Writing in teams

1. Writing in teams Lanni gagnon & kellie palladino

2. Setting up your team • Team Leader (project manager) • Planning Coordinator – responsible for managing communication and deadlines • Archivist – keeps track of written communication and meeting minutes • Devil’s Advocate – helps the team avoid groupthink

3. Writing collaboratively • Divide & Conquer – assigns each member with a different task • Specialization – assigns each member with a task based on their specialties • Sequence – Passing work from one member to the next so everyone contributes • Dialog – all writers edit the writing until all are satisfied with the product • Synthesis – working together at the same time

4. Planning your writing • Identify audience • Identify stakeholders (especially clients) • State the desired outcome • Identify tasks that need to be accomplished • Identify benchmarks • Create graphic representation of project plan

5. Communicating with your team • Face-to-face meetings = most effective • E-mail • Computer conferences (ex. Skype) • Groupware (ex. Google Documents)

6. Guidelines to team writing • Get to know your team • Set clear goals and ground rules • Use brainstorming techniques for planning • Use storyboarding techniques for drafting • Agree on a revision process • Use computers to communicate

7. Communicating with subject matter experts • Use the SME’s time wisely • Put questions in writing when possible • Prepare for interviews and meetings • Treat the SME with respect

8. Keep in mind... • Have respect when someone is talking • Stick to the schedule – when you have a meeting, be there • Do your part – no one likes a slacker  • Be open to new ideas • Use ethical decision-making • Manage time – don’t wait until the last minute

9. Collaboration experience Lanni and I worked very well together overall. We respected each other when either one of us were talking and were open to new ideas that each of us had for the presentation. We did not assign roles for the project, but Lanni took the initiative to start the power point presentation. Together we looked over information that would be best for the slides and successfully created a power point about writing in teams. Later on, we included an additional slide that included reminders for the workplace that we felt were important, and tips that were usually forgotten. We utilized a dialogue method of collaboration to establish what to write in the power point.