanding customer service.

27. 7- Provide links on the website about Apps could help
customers using iPad or mobile phone to encourage them to buy
"All come alive in home using your App"
8- Using attractive advertisement on the company websites such
as special offers and explanation of product features and videos.
9 – Develop company databases and managing company
resource which requires an infrastructure with sufficient
capacity, performance, and reliability. to store customer
information, product information, inventory, transactions, and
so on help in collecting and analyzing information about
customers behaviors or their activities on the website help in
product development which is an essential function of
marketing since it was the duties of the marketing department to
identify what the market need or want and then design effective
product based on the identified needs according data which
provided by customers behaviors, buying habits on the website
and their suggestions to customer services on the website. Offer
different products designs, style or types, features, colors and
services.
10- Provide the Opportunity to gain a competitive advantage by
effectively managing their data resources and effectively
utilize, modify, and/or synthesize their knowledge
11- Company web site upgrading provides data-mining and
knowledge management tools, to find ways to effectively
manage data from different sources as well as manage their

28. internal knowledge which support more effective business
processes and gather business intelligence, organizations
So, to archive all previous objective the project need to focus
and accomplish :
1- Improve ONLINE TRANSACTION PROCESSING. Fast
customer response is fundamental to having a
successful Internet-based business. so, online transaction
processing (OLTP) refers to immediate automated responses to
the requests of users. OLTP systems are designed specifically to
handle multiple concurrent transactions from customers.
Typically, these transactions have a fixed number of inputs,
such as order items, payment data, and customer name and
address, and a specified output, such as total order price or
order tracking number. In other words, the primary use of OLTP
systems is gathering new information, transforming that
information, and updating information in the system. Common
transactions include receiving user information, processing
orders, and generating sales receipts. Consequently, OLTP is a
big part of interactive electronic commerce applications on the
Internet. Since customers can be located virtually anywhere in
the world, it is critical that transactions be processed efficiently
. The speed with which database management systems can
process transactions is, therefore, an important design decision
when building Internet systems. In addition to which technology
is chosen to process the transactions, how the data is organized

29. is also a major factor in determining system performance.
Although the database operations behind most transactions are
relatively simple, designers often spend considerable time
making adjustments to the database design in order to “tune”
processing for optimal system performance. Once an
organization has all this data, it must design ways to gain the
greatest value from its collection; although each individual
OLTP system could be queried individually, the real power for
an organization comes from analyzing the aggregation of data
from different systems. Online analytical processing is one
method being used to analyze these vast amounts of data.
2- Improve ONLINE ANALYTICAL PROCESSING. Online
analytical processing (OLAP) refers to the process of quickly
conducting complex analysis of data stored in a database,
typically using graphical software tools. The chief component
of an OLAP system is the OLAP server, which understands how
data is organized in the database and has special functions for
analyzing the data. OLAP tools enable users to analyze different
dimensions of data beyond data summary and data aggregations
of normal database queries Technology Briefing data summary
and data aggregations of normal database queries Technology
Briefing For example, OLAP can provide time-series and trend
analysis . views of data, data drill-downs to deeper levels of
consolidation, and the ability to answer what if” and “why”
questions. An OLAP query for.Woodworker Cabinets. com

30. might be, “What would be the effect on profits if wholesale
book prices increased by 10 percent and transportation costs"
decreased by 5 percent?” Managers use the complex query
capabilities of an OLAP system to answer questions within
executive information systems, decision support systems, and
enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems. Given the high
volume of transactions within Internet-based systems, analysts
must provide extensive OLAP capabilities to managers in order
to gain the greatest business value.
3- MERGING TRANSACTION AND ANALYTICAL
PROCESSING. The requirements for designing and supporting
transactional and analytical systems are quite different. In a
distributed online environment, performing real-time analytical
processing diminishes the performance of transaction
processing. For example, complex analytical queries from an
OLAP system require the locking of data resources for extended
periods of execution time, whereas transactional events—data
insertions and simple queries from customers—are fast and can
often occur simultaneously. Thus, a well-tuned and responsive
transaction system may have uneven performance for customers
while analytical processing occurs. As a result, many
organizations replicate all transactions on a second database
server so that analytical processing does not slow customer
transaction processing performance. This replication typically
occurs in batches during off-peak hours, when site traffic

