One Last Time.........

Action Plan - Revised
Goal: To become KACE ready, evaluating our current practices determining: time/money saved, and the increase in productivity
Action Steps(s):	Person(s) Responsible:	Timeline: Start/End	Needed Resources	Evaluation
Verify action research with site supervisor and begin training on KACE	Wendy R Hickman / Robert Walker	March 11 – May 15, 2013	Stamped and signed approval from site super. KACE (Kbox)	Notes for KACE - Manual
Review notes on KACE training / Begin the full use of KACE - Solo	Wendy R Hickman	May 20, 2013 / Duration	KACE and work orders	Add info and documentation to spreadsheet concerning “KACE” (increase in productivity)
Analyze and document procedures done manually (approx. time frame for manual setups installs and patches, etc.)	Wendy R Hickman	June 3- August 2, 2013	Blog posts, Work orders and observations from other technicians	Document in Spreadsheet time frame of “manually” done procedures
Survey technicians on what improvements they would like to see change in our procedures (in hopes that KACE will bring that change)	Wendy R Hickman / Robert Walker	August 19-30, 2013	Survey Monkey / Technicians	Survey Monkey / Information from KACE Studies
Devise best approach to transform all data collected into %, $ saved, and graphical forms of the increase in productivity	Wendy R Hickman / Robert Walker	September, 9-23 2013	All Documents, spreadsheets, online resources	All data collected
Differentiate manual labor vs. KACE	Wendy R Hickman	October 7-21, 2013	Written analysis on findings	All data collected
Pull all data together; graphs, written report, etc. organizing one big report	Wendy R Hickman	November 4-18, 2013	All collected and documented data	All data
Present outcome of action research	Wendy R Hickman	December 2, 2013	Finished research / presentation	Present to Supervisor

The action research plan above has been changed several times. Hopefully this will be the one that I stick to the most. I know there will be additional changes made in the future but as best as I can, I will do my best to use the above plan as my guide for the duration of this research. The following information is a compilation of what I hope to investigate, accomplish and gain from my action research.

1.    Examining the work: Setting the Foundation of my action research, my site supervisor and I have found a tremendous need to implement the KACE management system. We literally work in the world of IT and as big as our campus is 2500 computers give or take a little; we need a management system in place. Something more than just manually doing all tasks and procedures.

2.    Analyzing data for this research will be of the utmost significance. There are several ways this can be done but the best is through observation. This will definitely have to be done manually. As I and other technicians complete our daily tasks, I will periodically request input of time frames and how much manual labor was involved.

3.    Developing deeper understanding in this action research I will definitely rely heavily on my coworkers. I will survey them and listen to their concerns and needs of what they want and are expecting to improve; as far as tasks done manually that can and should be done through a management system.

4.    Engaging in Self-Reflection will rely heavily on how well I’ve conducted research up to this point and listening to the needs of others and my observations.

5.    Exploring Programmatic Patterns will allow me through observation to see what issues we have most on campus, what installations are done the most, more frequently updated, and more requested. If I can narrow this down and pinpoint this information, in my process of learning KACE I can prep it for tasks most needed.

6.    Determining direction will include but is not limited to working collaboratively to address action research questions, monitoring progress, and assessing achievement. This research will be prep work for brining it all together, data collectively and written report and in one place.

7.    Taking action for school improvement by using appropriate steps, tools and materials will help guide me through the process of my research. KACE will be used and pushed to its full potential; software management, software distribution, upgrades, installs, inventory management, process management, security management and a few other areas.

8.    Sustaining improvement is an on-going process for professional development and school improvement. In doing so it allows room for planning, following a schedule, putting first things first or prioritizing, learning to be more proactive, synergizing; pulling all resources to get the job done and most importantly beginning with the end in mind. If you don’t know what outcome you are expecting and what you are hoping to gain from this research, then how can you research? Through all the research and data collecting of KACE, if this Kbox can produce all that it say it can this will be a very welcomed asset to our campus.

Examining what we do to improve our schools: 8 steps from analysis to action by Sandra Harris, Stacey Edmonson, and Julie Combs, (Eye on Education, 2010)