Skip to main content

​
Overview

Engineering Design 3 is a team-based project requiring 5-6 members from different engineering programs. Effective teamwork is crucial for success and is part of your assessment. This guide helps you establish productive team dynamics from day one.

​
Team Formation

​
Team Size and Composition

  • Size: 5-6 members per team
  • Diversity: Members from different programs (mechanical, electrical, software, etc.)
  • Benefit: Each member brings unique skills and perspectives
Pro Tip: A diverse team is stronger! Electrical engineering students might excel at PCB design, while software engineers lead ROS2 implementation. Mechanical engineers can focus on CAD and assembly.

​
Finding Team Members

1

Attend First Week Classes

Most teams form during the first week. Introduce yourself and your strengths.
2

Join Course Forum/Discord

Many students find teammates through online course channels.
3

Skills Assessment

Share your skills openly:
  • Programming (C++, Python, MATLAB)
  • CAD/mechanical design
  • Electronics/PCB design
  • Linux/ROS2 experience
  • Project management
4

Set Expectations

Discuss time commitment and grade expectations early.

​
Team Contract

A team contract is a required deliverable in your project proposal. It establishes ground rules and expectations.

​
Essential Elements

Your team contract should include:
Mandatory:
  • Regular Meeting Time: Fixed weekly schedule (e.g., Friday 1:30 PM)
  • Duration: Minimum 30 minutes
  • Location: Specify (on-campus, online, hybrid)
  • Attendance Policy: Consequences for missing meetings
Example:
Team meetings: Every Friday at 1:30 PM, Engineering Building Room 205
Duration: 30-60 minutes
Attendance: Mandatory unless notified 24h in advance
Define:
  • Primary communication channel (Discord, WhatsApp, Slack, Teams)
  • Expected response time (e.g., within 24 hours)
  • Emergency contact method
  • File sharing platform (Google Drive, GitHub, OneDrive)
Example:
Primary: Discord #eeet2610-team-alpha
Response time: Within 24 hours on weekdays
File sharing: GitHub + Google Drive
Emergency: Direct phone call
Each member must:
  • Verbally contribute at least 5 minutes during meetings
  • Present current work, challenges, and upcoming tasks
  • Complete assigned tasks by agreed deadlines
  • Review and provide feedback on others’ work
Example:
Each member will:
- Speak for minimum 5 minutes per meeting
- Submit work 24h before deadlines for team review
- Review pull requests within 48 hours
- Attend all tutorial sessions unless excused
Guidelines:
  • Tasks must be split fairly among members
  • Each person should have independent and collaborative tasks
  • Responsibilities should match skills when possible
  • Workload should be roughly equal
Example Roles:
  • Project Manager: Coordinates meetings, tracks deadlines
  • Mechanical Lead: CAD design, 3D printing, assembly
  • Electronics Lead: PCB design, wiring, power management
  • Embedded Systems Lead: ESP32 programming, PID control
  • ROS2 Lead (2 people): ROS2 setup, SLAM, navigation
  • Documentation Lead: Report writing, video editing
Define how decisions are made:
  • Consensus (everyone agrees)
  • Majority vote (50%+ agreement)
  • Lead decision with team input
  • Escalation to instructor for deadlock
Example:
Major decisions (design changes, component orders): Majority vote
Minor decisions (meeting times, task allocation): Consensus
Conflicts: Discussion → Vote → Instructor mediation if needed
Process:
  1. Direct communication between involved parties
  2. Team discussion during meeting
  3. Mediation by project manager
  4. Escalation to instructor during office hours
Example:
Step 1: Talk privately to resolve issue
Step 2: Bring to team meeting if unresolved
Step 3: Instructor consultation during office hours
Documentation: Log conflict and resolution in meeting minutes
Define penalties for:
  • Missing meetings without notice
  • Not completing assigned tasks
  • Poor quality work
  • Lack of communication
Example:
First offense: Verbal warning in meeting
Second offense: Written warning in meeting minutes
Third offense: Report to instructor (may affect individual grade)
Severe cases: Buy coffee for the team as an act of forgiveness
Important: Consequences must be reasonable and fair. The goal is accountability, not punishment.
Required:
  • All team members must sign and date the contract
  • Include in project proposal appendix
  • Refer to contract when issues arise
Example:
Agreed and signed:
Alice Chen - 02/15/2024 [Signature]
Bob Kumar - 02/15/2024 [Signature]
Charlie Lee - 02/15/2024 [Signature]
...