31. volumes are at a minimum. The systems that are used to interact
with customers and run a business in real time are called
operational systems. Examples of operational systems are sales
order processing and reservation systems. The systems designed
to support decision making based on stable point-in-time or
historical data are called informational systems. The key
differences between operational and informational systems are
shown in Table 4.3. Increasingly, data
from informational systems are being consolidated with other
organizational data into a comprehensive data warehouse, where
OLAP tools can be used to extract the greatest and broadest
understanding from the data.
Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial document that they will
constantly update and use as a baseline for their project.
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, and their
knowledge about the subject matter, they will need to organize
meetings with the stakeholders in order to refine the SOW and
get it approved. Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial document
that they will constantly update and use as a baseline for their
project. Depending on the size and complexity of the project,
and their knowledge about the subject matter, they will need to
organize meetings with the stakeholders in order to refine the

32. SOW and get it approved. Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial
document that they will constantly update and use as a baseline
for their project. Depending on the size and complexity of the
project, and their knowledge about the subject matter, they will
need to organize meetings with the stakeholders in order to
refine the SOW and get it approved.
Project Approach:
The Project Manager, Joe Green, has the overall authority and
responsibility for managing and executing this project according
to this Project Plan and its Subsidiary Management Plans. The
project team will consist of personnel from the coding group,
quality control/assurance group, Programmer/Analyst,
Programmer/Analyst, Procurement group, Application Version
, and testing group. The project manager will work with all
resources to perform project planning. All project and
subsidiary management plans will be reviewed and approved by
the project sponsor. All funding decisions will also be made by
the project sponsor. Any delegation of approval authority to the

33. project manager should be done in writing and be signed by
both the project sponsor and project manager.
The project team will be a matrix in that team members from
each organization continue to report to their organizational
management throughout the duration of the project. The project
manager is responsible for communicating with organizational
managers on the progress and performance of each project
resource.
CONTRACT TERMS
The Woodworker Cabinets website Woodworker Cabinets
Woodworker cabinetsWoodworker Cabinets will negotiate
contract terms upon selection. All contracts are subject to
review by Total Incorporated (TEC) legal counsel, and a project
will be awarded upon signing of an agreement or contract,
which outlines terms, scope, budget and other necessary items.
C. Timeline milestones:
Milestones can add significant value to project scheduling.
When combined with a scheduling methodology such as
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or the
Critical Path Method (CPM), milestones allow project
management to much more accurately determine whether or not
the project is on schedule. By constraining the dates associated
with milestones, the critical path can be determined for major
schedule intervals in addition to the entire project. Slack/float

34. can also be calculated on each schedule interval. This
segmentation of the project schedule into intervals allows
earlier indication of schedule problems and a better view into
the activities whose completion is critical.
Milestones are frequently used to monitor the progress, but
there are limitations to their effectiveness. They usually show
progress only on the critical path, and ignore non-critical
activities. It is common for resources to be moved from non-
critical activities to critical activities to ensure that milestones
are met. This gives the impression that the project is on
schedule when actually some activities are being ignored.
Milestones are like dashboard reviews of a project. Number of
activities which were planned at the beginning of the project
with their individual timelines are reviewed for their status. It
also gives an opportunity to check the health of the project.
Milestones can add significant value to project scheduling.
When combined with a scheduling methodology such as
Program Evaluation and Review Technique (PERT) or the
Critical Path Method (CPM), milestones allow project
management to much more accurately determine whether or not
the project is on schedule. By constraining the dates associated
with milestones, the critical path can be determined for major
schedule intervals in addition to the entire project. Slack/float
can also be calculated on each schedule interval. This
segmentation of the project schedule into intervals allows

35. earlier indication of schedule problems and a better view into
the activities whose completion is critical. Milestones are
frequently used to monitor the progress, but there are
limitations to their effectiveness. They usually show progress
only on the critical path, and ignore non-critical activities. It is
common for resources to be moved from non-critical activities
to critical activities to ensure that milestones are met. This
gives the impression that the project is on schedule when
actually some activities are being ignored. Milestones are like
dashboard reviews of a project. Number of activities which were
planned at the beginning of the project with their individual
timelines are reviewed for their status. It also gives an
opportunity to check the health of the project.
D. Organization’s overall budget compared to departmental
budget needs:
Since companies strive for profitability through the efficient
and economical use of resources and labor, they require
financial road maps to show how they will allocate their
resources to achieve their business objectives. In other words,
companies require prudent budgeting to accomplish their goals.
Companies practice budgeting—the estimation of probable
expenditures and income for a specific period—to determine the
most efficient and effective strategies for making money and
expanding their assets. Budgeting allows companies to control

