There are many types of projects that can be implemented in a Project-Based Work Experience program. While the content of the projects and the skills necessary to complete the projects can vary greatly, the process of implementing the projects are surprisingly similar.  Regardless of what type of project you have, you will go through the same six phases:  

1. TEAM FORMATION: Project team creation, team role assignments, and meeting & communication planning
2. ENGAGEMENT LETTER: Project Scope and deliverables negotiations to form an agreed-upon engagement letter
3. WORK PLAN: Development of a work plan to achieve the deliverables with an action register and Gantt/timeline chart
4. MIDTERM REPORT: Midterm report and presentation with updated deliverables negotiation
5. FINAL REPORT: Identifying multiple conclusions and recommendations and the creation of a final report
6. FINAL PRESENTATION: Creating and presenting a top-down, executive-level, commercially oriented final presentation

Within each of these phases, you have a choice of how you plan to interact with your project, your team, and your company sponsor. Outcomes will be given to you each time you begin a new phase of work based on your level of interaction. The levels of interaction we focus on are the student, pre-professional, and professional levels. The question is, what do you want to get out of this class? 

Student Level 

Everyone in this class is a student. You will need to complete these objectives in order to receive a grade. You must ask yourself, "Are you going to be the student seeking only a grade?" All students have to take classes to get a degree. For the student who wants the grade, these classes are obstacles that are keeping them from getting to where they want to be. Passing a class, then, is a bridge or a ladder over the wall that allows them to get past what keeps them from reaching certain goals in life. If a student chooses to see this class as an impediment, then, ultimately, all they really want to know is how to get through the class.

Pre-Professional Level

Some students perceive themselves as professionals-in-waiting. These students are in the second level: the pre-professional level. Pre-professionals aspire to be professionals someday, and they want to know what it’s going to take to get there. This class will help those people see and learn how to accomplish that by giving them opportunities to learn elements and tools that will allow them to achieve the professional level someday.

Professional Level

Students in the third level, the professional level, want to be professionals now. These students wonder, “Why should I wait? Why do I have to act like an intermediate professional? Why can’t I act like a professional today? I want to be on par with the people already working in the field.” The professional level reflects the workforce. Students who want to be professionals want to be hired coming out of school not as students, not as pre-professionals, but as an employee who already has proficiency with real-world experience and has developed contacts in their desired field.

Take some time to consider what level of interaction you want to have with this class. While you will not be graded past the student level, the more you put into this class, the better prepared you will be to enter the workforce at a professional level.

The first couple of chapters in this book focus on Phase 1: Team Formation. Take some time to read the Outcomes based on Interaction Level below and decide what outcomes you want.