Teamwork

Table of Contents

• Introduction
• Work Packages
• Responsibilities of Team Members
• Responsibilities of Project Managers
• When Problems Occur

Introduction

It is not the intent of the project supervisors to micromanage the student teams.   The students are given some autonomy to form their teams, schedule themselves, and figure out the work they are to do.  Forming teams and doing project work, however, can be viewed as a formidable task and so it is appropriate to talk about teamwork and some guidelines for it.

Teams can be composed of people with different levels of motivation and work ethics.   If the differences are too great, then problems can occur between those who have a higher motivation and those with a lower motivation.   Those with higher motivation may think that those with lower motivation are not doing their job, will not do the job right, or have to have a lot of handholding.   Those with lower motivation may think the higher motivated people are control freaks and don't give them enough room, help, or time to do their job.  Both must have patience with the other as students learn how much work they can do and how much time it takes them.

Other interesting situations may occur when people from different cultures are on the same team.  Sometimes, centuries old fights between cultures may keep members from respecting each other or working together.  Some cultures are in a strict hierarchical system and are used to being told what to do and how to do it.  Some cultures have more freedom and expect high expertise from their leaders.  Each team member should make an effort to learn about their colleagues' cultures and respect the additional information and insights each member can offer.

Some team members may be overextended because they are working, interviewing, and/or taking a full load of classes.  They must make an extra effort to fulfill their project obligations and not expect a reduced project assignment.

Most problems can be circumvented by making an effort to keep communication lines open and by each member taking a proactive part in finding out what they are to do and then doing it.  The great part of working in a team is getting far more work done at a higher quality than you could have done yourself.

Work Packages

Many problems occurring among team members can be resolved quickly by ensuring all members understand who is supposed to do what.  That way no one is asked to do something that is not his/her clear responsibility.

Team members should be flexible enough to take on extra work if necessary and be watchful that they are doing the same amount of work as everyone else.  Sometimes a task may be overestimated and the team member finish it quickly or underestimated and the team member be overwhelmed.  In such cases, work packages should be adjusted accordingly to ensure work assignments are more evenly distributed.  Sometimes team members may not do their work.  In such cases, that work should be distributed evenly to other members who are not currently in a busy period of the project (these members should be noted for their extra effort).

Responsibilities of Team Members

Your responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Taking a proactive part in determining what you need to do (If you do nothing during the project, you will have a very high probability of getting a low peer evaluation regardless of whether you were told to do something or not - you must make sure that you have a project assignment to do and that you are doing as much work as your other team members).
• Making sure that you are not doing too much or too little.
• Fulfilling your work package obligations in a timely manner.
• Attending all project team meetings and all meetings required of your role in the project.
• Keeping your project manager informed of your progress and anything else that would help the project, in a timely manner.
• Cooperating with and being an encouragement to all team members.
• Making sure your artifacts are posted to the web site appropriately.
• Being familiar with the project process and adhering to its guidelines.
• Being flexible enough to take on more than one project role.

Responsibilities of Project Managers

You have the responsibilities of team members listed above.   Additional responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Taking a proactive part in determining what your team members need to do.
• Keeping track of your team members' work.
• Ensuring work is completed on schedule or as quickly as possible when off-schedule.
• Scheduling project team meetings and role meetings often enough to keep team members informed of progress and what needs to be done next.
• Ensuring that your team produces a unified product for the project.
• Monitoring risks and problems continually in order to take corrective action when needed.

When Problems Occur

All problems should have documented evidence, such as

• e-mail messages,
• the specific team member complaint,
• work or lack of work produced by the team member (the team member's work package can be of help here),
• when the problem started to occur,
• how many times and when the problem occurred, and
• meetings held to solve the problem and what happened.

• Maintaining a calm, rational demeanor.
• Taking a proactive view to get the problem solved quickly.
• Having the project manager talk with the role leader in question.
• Having the project supervisor talk with the team members or clients involved.
• Allowing the supervisor to help in resolving logistical problems with the project.