Unit 3 Overview, Learning Goals and Glossary

Overview: Project Management

In this unit we'll explore open textbook project management. We'll cover many related roles and responsibilities, but we don't mean to suggest that they all have to happen. There are a lot of ways to publish an open textbook, and you can pick and choose your project management priorities. They may include managing the production timeline, coordinating freelancers and promoting the completed textbook. Roles may be distributed in a variety of ways, or taken on by the author, depending on your publishing program model and institutional capacity.

Regardless of how you structure your program, many would argue it's best to have one point person coordinating a project. That's because with one person managing the various moving parts, there is less room for miscommunication and misunderstandings.

Learning Objectives

• Explain the common roles of a project manager who is producing an open textbook.
• Identify what project manager roles and responsibilities you (and your team, if you have one) have the capacity to take on.
• Define a project timeline for either a real-world or potential open textbook.

Glossary

• Author Guide: Outlines the requirements for submitting a manuscript to your publishing program so that it's consistent with your expectations and in keeping with your imprint.
• Style Guide: A set of standards for writing and designing books, in order to create consistency.