PSD3 Group Exercise 1
A Support System for Group Projects
Feedback on Group Organisation

last update: 8/10/08

These comments correspond to circled numbers on your delivered Group Organisation reports.

  1. Try to be reader-focussed. In particular, indicate your group ID. Otherwise, I as reader have to remember (or more likely, look up) group member names to figure out which group you are.
  2. The organisation plan document should just state the plan, not give a history of how the plan came into being or present the conceptual background to the plan.
  3. Leaving some jobs unassigned is ok, but it would be good to make explicit (i) jobs that are known but not yet assigned and (ii) that there may be additional jobs not yet identified (so that there's accommodation in the plan to review possible additional jobs that will need to be done).
  4. Most groups decided to be "democratic" when it comes to decision-making. However, some just said "majority rules" without thinking about what to do if there's a tie. Or "team members opinions will be taken into account" without saying how. Or "only important decisions will go to a vote" without stating how importance will be determined. Also, democratic decision-making can be inefficient (time taken in group discussions and voting) and can still result in poorly resolved disputes (if the minority feels very strongly about the issue). It would be good to think about the risks to the project arising from the decision-making structure chosen.
  5. Good to see "job descriptions" for the roles you've identified.
  6. Make a distinction between work allocation and responsibility allocation. For example, several may be assigned to work on the prototype, but best to have only one person responsible.
  7. This is a bit sketchy. Can you add some detail here?
  8. It's a good idea to try to specify the roles you assign via simple job descriptions setting out what someone taking a role is expected to do.
  9. Keeping the clients informed is a good idea, in principle. However, make sure this organisation refers specifically to your Team Project and the PSD3 Group Exercise. Will you handle both of these "clients" in the same way?
  10. You should specify a set of roles that you believe will have to be performed.
  11. It would be useful to clearly identify particular organisational risks here (e.g. in a list).
  12. Keep in mind that the PSD3 Group Exercise involves almost no programming (just a prototype) and no GUI.
  13. Dispute resolution needs to be considered even if you have a method of coming to a decision.