ECE 3400 Intelligent Physical Systems course web page and assignments
This project is maintained by CEI-lab
By Kirstin Petersen, August 10th 2017
Adapted from material courtesy of the Center for Teaching Excellence, Cornell
You will be assigned a team of 5-7 students who you will work with throughout the semester. Every 2-3 weeks you will take turns being the group leader. Team work has a lot of benefits; you get a lot of different insights to solve a problem, you can work efficiently on many tasks at once, and you always have someone to check your work. It is important to be aware that in a team environment, individuals are usually effectively motivated to maximize their own rewards and minimize their own costs. Therefore, successful team performance depends on individual accountability. Writing up a team contract, and doing team assessments throughout the semester can help keep everyone on track. This is good preparation for what will happen when you move on to industry or academia, you will end up as part of a team almost anywhere you go.
According to concepts from Organizational Behavior, there are five stages of team development: forming, storming, norming, performing, and adjourning. During the forming stage, teams tend to communicate in indirect polite ways rather than more directly. The storming stage, characterized by conflict, can be often be productive, but may consume excessive amounts of time and energy. In this stage it is important to listen well for differing expectations. Next, during the norming stage, teams formulate roles and standards, increasing trust and communication. This norming stage is characterized by agreement on procedures, reduction in role ambiguity, and increased “we-ness” or unity. These developments generally are precursors to the performing stage, during which teams achieve their goals, are highly task oriented, and focus on performance and production. The point of the team contract is to help you move to the performing stage faster.
If you find that your team is dysfunctional in any away you should address this immediately by calling a team meeting. If problems persist, seek help from TAs or the instructor.
Your team contract template is divided into three major sections:
Use the Team Contract template to discuss and finalize your team roles, procedures, and standards. Complete, sign, and upload a copy of your finalized contract to your team website by Monday, August 28th 8am.
(Please add your input to each of the bullet points below.)
ECE 3400, Semester # _ _ _ Team # _ _ _
Team Members: _ _ _
It is important to keep all members of the team aware of the time and date of all meetings. It is a good idea to pick a day, time, and place for regular team meetings.
Who will set each agenda? How long before the meeting should this be announced? How will team members be notified/reminded? Who will be responsible for the team following the agenda during a team meeting? What will be done to keep the team on track during a meeting?
Agree on how your team will make decisions. By consensus, majority vote, leader has veto rights, etc.?
Always keep a written record of what was agreed upon in the meeting. Who will be responsible for taking these notes? How will they be disseminated? Where will all agendas and meeting minutes be kept?
All members should agree to a preferred method of communication (e.g., e-mail, cell phone, face-to-face), and be individually responsible for answering in good time as agreed upon in the team. Please note what method(s) and response delay you agree on.
Agree on a (realistic) level of quality for website updates, individual work/design, peer reviews, etc.
Agree on when individuals/sub-teams must finish their part (on the deadline, or hours or a day before the deadline such that other team members can check their work):
Team Participation:
Strategies to ensure cooperation and equal distribution of tasks:
Strategies for encouraging/including ideas from all team members (team maintenance):
Strategies for keeping on task (task maintenance):
Strategies to get help if you’re stuck:
Personal Accountability:
Expected individual attendance, punctuality, and participation at all team meetings:
Expected level of responsibility for fulfilling team assignments, timelines, and deadlines:
Expected level of communication with other team members:
Expected level of commitment to team decisions and tasks:
How should a team member catch up if they have to miss a meeting:
Consequences for Failing to Follow Procedures and Fulfill Expectations
Describe how, as a group, you would handle individuals who do not live up to this contract:
Describe what your team will do if these infractions continue:
Every person on the team will have to take the role as a leader for at least two weeks. The role of the leader will be to organize meetings and make sure that everything is submitted in a timely manner. Here are some hints on what the leader should do. Please note here who will be responsible when:
Aug 28th - Sep 15th (Lab 1, work on lab 2):
Sep 16th - Sep 29th (Lab 2, Milestone 1 and 2):
Sep 30th - Oct 20th (Lab 3, work on lab 4):
Oct 21st - Nov 3rd (Lab 4 and Milestone 3):
Nov 4th - Nov 17th (Milestone 4):
Nov 18th - Dec 5th (Final competition and deadline for the website):
(If you are more or less than 6 people, please adjust the time periods accordingly).