36. their expenditures and to allocate resources to maximize profits,
thus allowing them to demonstrate to banks, investors, and
shareholders that they have a plan for where they are going.
Intelligent budgeting incorporates good business judgment in
the review and analysis of past trends and data pertinent to the
business enterprise. This information assists a company in
determining the type of business organization needed, the
amount of money to be invested, the type and number of
employees to hire, and the marketing strategies required. In
budgeting, a company devises both long-term and short-term
plans to help implement its strategies and to conduct ongoing
performance evaluation
E. Resources needed
Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial document that they will
constantly update and use as a baseline for their project.
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, and their
knowledge about the subject matter, they will need to organize
meetings with the stakeholders in order to refine the SOW and
get it approved.

37. Statement of Work (SOW), a crucial document that they will
constantly update and use as a baseline for their project.
Depending on the size and complexity of the project, and their
knowledge about the subject matter, they will need to organize
meetings with the stakeholders in order to refine the SOW and
get it approved.
32 E D U C AT I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P /N O V E M B
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Releasing

38. We must transfer responsibility for
learning to our students gradually—
and offer support at every step.
Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey
T
here is no shortage of teachers assigning students
responsibility for their own learning. Who isn’t
familiar with the following scenarios?
� In a 1st grade class, students independently
complete practice pages from a workbook.
� A teacher gives her 4th graders a writing prompt and
allows them 30 minutes to respond.
� Students in 8th grade are told to read Chapter 12 and
answer the questions at the end.
Yes, students in these situations are responsible for their
own work, but are they really learning? Students who do
©
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40. well in these kinds of activities are usually those who
already understand the content. It’s not hard to fill out a
worksheet (or “shut-up sheet” as one of our colleagues calls
it) when you have already mastered the information. Nor is
it hard to answer end-of-chapter questions when you read
well and are familiar with the genre of questions asked in
textbooks.
But these “busywork” examples are not exemplars of true
independent learning, which is a major goal of education. If
students are to reach the high expectations we set for them,
they need to be able to marshal previously learned concepts
and apply them to achieve new understandings after they
leave our schools.
How can we set students on a path to true independent
learning? One way is to purposefully yet gradually release
responsibility for learning from teacher to student (Fisher &
Frey, 2008). To make this transfer of responsibility, we must
give students supports that they can hold on to as they take
the lead—not just push them onto the path and hope they
find their way. These supports include models of the kind of
thinking they will need to do, access to academic language,

41. peer collaboration, and guided instruction. We’ve found the
A S S O C I AT I O N F O R S U P E RV I S I O N A N D C U
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Responsibility
following instructional routines work
well for teachers who seek to promote
lasting ownership of learning.
Establishing Learning Objectives
Teachers must clearly establish the
purpose behind any activity, including
what exactly students are supposed to
do to successfully perform learning
tasks. A coherent objective or purpose
makes it easier for learners to gain access
to background knowledge that they can
use to build a schema for new learning.
When the objective is clear and instruc-
tional tasks align with it, students can

42. share responsibility for learning and will
be motivated to do so. When the
purpose for learning is muddy or
students don’t buy into it or perceive its
relevance, they may complete many
tasks but will have zero motivation and
assume no responsibility. Students practi-
cally beg for an established purpose to
their learning when they ask, “What do
we gotta know?” and “What are we
supposed to do with the information?”
The learning purposes that you
provide students when they ask these
guidance-seeking questions should
include both content and language goals,
especially for English language learners
(Dong, 2004/2005; Hill & Flynn, 2006).
Generally, teachers post on the wall and
discuss with students exactly what is to
be learned and how students should
demonstrate that learning through oral or
written language. Content goals should
come directly from the standards. For

