Projects & Evaluation
Phase I: Forming
Your team’s problem-solving project goes through distinct phases of development that mirror your team’s stages of development: forming, norming, storming, and performing. (You’ve maybe encountered those terms elsewhere?) Phase I is the basis for the initial team-based assignments in this workshop.
Week One: Defining a Project with Your Faculty Advisor
Meet with your Enterprise Team Advisor right away. In conversation with him or her, brainstorm and discuss possibilities for a problem-based project that you can use in this workshop. You might aspire to a problem that can be solved and implemented within the 14 weeks of the workshop’s duration, or you may decide to develop a plan, recommendation, prototype, or feasibility report for a problem-solving solution that cannot be implemented within the 14 weeks.
Due: E-Mail to me (and CC your team members) 24 hours prior to the Week 3 class:
• Summarize the meeting with your Enterprise Team Advisor
• Summarize the range of possible problem-solving projects that you discussed
• Explain why some ideas were dismissed, and why others were considered as possibilities
• Describe your initial problem-solving project idea
• Discuss any time, financial, or logistical concerns you might have at this early stage
Week Two: Challenge Course
Week Three: Problem Definition & Statement
Revise the information that you developed for the e-mail described above and revise it as a Problem Definition & Statement in a memo format, now addressing it to your Faculty Advisor. CC your Team Members and me.
Do not discuss possible solutions – just the problem.
Due: In class, Week 3; bring copies for team members and me
Audience: Faculty Advisor (primary); Team Members and Teaming Instructor (secondary)
Week Four: Videotaped Team Meeting:
Developing a Team Charter & Ground Rules
Develop a Team Charter and a Ground Rules document for your team. Videotape the meeting with all team members present.
Team Charter Format:
• Mission Statement: 25-50 words
• Team Goals
• Team Assignments
• Team Accountability
You create a brief mission statement, which articulates the team’s purpose for the semester—i.e., the project you’ll do and the problem you’ll solve. Team assignments include who will be responsible for which parts of the project—research, writing, editing, etc. The team accountability section sets the ground rules for how you’ll hold team
members accountable: how will you enforce deadlines? When will you meet? Who will run meetings?
Due: In class, Week 5; bring copies for team members and me
Audience: Faculty Advisor (primary); Team Members and Teaming Instructor (secondary)
In subsequent weeks, you’ll see on the workshop calendar that you have due for workshop materials Project Progress Reports weeks 7, 10,and 13. Attach to those Project Progress Reports your current draft, iteration, or prototype.
Evaluation & Grades
A:
The writing & design for submitted work are exceptional. This is the kind of project that might lead to promotions in the workplace. It is professional and reflects the team’s development, careful consideration of how to identify and define a problem, how to generate possible alternatives for solving the problem, assessing alternatives, choosing one, and implementing it.
B:
The team’s development, problem-solving process and solution are strong. They would be considered acceptable in the professional contexts. The processes and work reflect consideration of team development and problem solving. It is generally above average in terms of the criteria mentioned above, but falls short of excellent in one or more category. The writing and documentation contains no mechanical errors.
C:
The process and solution are competent. While generally average in terms of the major criteria listed above, the final deliverable would probably be returned for revision in professional contexts. The writing and documentation has few mechanical errors.
D:
The project is weak. It would probably put team members into a bad situation in professional contexts. It falls below average in terms of one or more of the major criteria.
F:
Pink Slip