Using Technology to Promote Teamwork for Student Projects

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Using Technology to Promote Teamwork for Student
Projects

• Kathy Schwalbe, Ph.D., PMP
• May 20, 2003

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Presentation Outline

• Nature of team projects
• Strategies for promoting teamwork and good
  project management
• The project management process and sample tools
  to use
• Advice for instructors
• Samples of student projects
• Questions

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Nature of Team Projects

• Why students dont like them
• Why instructors dont like them
• Why they are important learning tools

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Most Students Dislike Them Because

• Best students want to get a good grade, so they
  tend to do most of the work, and weaker
  students often arent given a chance to use and
  develop their skills
• Conflicts often arise
• The student syndrome sets in do everything at
  the last minute
• Instructors often dont describe a process for
  doing the projects, just the end result

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Most Instructors Dislike Them Because

• It often requires pre-planning to find good
  projects for specific courses
• There is a lot of uncertainty since every project
  is unique
• Its hard to grade the projects and each
  students efforts

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Why Projects Are Important Learning Tools

• Most jobs today involve team projects
• Students need to learn how to deal with ambiguity
  in assignments
• Students have to learn how to work with different
  types of people
• Students need and like more real-world
  experiences as part of their classes
• There are many people and organizations that
  benefit from them!

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Strategies for Promoting Teamwork and Good
Project Management

• Make sure projects fit with the nature of your
  course
• Let students be involved in finding and selecting
  projects
• Give students guidance in the process for doing
  team projects
• Provide samples and templates
• Let students help grade projects and each other

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Project Management Process

• Project selection
• Initiating
• Planning
• Executing
• Controlling
• Closing

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Project Selection for My Project Management (PM)
Classes

• Each students gets to propose a real project (
  using a template for HW1)
• Each student must give a sales pitch for
  his/her project and think through whats required
  to do the project
• The class as a whole selects projects, teams, and
  project managers
• Specific tools for project and team selection
  student survey form, HW template, weighted
  scoring model or simple Excel file to help select
  projects

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Student Survey Form
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HW1 Template to Propose a Team Project
Student Name Date Potential Project
Name Project Sponsors Name and
Organization Need for the Project Main Project
Deliverables Required Team Skills Main Team
Tasks/Roles My Desired Role and Why Project
Sales Pitch
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Weighted Scoring Model for Project Selection
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Initiating Projects

• Form teams based on projects selected
• Have each team select a project manager
• Specify what each team must produce for the
  project and when
• Focus on clarifying roles and responsibilities
  for each team member (require students to show
  who will do what)

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Tools to Enhance Team Building Early in the
Project

• MBTI assignment have each student take an
  online MBTI test and write a paper about it for
  HW, also send MBTI to their project manager
• Each team must prepare
• a team contract
• a project Web site
• a project charter
• Each team member
• must give at least one presentation
• gets to assess project and each team members
  performance

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Myers-Briggs Temperament Indicator (MBTI)

• Many organizations use MBTI as part of team
  building
• Few students know their profile or how it affects
  communications and teams
• Several good sites to take the test for free
  (www.humanmetrics.com)
• List sites and assignment in course syllabus
• Have a team give a presentation on MBTI

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Project Planning Tools

• Since I teach project management, students must
  prepare several planning documents
• Scope statement (includes descriptions of all
  project deliverables and criteria for project
  success)
• Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Gantt chart
• Communications Plan (can be in team contract)
• Responsibility Assignment Matrix
• Decide what your students need to do to plan
  their projects

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Project Execution and Control

• Using progress review presentations and checking
  the team Web sites really helps the students
  focus on getting work done throughout the term
• Have the first progress review focus on groups
  showing their detailed project plan have a
  signed charter
• Have the second/third reviews focus on showing
  what work has been accomplished (show me
  review)
• Rotate who presents review info

