Team Organization Evaluation and Plans for Project 3

May 2, 2003

Team 4 – Justin Fuller, Rahul Kotamaraju, Matthew Lawrence

1.0 Overview

The team’s organizational approach for the third project was similar to that of the first and second. The team had no designated leader, but instead operated in a democratic fashion. Additionally, the individual team members operated autonomously as much as was possible. This was accomplished through the unique division of tasks and allowed each member to focus on a single aspect of the project. Throughout the course of the project, the team paid special attention to the milestones and held each other accountable for meeting all appropriate deadlines. Overall, the team organization worked very well. The team finished each required task on time, and the completed tasks were very easily assimilated to produce a final product.

2.0 Highlights

The team organization implemented in the third project had a number of benefits. The major success of the plan was the division of tasks. By dividing the tasks, each team member could focus on a specific task. This allowed the team members to work independently of each other, each at his own pace. As a result, the number of required team meetings was drastically reduced and efficiency was improved. Additionally, each task was “owned” by a single member who specialized in that area of the project. Thus, each member needed expert knowledge of only one area of the project. This proved to be far more effective than requiring that all members fully understand all aspects. This project required more than one phase, so there were more meetings than in the previous projects. These meetings were effective because they produced the desired results and showed that the team’s isolation of tasks did not damage its ability to function as a combined unit. The members were able to join their ideas together, critique one another, and ultimately produce an excellent product.

3.0 Future Plans

The organization used for the third project was so successful that the team would not change it if given the chance. Though there is still potential for refinement in interpersonal relations and communications, the team agrees that this style of task distribution works very well. If placed in the same situation, the team will persist in dividing the tasks as much as possible and assign milestones and deadlines accordingly.