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October 18, 2007
Flow diagrams with Visio workshop tomorrow
Need some help with flowcharts or swimming lane diagrams? The last workshop on flow diagrams in Visio will be held tomorrow (Friday) in the DIAD from 12:00-1:00, and there is still plenty of room.
Posted by jjmorse at 02:30 PM | Comments (0)
October 17, 2007
Group Work Survival Skills: Tips From Those Who Survived
Wednesday, October 24th 12noon – 1:30pm
Room 311 West Hall
Pizza and soda will be served.
Registration:
https://www-a1.lsa.umich.edu/es_conf/app/?confid=2
If you find you’re asking yourself some of the following questions, or now realize you should be, come to this session and hear from those who’ve survived the group work experience.
§ I’m volunteering to do big chunks of the work now, with the expectation that others will step up their efforts later on. Is this a safe assumption?
§ Why does it seem like there are at least two different conversations going on during any of our group discussions?
§ We have one group member who can never make it to any of our meetings, no matter when we schedule them. He/she is always working or in class or is just unavailable. She/he doesn’t know what’s going on with our project. What can we do about this?
§ We seem to throw everything together at the last minute. How can we get a head start?
§ Are you a converger or a diverger? What does this mean? How will this information help manage group work expectations?
How difficult can it be? The assignment: work with a group of fellow SI students to analyze work processes, user needs, or a particular tool or service. As it turns out, it’s more challenging than you ever imagined! Opportunities for chaos abound when managing a broad range of personality types, styles of work, levels of motivation, and experience, not to mention schedules. The group project can be a valuable vehicle for skill and knowledge development, but can also produce high stress levels and toxic resentments due to misunderstandings and uneven work distribution.
If you are in 501, you’ve completed your project plan, conducted interviews, held interpretation sessions, and had a chance to evaluate your peers and wonder how your peers have evaluated you. Get some perspective by coming to hear some second year MSIs talk about their SI group work experiences. The focus will be on lessons they learned that may ease the pains of your current experience. After presentations by the panel, there will be time for discussion and questions.
Collaborative work does not end after SI501. Group work management skills come in handy whichever career path you choose. In every setting you’ll find yourself working with colleagues on teams, committees, boards and professional organizations. This session is not just for first years. Second years, come share your experiences and add to the discussion.
Posted by dlhodge at 06:17 PM | Comments (0)