Project 3 Post Mortem
The Brekky Boys - Lock n Loaf
Topic:
Brainstorming
What happened?
Throughout project 3’s opening week, brainstorming was extremely prevalent. The ideas were flowing fast and all were accepted among the team. The brainstorming came from both sides of the team not only one member and even though each member pitched different ideas the final outcome was a combination of ideas from both parties. There was no shutting down or putting down other members ideas, each idea would be accepted and then fleshed out as far as it could go even if both parties didn’t agree fully on the concept. The brainstorming process didn’t get bogged down by focusing too much on one idea and we even made mini pitches to not only each other but a third party to decide on the final choice.
Why did it happen?
The brainstorming flourished in project 3 due to both members coming to the in person meetings with an idea and then worked together to flesh out each other's ideas. Doing all of this in person meant we were able to work together well and could get a sense when the other member was passionate and excited by an idea, having the in person brainstorming instead of over discord meant the process was able to be started and ended quickly and efficiently.
How to make sure it does happen again?
Deciding to brainstorm in person provided so many benefits to our project, as did doing mini pitches of our ideas to a third party. On any upcoming group projects i will attempt to do both of these again by explaining to new members the benefits i saw and creating a flow chart of the process used to give a visual representation to them.
Topic:
Communication
What happened?
After struggling with team communication in my last trimester i had set my sights on really improving this throughout studio 1. Project 3 was a fantastic example of the improvement to team communication i had made between then and now. My teammate and i were in almost constant communication having mostly nightly meetings on discord and staying behind after any classes we had together to reevaluate where we were at. My teammate had usually used a document with every team member's possible meeting availability but for the first time was surprised that he did not need to use it because of the constant communication between us.
Why did it happen?
I think the high levels of communication were due to two aspects of the project. 1 being that the passion behind the project was extremely high. Both team members really liked the concept of the game we were making which lifted both our spirits and our productivity. Secondly the prior knowledge that both team members were hard workers made a sense of reassurance that the project would be complete and to a high standard adding to the creative passion behind it.
How to make sure it does happen again?
Even though it went unused, my teammates document detailing team member meeting availability i thought was a fantastic idea and something i would like to add to my projects moving forward, this would not only contribute to a high level of communication but also a smoother project experience overall as frustrations between team members could be resolved quickly.
Topic:
When life gives you lemons
What happened?
During the final stages of Project 3 unfortunately i had some unexpected disruptions to my personal life which brought a halt to my productivity within the project. Even though my workflow was interrupted luckily my communication with my teammate did not get affected and he was able to carry the project through to completion as it was so late in the process. The project didn’t get to the polished state we had imagined for it and this was definitely because of my unavailability to help which was unfortunate.
Why did it happen?
My lecturer told me that people can deal with outside problems in different ways, some people bottle it up and continue to steadily work using it to keep busy and other people stop work altogether to deal with things. As the trimester had already taken so much out of me it brought me to such a state of exhaustion that i was unable to help. This caused frustration for myself but thankfully my teammate was incredibly understanding and was a huge part of me making it through the project.
How to make sure it doesn’t happen again?
Although it was something completely out of my control moving forward onto other projects if something like this were to happen again i think my way of handling it will need to change and adapt to the style of slowly completing the work using it to take my mind of the problem. This would not only keep the workflow of the project alive but maintain my overall work production throughout the trimester.