Goal 5. Demonstrate leadership, communication, and collaboration skills in order to successfully deliver advocate for information services.
5a. Demonstrate effective collaboration and negotiate group dynamics in pursuit of a common goal
Artifact: Information Architecture Plan
Course: IM 703 Information Architecture
The MSIM program has given me the knowledge necessary to effectively collaborate in my professional life in the pursuit of common goals. In my current organization, I had the opportunity to work with several departments and with the Associate Vice President of Academic Affairs in the creation of a strategic plan for their distance education offerings. As part of the Information Architecture Plan for Distance Education, I presented a strategy for an e-campus concept and a vision plan for its expansion as a recommendation for my organization. This project is a prime example in how I was able to apply many of the concepts I learned throughout the courses in the MSIM curriculum. Additionally, the project allowed me the opportunity to negotiate and lead the dynamics in pursuit of something in which my organization has a high interest.
5b. Articulate the importance of project management for information management
Artifact: AV Inventory Ticketing Management System - Final Report
Course: IM 760 Human Computer Interaction
In my professional life I have used project management, however, this program has allowed me to further understand the importance of project management in the information architecture process and in information management. In my final report for an Information Management System, not only did I articulate the process but also I learned to apply project management mythologies that I learned throughout my studies in the MSIM program. For example, the AV Inventory Ticketing Management System final report is a blueprint of project management for the creation of an entire system from the ground up. Building a system architecture framework as part of my studies has given me a better understanding of how information management processes are related to stakeholders and to the organization that they serve.
5c. Use appropriate professional communication skills
Artifact: Graphic or Visual Tool as Main Form of Communication
Completed for LIS 791: Organizational and Multicultural Communication
The importance of mastering professional communications skills are without a doubt at the top of the list in the information management profession. My studies in the MSIM program have allowed me to expand on this skill. Furthermore, learning to understand the basic fundamentals of how to communicate visually through graphics and visualization tools have been of extreme value in my professional life. In this example of the infographic assignment, I was tasked to convey information about Dominican University’s Master’s in Conflict and Resolution program into an infographic rendering. Planning, understanding the subject matter, colors, cultural and social communication, cognitive style, identities and many other necessary topics went into my research in order for me to appreciate and understand best practices of effective and professional communication in the twenty-first-century information management profession.