Conner Root

Crossed the finish line.

WHAT WENT WELL

No Intra-Team Drama

Sometimes team members have issues with each other that can cause a lot of tension and disrupt the flow of the project. We had no such issues. There were a couple of awkward moments as we got to know each other more, but nothing major. While I do not think everyone is overly fond of everyone else, you cannot expect everyone to be friends. So, I will settle for no one being unable to work together with any other team member.

We Finished A Whole Game

We actually finished the whole game! Some projects fall apart and do not actually make it to the finish line. We had to cut some stuff, which is normal, but I wish that we were able to cut less. Regardless, TEEEO is still a complete experience with a beginning, middle and end.

WHAT DID NOT

Lacking Buy-In From Many Team Members

While I would not expect everyone on the team to be incredibly, personally invested in the project; however, it seemed like a solid portion of the team really only cared because they were put on our team, and they wanted something for the portfolio. While I do not blame them, it does mean that I do not think we got their best work, nor did we get a consistent level of commitment throughout the project because they had no investment in it.

Distinct Drop in Productivity in End

The general output of people declines naturally due to burnout and for us seniors in particular, other work and preparing for graduation also gets in the way of us getting things done. While things can be done to mitigate this (front loading work to have less going on at the end, better time management), it wasn’t so much just that decrease in productivity, some tasks just did not get done at all towards the end. Again, while it sometimes happens, there would be no follow-up, someone would have to ask them about it before they tell you that did not start a task, nor were they going to be able to do it.

WHAT TO DO DIFFERENTLY

Communicating Expectations

I think one thing many of us were not great at, especially at the beginning of the semester, was making sure our expectations were crystal clear, and if someone's expectations were not clear: asking them to clarify. This applies to both individual team members as well as us leads in general. There were times where people did not know what was expected of them, and they just did not ask. Other times, us leads did not do a great job at explaining what we wanted them in great detail, making finer task planning and prioritization more difficult.

General Communication / Developing Soft Skills

A smaller issue that popped up a few times is that people would not follow up with other team members if they need(ed) something from them. Conversely, team members would seem to forget to get things to people who needed them. Getting better/more comfortable with pinging team members who have not delivered on something, as well as keeping notes on what others need from you so that you can get what they need to them.

Better Time-Management

Both on a personal level and leadership level, I need to get better at managing my time in particular, and better using the team’s time (utilizing meetings better and planning out long term goals). I would develop this section more, but I ironically ran out of time and need to work on some other final projects.