Biggest Challenges Faced By A Program Evaluation Specialist At University Of California San Diego
Merissa, a Program Evaluation Specialist at UC San Diego, identifies "timeline management and being realistic about expectations" as the biggest challenge in her role. This involves accurately estimating project timelines, doubling initial estimates to account for delays in receiving necessary materials and project startup, demonstrating the need for careful planning to avoid jeopardizing project deliverables and contracts.
Project Management, Timeline Management, Realistic Expectations, Meeting Deadlines, Contract Management
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Merissa Kado-Walton
Program Evaluation Specialist
University of California, San Diego
UCLA 2014
San Diego State University, MA in Psychology
Psychology
Healthcare, Medical & Wellness
Data and Analytics
Honors Student, Scholarship Recipient, Pell Grant Recipient, Took Out Loans, Student Athlete, First Generation College Student
Video Highlights
1. Timeline management and realistic expectation setting are crucial in this role. Deadlines often take longer than initially anticipated.
2. Unexpected delays in receiving necessary project components can impact deliverables and contract timelines.
3. The ability to adapt and negotiate extensions is important for navigating project challenges and meeting contractual obligations despite delays.
Transcript
What are your biggest challenges within your current role?
I think the biggest challenge we're facing right now is timeline management and being realistic about expectations. We've jokingly come up with a phrase: however long you think it's going to take to accomplish something, double it, and that'll give you a better estimate.
Some of it is we're not getting the pieces we need to fulfill deliverables, or the project startup is taking a lot longer than we anticipated. This can sometimes have repercussions with our contracts.
But it's usually been fine because we're able to get extensions. I would say the biggest challenge we're currently facing is being realistic in our project deadlines, so we don't shoot ourselves in the foot later on.
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