9 Administrative Products & Templates
9.1 Sync Matrix
The importance
In this part, we plan to talk about the sync matrix for establishing project timelines. At first, the main advantage of a project timeline is that it gives a reasonable time estimate for each task within the project scope, which really helps to finish all assignments before deadlines. You can just do this by giving a time estimate for each job. Additionally, it improves the efficiency in each team meeting. To illustrate, if all members come with the objectives in mind, the workflow could be smoother and more transparent. Lastly, it makes easier for monitoring progress and milestones.
Main elements in the Timeline
Date & Time, Contents for each meeting, and estimated finished time
Templates & Examples
9.2 Team Charter
The TEAM The TEAM The TEAM Charter
Contact Information
Team
Brandon Wagstaff
Yidan Gu
Yulin Chen
Andrew Archambeau
Brizesh Maddipati
Professors
Sanjeev Kumar - sankum@umich.edu - 734 615 7064
Jeff Domagala - jeffdom@umich.edu - 734 647 7830
Individual Strengths
Brandon - Flexibility, Reliability, Curiosity
Yidan - Honesty, Self-regulation, Kindness and Social Intelligence
Yulin - Communication, Curiosity, Creativity
Andrew - Love of Learning & Perseverance
Brizesh - Honesty, Flexibility
Individuals Goals
Brandon - Learn the best strategies for leading a software team
Yidan - Get better in programming languages, especially in R
Yulin - Be more proficient in R and relevant programming tools. Be able to analyze data independently
Andrew - Increase proficiency in R programming
Brizesh - Get more comfortable working in a software related team and more experience in Git
Vision Statement
Making Learning an Enjoyable Journey
Objectives
-Academic success for all members of the team
-Everyone on the team gets a “good” or better
-Make meetings an enjoyable experience, not something to dread
-Building both soft and hard skills during this course
-Soft skills include teamwork and collaboration
-Hard skills include R abilities
Communication Norms
-Everyone should respond to texts in the group chat with at least a “like”
-Responses should be timely (<24 hr)
-Text thread will be the primary form of communication
-Group work will be kept in the shared google drive folder
-Communicate as soon as a problem comes up…bad news doesn’t get better with time
-Use email to communicate with professors
-We will be talking about difficult conversations and feedback in our 7/19 class and then changes will be made to the charter
Collateral Duties
Andrew - book rooms for meetings
Brandon - scribe/meeting minutes
Brizesh - submitting the assignments
Yidan - correspondence person
Yulin - review assignments before submission
Work Processes
-Meetings will be held every tuesday after class unless otherwise discussed
-Create an agenda for each meeting
-Search for information/do the research prior to meetings
-Make a timeline for each assignment that everyone is to follow
-Clarify everyone’s tasks and deliverables
-Decisions can be made on a simple majority vote
Ground Rules
-Show respect for every members’ ideas and opinions
-Encourage frank discussion and play devil’s advocate
-Get comfortable tactfully debating ideas with each other
-Be upfront with other members
-Techniques for feedback will be discussed at lecture on 07/19
-Show the professionalism expected in a work environment…come prepared
-Start and end meetings on time
-Everybody is expected to participate in the work and stay engaged
-Team charter is a living document that is subject to change