Peer Review

IT Metrics and Productivity Institute

Material Detail page

Reviewed:: Mar 17, 2014 by Information Technology

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Ratings

Overall Rating:

Content Quality:

Effectiveness:

Ease of Use:

Overview:: ITMPI.org is a large software development and project management website; there are resources for new ideas and professional development in 15 major categories: Agile methodologies, CMMI, It Metrics & Measurement, Project Management & PMO, Software Quality & Testing, Application Development & Support, Enterprise Architecture, ITIL, Software Process Improvement, Software Risk Management, Business Analysis & Requirements, IT Management, Offshore & Outsourcing, Software Project Estimation, Software Six Sigma.
Type of Material:: It's a collection of articles in PDF form, book titles and abstracts, recorded webinars, live sessions, blogs, and LinkedIN groups. Users can ign up for $179 a year for full access, or register for free for partial access which includes free newsletters. The registration requires phone number and other information that a user may not be willing to share. Book abstracts link to purchase of materials. Webinars are a mixture of free and paid access; recordings are either pay-per-view or available on YouTube.
Recommended Uses:: Professional development; perhaps upper level college students in software development, engineering, project management, or MBA.
Technical Requirements:: High speed internet browser and Adobe Acrobat reader; plugins required for podcasts.
Identify Major Learning Goals:: Research, new ideas, professional development (webinars are PMI-approved for PD units). Nice collection (unfortunately limited free content. Good section for Agile methodologies.
Target Student Population:: IT Professionals, graduate students, well prepared upper level college students in IT and business.
Prerequisite Knowledge or Skills:: This site is for IT professionals and those who are working towards that end. It's easy to access the information, however, everything is advanced and is geared more towards working professionals who are not beginners in the field of IT and project management.

Content Quality

Rating:
Strengths:: Everything is well organized; the site is definitely put together by experts in the field
Concerns:: The site is mostly for software engineering and project management. There should be more links to articles, abstracts, and webinars. Right now, although the cost is low, there is still a cost; MERLOT provides free high quality resources. Hopefully, this organization will add more free resources for everyone to use. Again, the site is definitely not for beginners.

Potential Effectiveness as a Teaching Tool

Rating:
Strengths:: There isn't a clear learning guide; users would benefit from one; right now, users can glean the learning objectives from book abstracts, blogs, and articles (the ones that are available).
Concerns:: This site is more for continuing education use; students may not find the site as helpful as full fledged professionals.

Ease of Use for Both Students and Faculty

Rating:
Strengths:: the design is clear and organized. It's easy to navigate.
Concerns:: Please identify clear learning objectives and a section for students. As it stands, this site would work well for continuing education (self paced or guided). It is less valuable to a college student, however, the resources links and the free sources that are available, give the students options about focusing their education in IT.

Other Issues and Comments:: Very good site for professional development for a specific audience (software developers and project managers).
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