Professional Development as an IT Technician - Assignment Example

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Reflection I remember how out teams project of creating sweets vending machine turned out. My role in the project was that I acted as a specialist and it was very a very interesting role because I enjoyed correcting mistakes and directing individuals on what to do or the steps to take in the project. Being a student of electronic engineering, my specialist role in the construction of a sweets vending machine in my group was quite an interesting role because I had the opportunity to display different skills I had acquired from different engineering lessons I had attended while in Essex University. During the project and acting a specialist in the development of the sweets vending machine, as much as I understood how I my roles changed through the project, it was however, challenging for me to quickly adapt with the change of the roles as had to perform on certain exercises like reflecting on the past roles to accurately determine what I was expected to do at different stages of the project. Moreover, my other team members also experienced the same problems of adapting to role change in various stages of the project therefore we made it an effort to reflect on the previous phase of the project and knowing what was it that we did or achieved before embarking on a new phase. Through the project, my group headed by our team leader was very cooperative. In as much as everyone was tasked with a different part or section of the project, we were open with each other and in areas where one experienced difficulty, we could consult with other members within the team leading to efficiency and effectiveness on the overall project. Moreover, each team member was allowed to select an area of the project where they felt competent in thus removing unnecessary stress or difficulties in the process of accomplishing the project. Likewise, there were major conflicts experienced within our team as the overall results of the task allocated to each member reflected either positively or negatively on the teams’ performance. Therefore we treated each other as equals in the team because all aspects of the sweets vending machine project were important meaning that there was no aspect which was more important than the other. Moreover, organization within the team was impeccable because for each member to effectively accomplish his task, he or she was required to know which sectors other team members were dealing in therefore making the process of collaboration of ideas an easy process for all members in the team. A good example is that the project of building a sweets vending machine requires uniformity in some of its elements, therefore to accurately achieve this, it was good for us to know certain aspects like the former strategy used by one or all of team members to be able to align one’s task to meet the objectives of the project at the end. As a specialist in my team I researched on different topics and the validity of each actions and task the remaining team members were planning on undertaking on the project to determine the advantages and disadvantages of both hence coming up with the best way forward or strategies to use in accomplishing the project by the team members. Looking back at the project, my biggest mistake during this project has been failing to keep a to-do list. I have always felt that in the course of this project there are some important aspects which I was expected to do but failed by not doing them. Prioritizing the task on things to do for me has always been a challenge because at times I picked on other tasks which were not important and left those which were important and needed my attention in the project. My second regret during the project was that I experienced difficulties in setting personal goals at the first stages of the project. This prevented me from achieving a lot during the project because I was able to accomplish certain things like managing my time effectively in the course of the project and separating distractions from important things. My third regret in the course of the project was procrastinations. I used to postpone or put off task which I was supposed to be focusing on and later felt guilty for not accomplishing the task in question. The result was that I developed a difficult feeling in doing the work and the result was that I never achieved the task on time or completely fail in achieving it. Lastly, through the project, I regretted taking too much especially from my fellow group members. I used to find it difficult to say not to my fellow group members even when the point or request they were making was impossible. This increased stress and performance levels during the project and the end results was that I found myself undertaking lot of task even for my group mates in the project (Guskey, 2003). However, I have addressed the following challenges through initiating the following steps. The first step I have taken is to identify the goals of the project and this has helped me a lot in determining what idea is to be achieved hence enabling me to capture the knowledge behind the project, skills and values that I am expected to acquire in the entire process. The second step I have taken is to identify the objectives of the project and in this I have been able to evaluate my progress in the project hence taking steps which are essential in meeting the goals of the project. The third step I have taken towards addressing the challenges I have encountered involves specifying different approaches used and those to use in tackling problems encountered in the project. This has enabled me to develop different and effective methods to address various aspects of the project and to evaluate the approaches I took towards the project. An example is that in specifying the approach to use in the project, I have been able to consider time issues which are extremely significant towards the project. The last step I have taken towards addressing the challenges I have encountered involves evaluating and sharing the results of my project. This has been resourceful to me because I have found assistance from various parties hence making the my role in the project process easier as I gain new knowledge and ideas on the different aspects where I might have been wrong(Guskey, 2003).. In the end, I was very happy because I was able to deliver my role in the project within the stipulated time frames. This was because during my experience in the project, I found the value of my work experience with foreigners and group members very valuable. This is because my experiences during the project prepared me for a transition state which today has made me a better person because I have learnt new ideas and expanded the ideas I earlier had. Likewise, I gained career readiness because the experience of working with foreigners and group members has taught me a lot on how to interact with other employees in different working environments and conditions as my occupational skills have been tremendously increased. My second valuable experience in the project was to have an opportunity of participating in the project itself. I was impressed with the different tools my group used in making various decisions and implementing them. I also loved how we talked individuals into participating in the project as this provided me with valuable learning experience that I could take back from them and share with my group. Moreover, I really found my participation experience in the project a very valuable aspect because through it we talked different individuals into participating in job related knowledge and discovered new skills and knowledge of innovation methodology which are affective and applicable in a real world scenario (Guskey, 2003). Moreover, I was impressed with my teams feedback on the project because they too, managed to complete the projects within specified time periods and at impeccable qualities through the application of various methods and designs. Likewise, when the project was presented, the lecturer and other students were happy about the end results of the product and they encourage use to keep working on the project as it may one day be used globally as a modified inventions for the ones already existing. In conclusion, team members worked hard on all the parts of the product. It was a great experience to work with a team to make a product and develop it with our own ideas. We worked together on choosing the idea of our product. There were many ideas but we agreed to do the vending machine. Working in a team improved my teamwork skills and my communication skills. We divided the work on the team member to finish all the work before the deadline. Working with a team and doing a work on time will help me in the future. Reference GUSKEY, T. R. (2003). Evaluating professional development. Thousand Oaks [u.a.], Corwin Press. Read More