43. example, in a unit focused on oceans,
waves, and tides, a content goal for a
given lesson might be to identify the
phases of the moon.
The focus of the language goal should
reflect students’ needs. For example, a
goal might focus on vocabulary. Students
of all ages need to understand both
specialized words (those that change
meaning in different contexts, such as
expression) and technical words (words
rarely used outside of a specific disci-
pline, such as rhombus). A vocabulary-
related language goal for the study of the
moon might be to use the terms full, half,
quarter, and new moon to explain the
phases of the moon.
Alternatively, the goal might focus on
language structure, such as grammar,
syntax, or sentence frames. Returning to
the study of the moon, a structure-
related goal might be to appropriately

44. use sequence words (first, next, then, last)
to explain the phases of the moon. Or
the goal might be based on mastering
certain functions of language, such as
questioning, summarizing, explaining, or
persuading. A function-related language
goal might be to explain how the moon,
earth, and sun move through their
phases.
Teacher Modeling
Modeling is another crucial component
of releasing responsibility. Humans are
hardwired to imitate other humans
(Winerman, 2005). Students deserve to
see an example of the kind of thinking
and language a new task will require
before they engage in that task independ-
ently, and teachers can provide that
example. Through modeling—either by
thinking aloud or by showing students
their written notes—teachers reveal what
goes on in their minds as they solve
problems, read, write, or generate ideas.
Modeling does not mean providing

45. explanations or questioning students; it
means demonstrating the way experts
think as they approach problems.
Expert teachers prepare students for
independent reading by focusing their
modeling on comprehension, word
solving, text structures, and text features
(Fisher, Frey, & Lapp, 2008).
Choosing Strategies for Comprehension
Good readers deploy a number of cogni-
tive strategies as they read, such as ques-
tioning, inferring, making connections,
summarizing, and predicting. The key is
to know when to use each strategy and
to be able to use it automatically.
For example, predicting can help a
reader create meaning when the author
provides specific kinds of information,
but it isn’t a good strategy for under-
standing all texts. To model using this
strategy well, a teacher might share his or
her prediction when reading a certain

46. text and then ask students to make
predictions. A 9th grade English teacher
we observed paused while reading the
34 E D U C AT I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P /N O V E M B
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R R I C U L U M D E V E L O P M E N T 35

47. short story “Kipling and I” by Jesús
Colón out loud and speculated on why
the author would describe a gilt-framed
poem so early in the story. “This must be
an important object to the narrator,” she
mused. “I’ll need to keep reading to find
out.” Later in the same story, she reflected
on the protagonist’s decision to burn the
poem to keep warm:
I wonder if this means that the inspira-
tional message of the poem is being
destroyed, too? I could understand this in
two ways: that he feels the poem is inside
of him and he doesn’t need the object
anymore, or that a dream has died. I’m
going to reread that earlier section where
the character describes the poem’s impor-
tance to see if I missed anything that
would help me understand the deeper
meaning.
With enough modeling and practice,
students will imitate behaviors like this

48. and reach for appropriate strategies auto-
matically as they read complex texts on
their own.
Teaching Word Solving
Given the demands of academic vocabu-
lary and the effect that word knowledge
has on comprehension, teachers need to
show students how they can figure out
the meaning of unfamiliar words on
their own. Students must practice this
skill enough so that it becomes auto-
matic. There are two main word-solving
strategies:
� Using context clues. We call this an
“outside the word” strategy. A teacher
might pause on an unfamiliar word and
model using an illustration and familiar
words in the same sentence to make
inferences about the mystery word’s
meaning. The teacher’s modeling should
get across the fact that context clues don’t
always help and may be misleading. For
example, a teacher might draw students’

49. attention to a diagram of the solar system
as she notes that an elliptical orbit is
shaped like an oval: “I wasn’t sure at first
what elliptical meant, but the picture
helped me understand that an elliptical
shape is not a perfect circle.”
� Looking “inside the word.” This
strategy involves looking at prefixes,
suffixes, bases, roots, or cognates of the
target word for clues to meaning. For
example, while reading a science text out
loud, Mr. Bonine stopped at the word
carnivore and modeled his realization that
carnivore was related to the Spanish word
carne (meat). He noted that this probably
means carnivore has something to do with
meat and went on to use context clues—
the fact that the word was describing an
animal’s habits—to conclude that the
word meant meat eating.
Teachers should also model using

