First Group Meeting

Here is a suggested agenda for your first group meeting. Your group is responsible for setting its own meeting agenda for subsequent meetings.

• Choose an interim Project Manager (PM). This can change later if necessary.
• Schedule times for weekly group meetings or work sessions.
• Set concrete responsibilities for the upcoming assignment, including writing different sections.

Every group member should carefully read the requirements assignment before the meeting. Much of what makes a meeting successful and efficient is preparation for that meeting.

The Project manager (PM)

There is often confusion over the role of the project manager, or PM. Here are some guidelines.

The PM doesn’t do more work than any other group member. The PM may do less coding, because the PM is busy with other activities. All members of the group should ensure that others understand the challenges they are working on, so no one becomes resentful thinking that he or she is taking an unfair burden.

The PM sets the agenda for group meetings. The PM usually does not take notes—you can delegate that task to another group member, perhaps rotating by week.

The PM does not make all decisions. The PM does make sure that decisions get made.

The PM checks the completeness of other teammembers’ work. The PM does not necessarily check the quality of other teammembers’ work. (You will have a mechanism for quality checking, and the PM might be part of that, but quality checking is not the PM’s sole or main responsibility.)

The PM delegates tasks as appropriate.

The PM acts as social glue. The PM is on the lookout for conflicts or other problems. The PM works to incorporate team members who are quiet or confused into conversations.