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image of coffee cup with different type of coffee words, computer screen with image of twitterShort-notice projects. We’ve all been there. That moment when your client or leader drops an urgent project in your lap and you need to produce a great learning solution in an incredibly short amount of time. You know it’s next to impossible to meet the milestones and project delieverables. You know you need to have the dreaded talk about what Mark calls “what’s possible” and you are sweating and feeling a lot of stress, and you’d love to find a hole to hide in.

Grab your favourite beverage, I’ve got mine! and let’s jump into a great discussion about short-notice projects with fellow Canadian , instructional designer, former member of the Canadian Military and current awesome-guy, Mark Sheppard.

Mark joins me today to discuss the learning moments that came from an incredible short-notice project he dealt with as a contract instructional designer for the Royal Canadian Air Force school.  This is a not-to-be-missed event where we talk about the request from the client, the process to deliver, the product and the organizational impact this had.

So many great lessons and stories! What you don’t know, is that Mark and I did a video call, and he had me laughing! I know you are surprised right? So I did have to cut out some of my laughter, but just know, I had an amazing chat and I look forward to having him back on The Lounge Podcast again to talk about another awesome topic!

In this Episode

  • what is a short-notice project
  • best practices in responding to a short-notice project
  • high-level PM tips for dealing with short-notice projects
  • how staff and contractor/freelancers may deal with these requests differently

About Mark Sheppard

Mark is a long-time learning practitioner from the Toronto area. He has worked as a technical instructor, Education Manager, Instructional Designer, and learning consultant across a variety of industries having got his start as an instructor during his service in the Army Reserve. More recently, he worked for eHealth Ontario for 4.5 years where he implemented their Learning Management System and the new hire on-boarding program. He also spent 3.5 years on contract with the RCAF at the School of Aerospace Technology & Engineering, in their Training Innovations Group, where he was responsible for designing new online learning assets as well as the full curriculum for apprentice maintainers.  He currently works as a Sr. Consultant for Leadership & Learning for a major hospital in Toronto.

Mark is a frequent conference speaker and has presented to audiences in Canada, the US, and Australia. He has a Certificate in Adult Training & Development from U of T, a Masters in Learning & Technology from Royal Roads, and is a Certified Human Resources Professional. He can be found on Twitter as @marklearns.