50. dictionaries, Internet resources, or even
reliable peers to understand a word, for
those times when neither context clues
nor looking inside the word helps.
Highlighting Text Structures
One way readers extract meaning from
texts is through recognizing common
text structures. Almost all narrative texts,
for example, use a “story grammar” that
includes character, setting, plot, conflict,
resolution, dialogue, and various literary
devices. Teachers should model using
these structures as a tool for under-
standing stories. For example, Mr.
Goodwin paused in his reading of The
Outsiders by S. E. Hinton to point out
how a character’s recitation of Robert
Frost’s poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” at
a key point in the story helps reveal the
themes of loss and redemption that are
central to the novel—and that using a
recurring phrase or image to highlight an
underlying theme is a common text

51. structure.
Nonfiction texts also have internal
structures, such as problem-solution,
cause-effect, compare-contrast, and
description. Noticing which text struc-
ture a particular informational text uses
helps readers predict what kind of
content the author might present next.
It also helps people remember what
they read and organize their thinking
about a text.
For example, while reading a passage
about the construction of the trans-
continental railroad, Ms. Allen paused at
the point where the author introduced
the problem of pay differences between
Chinese and white workers and told
the class
Now here’s a problem. I can predict that
the solution to the problem will come
next. That’s how many authors write, by
introducing a problem followed by a

52. solution. I might even help myself
remember this information by taking
notes using a problem and solution chart.
In many cases, the solution to one
problem creates new problems. I wonder
if that will be the case here.
When Ms. Allen came to the part in
the text describing the Chinese workers’
strike for higher wages, she pointed out
that the author was following up a
problem with its solution.
Explaining Text Features
Students often need help understanding
the text features included with many
academic readings, such as tables, charts,
figures, bold and italicized words, and
headings. Many students aren’t even sure
when they should read text features—
before, during, or after the text. But a lot
of essential information can be presented
in these features.
Teachers should model how to

53. thoughtfully analyze text features. For
Newly (or barely)
learned tasks
do not make for
good independent
learning activities.
example, while looking at a table in a
math textbook on the use of distance as a
function of time, Ms. Burrow pointed out
the column and row headings and
showed students how to use them to find
information. Ms. Johnson modeled how
to interpret a legend on a map in the
geography textbook to find the latitude
and longitude of a city.
CollaborativeWork
Armed with a clear learning objective
and examples of the kind of thinking and
actions they should engage in, students
will be ready to work—but not to work

54. independently yet. First, they need time
to try out their fledgling understandings
in collaborative work with their peers.
Collaborative learning transfers more
responsibility to students, yet provides
them with peer support.
In any content area, students learn
more and retain information longer when
they work in productive groups (Totten,
Sills, Digby, & Russ, 1991). Students
who work in collaborative groups tend to
be more satisfied with their classes,
complete more assignments, and gener-
ally like school better (Summers, 2006).
To be productive, groups need sufficient
time to interact, time lines, clear roles for
everyone in the group, and tasks that
truly call for interdependence. Ideal
collaborative learning tasks are those that
cannot be accomplished just as well by
one individual; they require interaction
and the natural give and take of learning.
But the real key to collaborative

55. groups lies in accountability. Each
student must be held accountable for
some aspect of the work. Unfortunately,
that’s not always the case: We can all
remember group work in which one
student did all the work and everyone
else got the credit. This situation not only
prevents some students from learning
but also thwarts teachers’ attempts to
check for each student’s understanding
and link instruction with formative
assessment. In addition to holding
students individually accountable,
teachers should hold the entire group
accountable for completing tasks. Tasks
can vary from something as simple as
straightening up the science area after a
complicated experiment to something as
complex as writing a group summary of
a lesson.
In her geometry class, Ms. Chen has
students complete a collaborative poster
for each proof they solve. Each student

56. contributes to the poster using an indi-
vidually assigned marker color. In addi-
tion, the group must ensure that each of
its members can explain the proof inde-
pendently. This requires a significant
amount of reteaching, negotiation,
support, and trust. Students assume
responsibility for their learning and the
learning of their peers.
Guided Instruction
While modeling and collaborative work
provide a great start, some learners will
require guided instruction to successfully
assume responsibility for their own
learning. Guided instruction is the
strategic use of cues, prompts, or ques-
tions to facilitate student thinking.
Teachers should base guided instruction
on what formative assessments reveal
that students need. Such instruction is
most effective with small groups.
In working with a group of students

