PM Network - November 2009

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>>FEEDBACK

SMALL STEPS IN

SUSTAINABILITY

After reading James Ure’s Voices on Project Management column on sustainability (“High Stakes,” September), I felt compelled to comment. Indeed, as project managers, we should make sustainability an “integral part of how we do projects,” as Mr. Ure suggests.

I teach project management to graduate students at Regis University. As part of my green effort, I require students to submit their homework electronically via e-mail. No paper homework is allowed. Each student begins the file name with his or her last name, augmented with a brief description of the nature of the assignment. All students must submit homework by 5 p.m. the day after class.

Within a simple file structure organized for each class, I download the homework. As I bring up each document, I rename the file “Graded. lastname.xxx.doc” and use the tracking functionality to correct and/or add comments to the paper. Grades appear in comment boxes on the first page. I return the homework via e-mail as soon as it is graded. No need for students to wait for the next class period to see their grade and my comments. Feedback suggests that all instructors should follow this model.

Also, I no longer provide handouts in class. Everything I would have, in the past, handed out in class—slides, templates, textbook materials—is on a shared repository that students can access. If they want to print something, they can.

As James Ure stated: “Small steps multiply.” Tech-savvy (and some not-so-tech-savvy) instructors have adopted these small green steps.

Thanks to James for providing ideas that give everyone a chance to become “aware of the full and true impact of projects,” even for project management instructors.