Reflections

At the final team audio meet up the team discussed their reflections. The project had proceeded on schedule and this was the last element left to be completed, as planned. The points below emerged from that discussion, which was attended by Simon, Rebecca and Paul.

• Team member accountability and responsibility was essential to the success of the project. Once deadlines are agreed they need to be met, otherwise the whole process stalls. This issue was a problem at the start of the project but it was dealt with decisively and the team were able to re-organise and move on.

• Regular audio discussions were beneficial to the cohesion of the team. The qualitative difference between communication through synchronous audio and communication through asynchronous forum posting greatly encouraged the development of mutual understanding, empathy and common purpose.

• The fact that the group activity had a project at its heart was a motivating factor and helped to maintain interest and increase engagement. Progression was evident and team members took pride in the final product.

• The structure of the course (into separate activities arranged in a schedule) helped to move the project along and avoid division and confusion. It served as an agreed plan of action that would have taken time to develop at the outset had it not been given to us. A new team facing this task would do well to agree a plan as detailed as this while still in the forming stage.

• Some of these activities were unneccessary (in the opinion of the group) and there was a certain amount of impatience with regard to the prototype. Team members were keen to get to the development stage. In general, however, team members felt that the work done before development was important and helped to guide the project in the right direction.

• The division of roles happened quickly and naturally. This was a great benefit to productivity of the team and avoided confusion, overlap and disagreement.

• The size of the team (being small, with 3 active members) was, in some ways, an asset. It was not possible to avoid making a contribution and there was genuine appreciation for the efforts of fellow team members.

The team concluded that the activity has been a success and attributed this to team cohesion. For the most part, this was developed by pursuing the communication forms and work practices that proved to be effective but there was a certain amount of good fortune that the team members were able to get along well with each other and that the task was one that they enjoyed. It might not be possible to replicate these conditions in future projects but some of the points listed above contain lessons that can be taken from this experience.