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Closing Projects

• Have each team prepare
• a final team presentation, focusing on what they
  prepared for their customer, what went right and
  wrong on the project, and what they learned
• a project notebook that includes all project
  materials
• Have each individual prepare
• a personal lessons learned
• a project and team grade assessment

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Advice for Instructors Have a Detailed Syllabus
and Class Web Site

• Most students are S or sensing types, so they
  like detailed, step-by-step instructions on what
  to do for assignments, presentations, and team
  projects
• Students love it when you have the syllabus,
  templates, and other info on a class Web site

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Important Syllabus Information

• Discuss how youll grade the projects. For
  example
• Approximately half of the grade for the group
  project will be based on the groups
  presentations, status reports, and web site (in
  progress and final), and the other half will be
  based on the project notebook (one notebook per
  team, due the last day of class). Team project
  managers will earn a small amount of extra credit
  for successfully leading their project teams.
• Describe what should be in the status reports.
  For example
• The team project manager should present the
  first status report after working with the team
  to create a project charter, scope statement,
  team contract, communications management plan
  (can be within team contract), responsibility
  assignment matrix, and draft Gantt chart (using
  Microsoft Project). The second status report
  should show the final version of the Gantt chart,
  discuss changes made to the project, challenges
  the team faced, and work completed in producing
  the products of the project. Show the teams web
  site for both presentations. Plan to bring and
  hand in hard copies of work produced to date.
• Provide a detailed list of items to be included
  in the project notebook

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Suggestions for Getting Student Feedback for
Grading

• Require an assignment the last day of class for
  team project assessments. For example
• Write a 1-2-page self-assessment based on the
  team project, answering the following questions
  (100 points)
• If you had to give your team a grade for the
  project, what would it be? Why?
• What were your roles and responsibilities on the
  group project? How well do you think you
  performed on this project?
• Briefly assess each team members performance.
  If you had to give each person, including
  yourself, a grade, what would it be? To compare
  individual contributions, if you had 100 points
  to allocate to your team, how would you allocate
  them? If youre a Survivor fan, what would be
  the order you would have voted people off of your
  team and why?
• Which group project (besides your own) would you
  grade the highest and why? Which would you grade
  the lowest and why?

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I Put Info on the Web, Not Blackboard Easier
Maintenance and Open to Anyone
Many template files (in Word, Excel, Project
2002, etc.) are in one zip file you can download
from here.
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Project Team Web Sites

• Require each project team to post all of their
  information on a team Web site let them create
  it any way they please
• Use that Web site for progress review
  presentations and make it part of the project
  grade
• Link to all sites from your class Web page - peer
  pressure works!
• Include final exam questions related to all the
  team projects so they learn from each other

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Sample Team Web Site (I was the sponsor)
The student project manager for this project
plans to give a conference presentation with me
on the results of this project.
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Another Sample Team Web Site (a student org.
sponsored it)
This project helped a student organization plan
an important function.
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And Another Sample (done for a non-profit group)
Let the students be creative. Most of the
webmasters are very proud of their work and keep
the sites up for a while. Some refer to them for
job interviews.
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Sample Templates Students Could Use for Their
Projects

• In the text for my project management class,
  there are many templates and examples for
  planning projects the students can use
• I also provided blank template files the students
  could download and use for their team projects
• Create your own to meet your class and project
  needs (feel free to download and modify any of
  mine)

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Gantt Chart Template
Work Breakdown Structure Schedule
You can also enter resource information on the
Gantt chart.
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Sample Responsibility Assignment Matrix
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Another Sample RAM A Product of This Project
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Progress Report Information

• Work completed this period
• Work to complete next period
• Whats going well and why
• Whats not going well and why
• Suggestions/Issues
• Project changes 

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Student Comments

• Good project management reduces stress
• First group project I worked on where each member
  pulled his/her own weight
• Professors need to learn how to propose projects
• Prospective employers impressed with
  understanding of projects

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Questions?
Feel free to use templates, syllabus ideas,
etc. from my Web site at www.kathyschwalbe.com