Since this Capstone project is a group project, I thought it would be nice to talk about some important tips to effectively work in a group.

Set clear expectations

One reason some groups fail is that the team members don’t know what they are responsible for and what they need to work on. If there are no clear expectations, they might be working on something slightly (or completely) different than everyone else. This lack of coordination can lead to technical debt and adjustments when action items should have been winding down. You can avoid this by having a good project plan. In the project plan, you should at least have three important items: 1. detailed description of your initial thoughts on the structure of the project, 2. a thorough and complete description of what each team member will be accomplishing for the project and 3. some graphical examples for the project. The clearer the plan is, the fewer misunderstanding your team members have. Also it is a good way to know if your project is on track or not.

Set deadlines and stick to them

Once a good project plan is created, stick to the deadlines. To make sure that you can meet the deadlines, divide major action items into smaller tasks and work on those. Sometimes individual items have multiple dependencies and would otherwise block downstream tasks. If you can’t hit a deadline, it’s important to notify your team members as soon as possible. Also, project management tools like Asana, Jira, Pivotal Tracker, and Trello make schedule management easier. Not only you can see your project progress and deadlines, you can also check other team members progress.

Communicate Clearly

Good, clear communication will help projects succeed. You might get delayed, but unexpected bugs or other events happen. Do not be shy and try to hide it. Be honest and seek some help from your teammates. When you chat or talk with team members, make sure that your communication is easily understandable. Other people should not have to guess what you are trying to say since it can cause future misunderstandings.

Respect team members

Always respect team members. You might finish your tasks quicker than other team members or might not agree with team members suggestions all the time. However, each member has different a life outside of work or school, and they might have different communication styles. Pointing out someone’s issues usually do not end well in group work. If you and your teammates are having issues, listen carefully and try to understand what the issues are and come up with solutions together. In the end, you would rather be someone who is patient and considerate rather than inpatient and selfish.