​
Sample Team Contract Template

# Team [Name] - EEET2610 Contract

## Team Members
1. [Name] - [Student ID] - [Program] - [Role]
2. [Name] - [Student ID] - [Program] - [Role]
...

## Meeting Schedule
- Time: Every [Day] at [Time]
- Location: [Place or Online Link]
- Duration: [X] minutes minimum
- Attendance: Mandatory unless notified 24h advance

## Communication
- Primary Channel: [Discord/WhatsApp/etc.]
- Response Time: Within 24 hours
- File Sharing: [Google Drive/GitHub]

## Participation Standards
- Each member speaks minimum 5 minutes per meeting
- Complete assigned tasks on time
- Review others' work constructively
- Attend tutorial sessions

## Work Distribution
- Tasks assigned based on skills and workload balance
- Each member has independent responsibilities
- Collaborative work on integration tasks

## Decision Making
- Major decisions: Majority vote (4/6)
- Minor decisions: Consensus
- Conflicts: Discussion → Vote → Instructor

## Consequences
- First offense: Verbal warning
- Second offense: Written in minutes
- Third offense: Instructor notification
- Alternative: Buy team coffee ☕

## Signatures
[Names and signatures with dates]

​
Meeting Best Practices

​
Before the Meeting

1

Set Agenda

Share meeting agenda 24 hours before
  • Topics to discuss
  • Decisions needed
  • Presentations required
2

Prepare Updates

Each member prepares:
  • What I completed since last meeting
  • Current challenges/blockers
  • Next tasks and timeline
3

Review Materials

Read shared documents or code before meeting

​
During the Meeting

Assign Roles

  • Facilitator: Keeps meeting on track
  • Timekeeper: Ensures we stay on schedule
  • Note-taker: Records minutes
  • Rotate these roles each week

Follow Structure

  1. Check-in (5 min): Quick round table
  2. Updates (15 min): Everyone shares progress
  3. Discussion (10 min): Solve problems together
  4. Action items (5 min): Assign next tasks
  5. Next meeting (2 min): Confirm time/place
5-Minute Participation Rule: This ensures everyone contributes. Silent members may not be engaged or may feel unheard. Encourage quiet members to share!

​
After the Meeting

1

Distribute Minutes

Send meeting notes within 24 hours including:
  • Attendees
  • Key decisions made
  • Action items with assigned owners and deadlines
  • Next meeting time
2

Update Task Tracker

Update shared task list or project board (Trello, Notion, GitHub Projects)
3

Individual Work

Each member works on assigned tasks
  • Regular progress updates in communication channel
  • Ask for help early if blocked

​
Common Team Problems and Solutions

Signs:
  • Missing meetings repeatedly
  • Not completing assigned tasks
  • No communication or updates
Solutions:
  1. Private conversation: Ask if they’re facing challenges (personal, workload, understanding)
  2. Redistribute tasks: Maybe task doesn’t match their skills
  3. Set clear deadlines: Specific, achievable milestones
  4. Document issues: Keep meeting minutes showing pattern
  5. Instructor consultation: As last resort during office hours
Don’t wait until the end of semester! Address issues early when there’s time to improve.
Example: Team split on using Arduino IDE vs VSCode/PlatformIOSolutions:
  1. List pros/cons: Create comparison table
  2. Prototype both: Quick test with each approach
  3. Expert input: Ask instructor or tutor during tutorial
  4. Vote: If no clear winner, use majority vote
  5. Document decision: Record why choice was made
Signs:
  • Some members working 10+ hours, others <2 hours
  • Resentment building in team
  • Quality suffering due to overload
Solutions:
  1. Track time: Use simple time log for 1-2 weeks
  2. Visualize work: Create task board showing who’s doing what
  3. Rebalance: Redistribute tasks mid-project
  4. Parallel work: Break large tasks into parallel subtasks
  5. Skills training: Help less experienced members upskill
Signs:
  • Missed deadlines due to misunderstanding
  • Duplicate work
  • Surprises during meetings
Solutions:
  1. Structured updates: Daily/twice-weekly async updates in channel
  2. Shared documents: Living Google Doc with current status
  3. Git commits: Descriptive commit messages
  4. Quick standups: 5-min sync before work sessions
  5. Over-communicate: Better to share too much than too little
Signs:
  • Working all night before deadlines
  • Rushed, low-quality work
  • Stress and burnout
Solutions:
  1. Internal deadlines: Set team deadlines 1 week before official
  2. Incremental progress: Small weekly milestones
  3. Buffer time: Account for unexpected issues
  4. Early integration: Don’t wait until last minute to combine subsystems
  5. Start early: Order components and begin work immediately

​
Task Distribution Strategies

​
Work Package Assignment

Assign work packages based on skills and interest:
Work PackageRecommended SkillsTeam Members
WP1: MATLAB SimulationMATLAB, Math, Kinematics1-2 members
WP2: CAD DesignMechanical design, 3D modeling1-2 members
WP2: PCB DesignElectronics, circuit design1 member
WP3: Embedded ControlC/C++, microcontrollers1-2 members
WP4: ROS2 Setup & URDFLinux, Python, XML1 member
WP4: ROS2 NavigationROS2, algorithms, Python/C++2 members
WP5: IntegrationEveryone (collaborative)All members
Documentation & ReportsStrong writing, organization1-2 members + reviews from all
Overlap is good! Two people working on complex work packages (WP4) provides redundancy and knowledge sharing.