57. who misunderstood photosynthesis, Ms.
Grant used a series of questions and
prompts to increase understanding.
MS. GRANT: Some of you thought that
plants ate soil to grow. Do you remember
the video we saw about photosynthesis?
What role did soil play in that video?
DESTINY: Well, it wasn’t about the dirt. It
was about the sun and carbon dioxide.
ANDREW: And how the plants make oxygen
for humans.
MS. GRANT: Plants make oxygen for
humans?
ANDREW: Well, I guess that they’d make
oxygen even if there were no humans.
MICHAEL: It’s called a byproduct. They
don’t make oxygen for humans. They just
make oxygen.

58. MS. GRANT: And what is left, once they’ve
made this oxygen?
DESTINY: Carbon. They take in carbon
dioxide and then give off oxygen, so
carbon is left.
MS. GRANT: And what do you know about
carbon?
Guided instruction gives teachers an
opportunity to engage students’ thinking
without telling them what to think—and
a chance to scaffold students’ under-
standing before they complete tasks
independently.
From Competent
Novice to Expert
Newly (or barely) learned tasks do not
make for good independent learning
activities. Unfortunately, educators often
ask students to assume full responsibility
for their learning prematurely in the
instructional cycle. In the MetLife survey

59. about homework (Markow, Kim, &
Liebman, 2007), 26 percent of secondary
teachers confessed that they “very often
or often” assign homework because they
run out of time in class to cover material.
The likelihood of a student successfully
completing newly introduced tasks
alone, away from fellow learners or the
teacher, is slim.
Teachers should reserve independent
work for review and reinforcement of
concepts that have been previously
taught. This phase of the instructional
framework is ideal for the spiral review
that most educators know their students
need. In addition, it helps build connec-
tions between previously learned
concepts and new ones. For example, if
an independent learning task to review
36 E D U C AT I O N A L L E A D E R S H I P /N O V E M B
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The real key to

60. collaborative groups
lies in accountability.
the (previously taught) phases of the
moon coincides with new instruction on
the movement of planets around the sun,
the task will not only reinforce students’
knowledge of the moon’s phases but also
deepen their understanding of patterns
of movement in the sky and how planets
influence one another.
Well-structured independent learning
tasks are the ultimate way to build self-
esteem through competence. By the time
a student has reached this phase, he or
she should be working at the level of
competent novice; the purpose of addi-
tional work is to refine skills and become
expert. Isn’t this how many of us learned
to be good teachers?
References

61. Dong, Y. R. (2004/2005). Getting at the
content. Educational Leadership, 62(4),
14–19.
Fisher, D., & Frey, N. (2008). Better learning
through structured teaching: A framework for
the gradual release of responsibility. Alexan-
dria, VA: ASCD.
Fisher, D., Frey, N., & Lapp, D. (2008).
Shared readings: Modeling comprehen-
sion, vocabulary, text structures, and text
features for older readers. The Reading
Teacher, 61, 548–557.
Hill, J., & Flynn, K. (2006). Classroom
instruction that works with English language
learners. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Markow, D., Kim, A., & Liebman, M. (2007).
The MetLife survey of the American teacher:
The homework experience. New York:
Metropolitan Life Insurance Company.

62. Summers, J. J. (2006). Effects of collaborative
learning in math on sixth graders’ indi-
vidual goal orientations from a socio
constructivist perspective. Elementary
School Journal, 106, 273–290.
Totten, S., Sills, T., Digby, A., & Russ, P.
(1991). Cooperative learning: A guide to
research. New York: Garland.
Winerman, L. (2005). The mind’s mirror.
Monitor on Psychology, 36(9), 48–49.
Douglas Fisher ([email protected])
and NancyFrey ([email protected])
are Professors of Literacy at San Diego
State University in California and teach
English at Health Sciences High and
Middle College in San Diego, California.
EL
A S S O C I AT I O N F O R S U P E RV I S I O N A N D C U
R R I C U L U M D E V E L O P M E N T 37

63. To learn more about releasing
responsibility, read a chapter
from Douglas Fisher and
Nancy Frey's book Better
Learning Through Structured
Teaching: A Framework
for the Gradual Release of
Responsibility at www.ascd
.org/portal/redirect.jsp?
ProductID=108010.
EL online