6.2: Roles and Responsibilities

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One key aspect of project planning is determining roles and responsibilities in the group. Take a moment to reflect on your experiences with group work. Are there tasks that you gravitate towards and others that you avoid? Are there roles that you feel more comfortable doing? Have a conversation with your group members about what tasks each person feels most confident doing. Discuss personality traits such as who is more task-oriented? Who is more people-oriented? Who feels comfortable being a leader? In the Activity in this chapter, you can take a brief assessment to understand your group work preferences and tendencies.

Divide tasks:

A first look at a group assignment can be daunting. You will need to break down the project into smaller tasks (chunking as discussed earlier in this text). Creating a list of the assignment’s requirements is a helpful starting point. Then list the tasks necessary to meet each requirement. Discuss with your group which person(s) will be responsible for each task. Be sure to define tasks clearly so that everyone understands their role and what is expected of them.

Create a timeline:

Establish a timeline with specific dates and deadlines for tasks. For each task in the timeline, determine what will be required and who will be responsible. Use the strategies you learned in the chapter on self-management to ensure that your group is making effective use of time.