MEMORANDUM
TO: Dr. Jim Henry
From: Ann Madu and Marie Ocampo
Subject: Group
Performance Self-Evaluation
Date:
Summary
The term project, revising the Northern Virginia Family Services Handbook, was a simple task to complete; however, we had few difficulties. These difficulties stemmed from scheduling conflicts and follow-ups with the agency and members of the group. Through our English 410 class, we were able to hone on our writing skills. The techniques we have learned in class were used in the revision of the handbook. We each selected sections in the handbook to divide the work and manage our time. Each of us had information on hard copy for us to integrate into the revised handbook. Since the revision of the handbook was our responsibility, most of our information was derived through the old handbook, the company website, and the company’s annual report. Most of the errors were found in grammar, organization and content of the handbook. We wanted to keep a simple yet readable handbook. The wording was revised so that everything was consistent. The information added was the most recent and up-to-date that Ms. Vito provided to us. In our PowerPoint presentation of the project to the class, we could have strengthened our presentation with more graphics. We had several slides with Example 1, 2, 3…which we could have elaborated more on by showing the errors. We believe the final revised handbook will benefit NVFS because it is now user friendly and more readable than the previous handbook. We hope NVFS continues to revise their handbooks so they are up-to-date with all the pertinent information. We believe that it will benefit the agency, if the rest of their departments become familiar with the handbook.
Initial Thoughts versus
the Final Outcome
Initially, the goal of this project was to make the NVFS Volunteer Handbook more usable for the volunteers, by providing them with the necessary information needed to perform their assigned tasks within the organization. The completion of this project will give the volunteers a better understanding of the services provided by NVFS. To accomplish this goal, we will conduct research on volunteer services provided by different agencies. Furthermore, we will organize the language, content, and visual layout of this document in a consistent manner, and we will gather information from the staff members to update and include all the omitted information in the Handbook. In addition, the visual layout of this handbook will be revised in order to meet the standards of today’s technical writing. Fortunately, the final form of our project is a success because we were able to accomplish this goal, in spite of the obstacles that we faced.
Trajectory of the Project
We planned to successfully complete this task by proceeding
with the task on the third week of October with extensive research on the
organization as a whole. We planned to
research the services provided by the organization, including their history,
client and company demographics, programs, and affiliations. We also planned to maintain the information
we derived by entering it into Microsoft Word.
In order to insure that the plan is achieving its objective, we
developed a tentative schedule on a weekly basis and planned to strictly adhere
to this schedule. We planned to work
independently on different aspects of the project. The project was projected to be complete by
Our plan evolved a bit differently than was originally proposed because we were unable to meet with many of the staff members at NVFS. Many of the employees were unaware of the volunteer handbook and therefore could not offer any input to its revision. In addition, our point of contact could not offer detailed information to include in the handbook. We had intended to separately visit the various agency offices at different intervals; however, we discovered that it was unnecessary to visit more than one location, since only Ms. Vito seemed to have knowledge of the volunteer handbook. Marie visited the one agency alone due to scheduling conflict. In the end, we were able to share this information through e-mails and phone conversations, and we convened at the end of each week to evaluate our progress.
Summary of Work Time
We spent an average of four hours per week to improve this document. We both spent an average of two hours each reviewing the NVFS website during the first week of the project. Ann spent about 30 minutes on her first telephone conversation with Ms Vito, and approximately the same on the second telephone conversation. Marie visited Ms. Vito at the agency for approximately two hours to collect all the necessary information during the first week of November. After her visit, Marie spent approximately four to six hours manipulating the document into a word format, and including all the necessary information. We spent approximately two hours that weekend reviewing the collected information. During the following week, Ann spent approximately eight hours editing the document by using the technical reading outline. We met again that weekend to review the work done during the week for two hours. There were several answered emails for which we spent time sending. On Tuesday the 18th of November, we met to discuss our plans for the Power Point presentation for about two hours. On Sunday the 23rd, we met to ensure that the documents we each had were up to date. On November 25th, Ann met with Dr. Henry, to receive his input on the presentation and document review for approximately one hour. After the PowerPoint presentation, and before, we had spent approximately six hours in telephone conversations working on the handbook revision. We also spent approximately five hours working on the Group Performance Evaluation. Ann has spent approximately three hours this week making the finishing touches on the handbook. Overall, we have spent about forty–five to fifty-hours on this term project.
Most Successful Aspect of the Task
The most successful part about
this writing project was the editing. We
were able to see major differences in layout and grammar once we revised the
handbook. We split the sections in the
handbook. In each of our sections we
were able to add and delete words or phrases we felt were appropriate for the
new layout of the handbook. With each
section assigned, we were able to concentrate on particular information, such
as the addition of the Volunteer Job Opportunities and the history of
NVFS. The project was a success because
we were able to tackle this project independently.
Least Successful Aspect of the Task
It was very difficult to get in
touch with certain contact people at NVFS.
When we finally did, we were told the project was pretty much up to
us. Making the revision was a
challenge. The paper could have been
better improved, if we were able to speak to more people at NVFS and get their
opinions on the writing assignment. We
had several contacts from different departments that would have benefited us in
our revisions. We tried to contact
through several emails and phone calls. However,
none of our efforts were reciprocated in the manner we hoped it would be. We did mention beforehand that it was
difficult getting in touch with several of our important contacts. Another problem we encountered was a conflict
of our schedules. With our schedules at
school and work, it was difficult to meet on a regular basis. We did meet at the times when we did not have
class. We also met late after one of our
night classes. Most of our meetings were
during the weekends. The majority of our
correspondence was through emails. Several
times, we discussed our projects over the phone and made suggestions on how to
improve the quality of our task.
Ann’s Contributions
I made
the first contact with Ms. Terri Vito to introduce myself and explain the need
to assume this task, and the relevance to the English 410 Technical Reading and
Writing. She explained to me the role of
the organization in the community, and their need to revise the volunteer
handbook. She mentioned that since she
was a novice to the organization, that she will not have strong input on the
revision. I sent her all the required
documents to sign in order to begin our services. After Marie converted the document to a word
format and included the necessary sections, I handled all of the content
editing. I also included the section
titled “Why we need your help”. In
addition, I met with the class instructor to seek his expert advised. I have included the instructor’s suggestions
in a separate document to send to Ms. Vito.
I also revised the table of content and made suggestions to Marie on the
need to include detailed information in the volunteer handbook. Per my suggestions, Marie included a detailed
description of the volunteer roles and job positions. I emailed the document to Ms. Vito, after all
revisions. For the Group Performance
Self-Evaluation, I was responsible for the following sections: Initial thought
versus Final Outcome, Trajectory of the Project, Summary of work time, my contributions,
and the editing of the document.
Marie’s Contributions
I met
with Ms. Vito, the NVFS Volunteer Manager at the Oakton office. I was able to find out her personal ideas of
the revisions. Most of my correspondence
with Ms. Vito was through email. I received
the original template of the handbook, NVFS new company logo, the original
handbook, their annual report, and other reading materials that had more
information on volunteer screening and job opportunities. I converted the old template to a Microsoft Word
format. I replaced the old company logo
with the new logo. Also I changed organization
of the handbook content so that the history section was moved to the beginning
of the handbook instead of the ending. I
elaborated more on the history section. I
added a whole new section on Volunteer Job Opportunities. I was also able to elaborate on the volunteer
positions. For this evaluation, we
divided the work, and I handled all other aspects that Ann did not.