Introduction to the project "Etiquette for Dummies"

Etiquette are the science of social living which consists of rules and guidelines to help social interaction run smoothly and it helps us to know how to behave and what behavior to expect from others. Most people held that the etiquette and good manners are essential to any civilization. Therefore as the “Professional issues” group project, we implemented an interactive online learning environment for the beginners who are interested in improving the knowledge and skills related to the social manners and etiquette.

 “Etiquette for Dummies” consisted with five separate learning modules as follows.

•      Basic Etiquette

•      Table Etiquette

•      Grooming Etiquette

•      Professional Etiquette

•     Telephone and E-mail Etiquette

This is an ongoing project and we have fully completed the “table etiquette” module of the system. Currently we are in the implementation phase of the “Grooming Etiquette” module. Our client is the facilitator of the “Instructional design” course of the university.

Code of Ethics 01

3.02. Ensure proper and achievable goals and objectives for any project on which they work or propose.

As the code states it’s vital for the software engineer to ensure that the project has clear goals and objectives and they are achievable with the available resources within the given time frame. Moreover, the software engineer must make sure that all the related parties to the project who involves in various stages are properly informed about the goals and objectives as well.

In this learning environment, first we had few group discussions and figured out intended goals and objectives for the system. Considering the other factors like our personal competencies, time frame and resources we were able to select few achievable targets for the project. In an e-learning site like this we have to ensure not only the developers but also the learners (users) are also well aware of the goals and objectives. Therefore, in the every module of our system starts with mentioning the ultimate goal of the module. Under each lesson, we have a separate goal and under the each lesson title, learning objective(s) are given as well. 

The above example is an extract from the syllabus content of the first module. This all have done to ensure that, developers and learners both have a proper idea over the goals and the objectives of the project and make sure, at the end of the each lesson, all the learning objectives and the goals are properly covered by the both parties.

Code of Ethics 02

3.04. Ensure that they are qualified for any project on which they work or propose to work by an appropriate combination of education and training, and experience.

It’s really important to ensure that all the project members have sufficient knowledge and all are qualified enough to go ahead with the project. If not, we will not be able to achieve a best quality product for the estimated budget, within the given time frame.

As this is a learning management system, we wanted our group members to have different competencies in instructional designing, web development, video/audio production etc. Therefore when we were forming our group in the beginning of the semester, we deeply considered and chose the members according to their expertise. As 3rd year ICT students, we have followed the numerous modules, covering the various aspects of Information technologies. Therefore, all the members of our team already had sufficient knowledge in web development. All of us have followed the “Instructional design module” in the university and it was a huge benefit to the project. We had experience in video/audio productions in “Multimedia technologies” and “Digital Video production”. We have worked with graphics in “Digital fine arts” module. We learned about CMS like “Moodle” and “Joomla” in the “Internet Application Development” module.

As the code dictates, we had enough qualifications to go ahead with the project, however, as 3rd year undergraduates, in spite of the knowledge we had, the lack of experience we possess was one of the biggest obstacles we faced.

Code of Ethics 03

2.01. Provide service in their areas of competence, being honest and forthright about any limitations of their experience and education.

“Honesty” is really hard to find in the software engineers of now days. One of the main reasons which can lead the projects in to the drastic failures is not being honest with their clients. Every project team member is obliged to clearly inform the client about the limitations in their abilities.

As undergraduates we have very limited knowledge over the advanced web technologies. Especially none of us had sufficient knowledge over the virtual reality simulations and related technologies. However, for a dynamic learning environment like this requires more innovative and interactive activities to retain the user to follow and complete the course.

After evaluating the activities we were already prepared for the system, our client asked us to develop more innovative activity which the learner can virtually participate in to a real life simulation activity, to get the firsthand experience about the table etiquette in a virtual environment. However, we tried for few days and with the other assignments we had, we felt that it’s going to consume many more hours but it’s also less productive. Therefore, we discussed with the client and explained her genuinely, why we could not go ahead with her request. 

Therefore using the above code in practice, we were able to remain within our pre-determined time frame and deliver the completed module for the client.

Code of Ethics 04

3.05. Ensure an appropriate method is used for any project on which they work or propose to work.

In many software projects, especially when the client does not have sound knowledge over the newer technologies and the opportunities that he has, client becomes vulnerable and software engineer can exploit that vulnerability, use it for his own advantages and go with the easiest and highly profitable method. However, as the appropriate method was not chosen the final outcome might be less quality product with many technical and security loopholes. That’s why in the code, it has clearly given that software engineers must choose the most appropriate method for the projects.

When we started this project, we were not sure, what is the best way to bring this project to the users. One of us wanted to hard code the whole project and presents it to the users as a separate site. Others wanted to use a CMS (Content Management System) but we were not sure whether to go ahead with Joomla or Moodle. However after searching online and comparing with the options we had, we felt like the most appropriate way to implement this project is to develop the content and upload it in to the Moodle. As the LMS in our university is also created in Moodle, we were satisfied with our decision. If we hard code the system, we had to even spend significant time on implementing critical functionalities like discussion forums which are readily available in the Moodle. 

Moreover, we chose to implement the project in module wise, Even in those modules we tried to follow the agile methodology for the each lesson. We felt then we can solve the issues individually instead of waiting until the same issue arises in each and every module. As the group members had different competencies, we did not rotate our work among us; beside let the each person to deal with what he or she is specialized at. Eg: The member who was good at editing the videos was appointed to the same task throughout the implementation phase.

Code of Ethics 05

3.06. Work to follow professional standards, when available, that are most appropriate for the task at hand, departing from these only when ethically or technically justified.

This code implies that we cannot ignore the standards, if they are clearly available unless we have an acceptable reason to do so. Through following the standards we can achieve the transparency, re usability and fairness for our work, even though it might not be that much cost effective, but following the standards can bring the whole project in to both stable and sustainable status.

As this is an e-learning site, our client strictly wanted us to follow the SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) standard in the process. Therefore we followed it and because of that we received many benefits as well. Firstly, we were able to import and the edit the activities and the lesson content we made in different devices. We were able to export it in to different formats and import it in to the different e learning software and alter the content as we prefer. When we were looking for appropriate Content Management System (CMS) to match with the project, we figure out most of the CMS are working really well with our developed content because we followed this well-defined technical standard.  Even the content of the project was reusable and able to easily share and transfer among the other Learning Management Systems (LMS) as well.