Team Startup

1. Select a team leader and team treasurer (see below). Assign someone who will take minutes at the kick-off meeting.
2. Have a team meeting on the Monday or Wednesday that is not your kickoff meeting.
3. Figure out when you will have your students-only weekly meeting. This is in addition to the weekly whole team meeting with the faculty and company reps The weekly whole team meeting will most likely be every Wednesday morning 7:30-9:30 or 8:00-9:30 at the U, or at the company, or alternating. Check the lecture schedule now because some Wednesdays are already booked for whole-class activities.
4. Contact your company liaison and get a package of resumes to him or her.
5. Figure out when your team is responsible for providing breakfast for the whole class meetings.
6. Get the team web site up and running.
7. Look ahead to the Project Analysis, VOC-1 (Customer Needs), and Patent Search deliverables, because these require considerable planning.
8. Learn everything you can about your client (annual report, 10-K report, product data sheets) and your clients competitors. There should be nothing on the web that you don't know about.
9. Read the textbook because the more you know about product development going into the project the better off you will be.

Selecting a Team Leader

1. Pick someone to chair the meeting until a student team leader is selected. If available, this could be the faculty coach.
2. Each student team member describes his or her background and experience in leadership roles in college or in working roles since graduation, and indicates their degree of willingness to accept the starting team leadership role if selected.
3. The temporary chair opens the meeting for nominations for team leader. After nominations are completed, a secret ballot vote will be taken by all student team members. The elected team leader will then assume responsibility for the remainder of the meeting.

A similar process can be followed at any time to decide whether the present team leader should continue or a new leader selected.

You do not have to follow this process. Whatever works for your team is fine.

Your team may decide to rotate team leaders at mid-semester or for Spring. This will give more members an opportunity to experience a leadership role.

Team leader responsibilities

1. Together with the team, schedule weekly team meetings with team members, company representatives and faculty advisor(s). We recommend that at least two weekly meetings be scheduled at a regular time and place to insure team progress. One of these meetings must be with the company and faculty representative(s) and one meeting with only the student team members present.
2. Prepare an agenda for each meeting, or insure that an agenda is prepared by another team member.
3. Conduct team meetings in an orderly and efficient manner. We envision a participative team process for deciding on the scope of work, work assignments and in resolving issues facing the team. The team leader is not in charge of making decisions for the team, but should encourage the team to quickly resolve issues and make decisions.
4. Insure that all team members are participating in team activities and encourage the team to work toward a planned schedule of activities and goals.
5. Issue minutes of team meetings, or insure that minutes are prepared and distributed by e-mail or posted on the team web site within 12 hours of the meeting to the team e-mail list, and archive on the team web site. Setting up a rotating schedule of meeting recorders is one way to make sure everyone has a chance to take minutes.
6. In the first few weeks, insure that the team prepares a Work Breakdown Structure (WBS) and Gantt chart or Pert chart type of schedule with project activities clearly listed along with responsibilities and start/completion dates. Key milestones for winter and spring quarters should also be listed. This schedule should be reviewed and approved by the faculty advisor and the company representative and updated regularly during the project.

The team leader does not have any more power than other members of the team and is not responible for setting project direction or dictating work assignments. The purpose of the team leader is simply to ensure that the team is performing to its maximum potential.

Selecting a Team Treasurer

Each team must appoint a team treasurer who is in charge of keeping the books for project expenses, keeping the web site expense register up to date, and applying for reimbursements from the course or company.. The process is described in the project expenses document. The treasurer should be a person who is good with details.