​
Parallel vs Sequential Work

Some tasks can be done in parallel, others must be sequential: Parallel (Weeks 1-6):
  • Person A: MATLAB simulation (WP1)
  • Person B: CAD design (WP2)
  • Person C: PCB design (WP2)
  • Person D: ESP32 environment setup (WP3)
  • Person E: ROS2 environment setup (WP4)
Sequential (Weeks 7-10):
  • Hardware must be built before testing
  • ROS2 packages build on each other (URDF → Control → Localization → SLAM → Nav)
  • Integration requires all subsystems ready

​
Collaboration Tools

Communication

Discord (recommended) or Microsoft Teams
  • Channels for each work package
  • File sharing
  • Voice/video calls
  • Screen sharing

Version Control

GitHub (required)
  • Code repositories
  • Version history
  • Branching for features
  • Pull request reviews

Documentation

Google Docs or Overleaf (LaTeX)
  • Collaborative report writing
  • Real-time editing
  • Comment and suggestion mode

Task Management

Trello, Notion, or GitHub Projects
  • Kanban boards
  • Task assignments
  • Deadline tracking

File Sharing

Google Drive or OneDrive
  • Large files (CAD, videos)
  • Datasheets and references
  • Meeting minutes

Scheduling

Google Calendar or When2Meet
  • Shared team calendar
  • Meeting scheduling
  • Deadline reminders

​
Git Workflow for Teams

1

Repository Structure

Create organized repositories:
eeet2610-team-alpha/
├── wp1-matlab/           # MATLAB simulation
├── wp2-cad/              # CAD files
├── wp2-pcb/              # PCB schematics
├── wp3-firmware/         # ESP32 code
├── wp4-ros2/             # ROS2 packages
├── docs/                 # Documentation
└── README.md             # Project overview
2

Branching Strategy

  • main: Stable, working code
  • develop: Integration branch
  • feature/motor-control: Individual features
  • fix/encoder-bug: Bug fixes
Merge to main only when tested!
3

Commit Best Practices

  • Frequent commits (every significant change)
  • Descriptive messages: “Add PID controller for left motor” not “Update code”
  • Push regularly to back up work
4

Pull Requests

  • Create PR for major changes
  • Request team review
  • Discuss and improve code together

​
Weekly Meeting Checklist

Use this template for your weekly meetings: 
# Team [Name] - Meeting [Number]
Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
Time: [HH:MM - HH:MM]
Location: [Place]

## Attendees
- [x] Member 1
- [x] Member 2
- [ ] Member 3 (absent - notified)
...

## Agenda
1. Quick check-in (5 min)
2. Progress updates (15 min)
3. Blocker discussion (10 min)
4. Task assignment (5 min)
5. Next steps (5 min)

## Progress Updates

### [Member 1]
- Completed: [Task 1, Task 2]
- Challenges: [Issue description]
- Next: [Upcoming task]

### [Member 2]
...

## Decisions Made
- [Decision 1]: [Rationale]
- [Decision 2]: [Rationale]

## Action Items
| Task | Assigned To | Deadline | Status |
|------|------------|----------|--------|
| [Task description] | [Name] | [Date] | Not started |
...

## Next Meeting
- Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
- Time: [HH:MM]
- Agenda items: [Preview]

​
Instructor Support

When to contact the instructor:
Purpose: Technical questions and team mediation
  • Ask technical questions about work packages
  • Request objective feedback on team dynamics
  • Get guidance on design decisions
  • Other teams present can provide additional perspectives
Purpose: Private discussions and conflict resolution
  • Escalate serious team conflicts
  • Discuss individual grade concerns
  • Get personalized project advice
  • Issues logged in meeting minutes
Purpose: Administrative questions
  • Deadline extensions (with valid reason)
  • Clarification on assignment requirements
  • Submission issues
Don’t suffer in silence! If team issues arise, address them early. Instructors can help mediate and adjust grades for non-contributing members if documented properly.

​
Next Steps

Course Overview

Review course structure and deliverables

Project Proposal

Start your project proposal with team contract

Prerequisites

Ensure team covers all required skills