Image Credit: Cori Emmalea Rodriguez
Jumping straight into our second module, we’re getting collaborative! Group work in an educational context is always chaotic, so my approach to this module will be different from the others.
Above all else, I want to focus on a mature, collaborative environment where every member feels valued. By helping create such an environment, I hope we all feel energised to work on our project. But most of all, I want us to have fun together. Creating a relaxed and trusting environment will reduce stress levels and ultimately help us create a product we will be proud of (García-Buades et al. 2019).
Individually, I would love to develop my project management skills in a collaborative environment. Specifically, I want to practice the Critical Chain methodology (Goldratt 1997) to keep us on track for the deadline. I have managed personal university projects before and don’t have a problem sticking to my deadlines. However, I want to practice managing a project with multiple people and everything that comes with it while simultaneously flexing my design and research muscles. Using this module as a chance to practice management techniques will prepare me for a professional environment where my knowledge will help the design team run smoothly.
Being organised, I put out some feelers to people in my cohort before the end of the previous module. As a result, we already had a team formed by the beginning of this module. I’m glad we took this approach, as it reduced the potential stress of trying to create a group before any workload pressure. We used our first meeting to lay down ground rules and establish a format for working we were all comfortable with. I volunteered to mediate the discussion and take notes on proceedings and next steps; this allowed me to create several document templates to ease collaborative working later in the module.
References
GARCÍA-BUADES, M. Esther et al. 2019. ‘Happy-Productive Teams and Work Units: A Systematic Review of the “Happy-Productive Worker Thesis”’. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17(1), 69.
GOLDRATT, Eliyahu M. 1997. Critical Chain: A Business Novel. Routledge. Available at: https://books.google.ch/books?id=VUg4DwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false [accessed 29 May 2023].
German vocabulary of the week
Collaboration – Zusammenarbeit