Planning is the key to a successful team project. We suggest that your team use the three-step stategy as outlined below:

1. Team agrees on purpose, scope and overall technical tasks.

2. Members take assigned tasks and develop detailed plans and solutions.

3. Team reviews members' work frequently and provides feedback.

This strategy combines team work and individual effort; it is effective because it draws on the strengths of both.

1. The newly formed team should read over the pages on "Project Notebook" and "Minutes on Team Meetings." This initial gathering of the team is an "official" team meeting. Your team should discuss the following and decide on an appropriate action. Some require immediate action other are more long term.
   • Who will be moderator for this meeting? The moderator runs the meeting. He or she is not necessarily the team leader.

   • Who wll be scribe for this meeting?

   • Where to keep the team's Project Notebook?

   • How to manage the updating of the Project Notebook? Who? When? How? For example, who is to buy and put in dividers?

   • What lines of communications will be needed by the team?

   • Who will be leader of the team? How decided?

   • What is team's name?

   • What about configuration management? Of ideas? Of designs? Of programs? Of reports/documentation? Use RCS?

   • What about a disaster plan? What if Project Notebook is lost? What if a hard disk crash?

   • What other organization is needed? Planning? Schedules? Expenses?

2. The team should pool their resources. Discover what talents the team members have. Other resources?

3. The team should read Assignment 3 and spend the remaining time to attack the assignment. Use the pages from the Biology text as the teams's primary source. ASK QUESTIONS!

4. Before you adjourn, assign tasks, decide on next meeting place, select a moderator and select a scribe for the next meeting.