King Arthur: I seek the bravest and the finest knights in the land who will join me in my court at Camelot.
King Arthur: You have proved yourself worthy. Will you join me?
King Arthur: You make me sad.
-Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Group projects can be stressful to be a part of, especially when everyone is on a different time zone. The program here at OSU has great benefits, but with those benefits, comes some unexpected barriers. We are able to take our courses at our own pace and entirely online. This also means that we work with people across the country who are taking advantage of this flexible schooling option. This has created an environment where working in a group can both be beneficial and difficult. Certain complications that arise out of differences in time zone and a diverse set of group members need to be addressed quickly to have a worthy group (court?) of the finest members (knights?).
My main focus today, is to provide some tips and tricks that I have found helpful in group projects I’ve worked on in the past.
Establish A Schedule
When working on different time zones with people at different points in their life, a schedule is crucial. It is essential to make sure everyone knows the following: when the meetings will take place, deadlines for tasks the time zone that everyone is on, and everyone’s general availability. Doing this early on will be extremely helpful and using shared calendar’s (such as Google or Outlook) can also have a major impact.
Play To the Strengths of the Members (Knights)
Establishing what each team member’s skills are during introductions will help tremendously. A majority may be more comfortable coding in a specific language, some may enjoy presenting, others documentation, etc. Narrowing down who enjoys (or prefers) what role, can really impact not only the work quality, but how enjoyable the project is. Being comfortable and competent in a role, can greatly increase the degree of enjoyment by your and your teammates.
Be Flexible
Above all, be flexible with what is occurring day to day. This can be taken in any aspect of the project. Is somebody struggling to accomplish a task? Pitch in. Even if it may not be the task you are more comfortable with. Not everyone can make the meeting? Write meeting notes to provide or push the meeting back. If there is no flexibility in the project, it can cause things to crumble quick. As the common saying goes, “You may bend, but never break”.
Working with multiple teammates can get complicated to say the least. It is a system of give and take that requires a balance for sanity and grade’s sake. Being able to work together and work with each other is imperative to be successful. Without proper teamwork and planning the Black Knight’s words speak your group’s fate….
