It’s kind of an inside joke of college, and school in general, that group projects can be a less than pleasant experience. Some professors grant students the ability to choose their group. However, working in a team setting can still have its challenges whether your partners are friends or strangers. Here are some major tips I have learned in my college career for having a successful group project experience.
- Establish the Team Standards in the First Meeting
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Establishing standards involves laying the groundwork for the type of environment you want the team to operate in. Take this as an opportunity to get to know each of your group members and their work style. Some people do not have the availability to meet very often and prefer to collaborate via Google Docs from different locations. Others value feeding off of fellow teammates in face-to-face meetings. Establish your team dynamic in the first meeting to avoid scheduling issues later on.
In the “Getting to Know You” portion of the meeting, take a second for everyone to go around and say a little something about themselves, preferably their strengths and weaknesses in the subject area. This is to have an understanding of the people you are working with before the work begins and to avoid altered perception of people. You may find that one member is always quiet during the brainstorming sessions, and then you incorrectly deduce that he/she doesn’t care about the project. However, if you take the time in the initial meeting to learn about your teammates, that person would have the chance to acknowledge that while they may be shy in the creative aspects, they are an expert at the calculations portion of the assignment and can run lead on that portion. You may feel bad giving someone a low score on a peer evaluation simply because of lack of understanding. Not everyone is the same in a group, and nor should they be; the best teams have diversified strengths.
Finally, the team should establish a make-shift code of conduct for its members to abide by. These can be as simple as everyone agreeing to show up to meetings on time and being respectful of others’ ideas, or they can get more specific and suggest that members try to provide a 24-hour notice if they will be unable to attend the meeting. Writing these out creates an objective rubric for members to evaluate fellow contributors performance and whether or not they are a good team member. It may feel silly at first, but this will help keep everyone accountable.
- Define Deliverables
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Building off of the previous tip, set up deliverables at the end of each meeting. Setting up deliverables involves specifying who is responsible for what task and includes a deadline. People often feel as if the work distribution in group projects is uneven. Deliverables ensure each team member is a responsible contributor, and the deadline ensures timely completion. Deliverables also help keep a project progressing in a timely manner. An example of a deliverable would be “By our next meeting, Person A will have task 1 done. Person B will have task 2 done,” etc. Again, these are written down in a central location such as in a group email or on a shared document so that all group members can see it and be held accountable.
- Have Open Communication
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Finally, having open communication between group members is crucial for success. This can consist of a wide range of topics including asking for help from other team members or addressing contribution issues. Your group members are your peers and can one day be your colleagues. If you are experiencing an issue with a group member, it is best to address the issue directly with open and honest communication, as opposed to letting negative feelings fester and promising to roast someone on their peer evaluation. When addressing a potentially uncomfortable issue, it is critical to separate facts from feelings. This is why we set up those objective guidelines above. So instead of saying, “You are a bad group member,” you say “You have missed meetings without giving notice, and you have not completed your deliverables on time as we agreed in the team member standards. This makes me feel frustrated.” This sets up the logic to defend your feelings. Of course after this initial contact, give the other team member a chance to explain themselves, and then work together to find a solution that benefits the whole team.
College is a large scale networking opportunity. Your peers are most likely going into the same job field or industry as you. No one wants to burn bridges and ruin a potential contact or friendship. Using these tips can help make one of the less fun parts of school a positive and productive experience for all.