Ten ways my teaming approach has changed/ evolved since I started, teamwork skills I have developed, and lessons learned: 

1. Communication
   1. My team and I have developed a relationship on both a professional and personal level which I feel as if was key for us to work well together. 
   2. Being able to provide truthful feedback is crucial to both the team and venture’s development. 
2. Creative approach
   1. When I first started on the team, I was a bit timid on giving ideas and feedback because of how fresh our project was and not being aware of exactly where our venture was headed. I am now embracing the journey though and not feeling pressured or stuck in a box when thinking about how our venture can be improved and/or expanded. 
3. Accountability
   1. Holding myself and my teammates accountable is what allows the most improvement. I am still working on this skill. As a team, we tend to work very last minute and miss deadlines which are trying to be stopped this semester. For instance, we now always sending out when2meets so we are aware of each other’s schedule and fit time to dedicate to our venture. 
4. I learned to not wait until the last minute. Last semester, we were not able to submit any literary pieces as a team because of how we kept pushing back the duties and responsibilities. 
   1. I would recognize though that last semester was really rough when we completely transitioned to online school which no one was prepared for. 
5. Networking  
   1. It is really crucial that we always take the opportunity to send out an email or set up a zoom call to network with people who could have huge contributions on our journey to a successful and impactful venture. For instance, Rebecca, one of my teammates, took the opportunity to meet with one of the Environmental Studies professors which was really helpful since she was working on an interesting research project herself that provided us insight that could be incorporated into our project in Almaty, Kazakhstan. 
6. Taking initiative
   1. Sometimes it is extremely helpful when someone sort of dominates a group to an extent to enforce expectations and duties. In my team, we all have taken turns doing so depending on the personal confidence and motivation in a specific scenario. We are all college students juggling a lot so taking turns with this role has been very relieving. It does not concentrate any dominance or stress on one person. 
7. Not taking on too many tasks 
   1. Last semester, I was very unrealistic with how much I could do for the venture every week, which led to disappointments. I should have made my group aware so that they could possibly help out with needed tasks
8.  I think it will be beneficial as a group to designate a specific time every week or biweekly to meet on our own to discuss goals and progress. 
   1. It will be very beneficial to meet as a team on our own to take the time to reflect on what could/ should be done better. 
9. I improved on my data taking. Last semester, I used to read many literary pieces but not fully explain them to my group members because of simply just forgetting what I had thoroughly read. Therefore, I have a designated folder in my google drive that I always have side by side with my readings to ensure that I am citing any research I gather and even make it easier for me to explain to my group members about what I have learned.
10. Active listening
    1. I tend to get way too excited sometimes and block out what is being said to me because of trying to formulate what I will say myself. I worked a lot on that because when working on a group project like ours it is key to allow everyone speak and be understood. 

 

Our original plan 03/20/2020

• Goals: 
  • Have a rough draft completed of the paper we are submitting to the IEE CHTC Conference in Seattle by mid-April
    • Send to Prof. Mehta so that he can review before submitting 
  • Touching base with our connections in Kazakhstan
    • Formulating a plan with them
  • Have a model laid out for the website by the end of April 
• Roles: 
  • Alondra
    • Implementer, Monitor-evaluator
  • Hugo
    • Specialist
  • Josue 
    • Team worker, resource investigator 
  • Nathaly 
    • Monitor-evaluator: critically analyze information before coming to conclusions 
    • Completer/finisher: detects errors and omissions; ensures adherence to deadlines

• • Rebecca 
    • Implementer: actually gets things done; turns ideas into actual plans 
    • Resource investigator: develop external contacts; negotiate for the team’s resources
  • Ulan 
    • Shaper: maintains a positive mental attitude; finds the best ways to overcome challenges facing the team 
    • Specialist: expert knowledge in a particular area 

• • Professor Duvanova 
    • Team worker, coordinator, specialist 
• Procedures
  • Decision Making: 
    • Majority Rule
    • If we are split down the middle, we will use our advisor as a mediator to help come to a consensus. 
  • Effective Meetings: 
    • Setting up goals for each meeting 
    • Checking in with each other→ Where people are with their designated tasks, etc. 
    • Splitting up work so that we are being proactive and productive with the time we work on tasks
    • Creating documents that have everyone’s assigned tasks for the week so we know how to check up on each other 
  • Communication:
    • Best time to work: In the mornings, any day of the week, preferably the end of the week
    • Frequency: Meet at least once a week besides our weekly advisor meetings
    • Location: Online
    • Type of Technology: Google Docs and Zoom
  • Relationships 
    • Make sure to consider everyone’s perspective 
    • Do not get frustrated with each other

Our Updated Plan:  

 

	What are the personal goals (small g) of each member on this team? (Team Member #1,#2, #3, etc) Make sure they connect to the DREAM on the Individual Profile.  What is the Project GOAL (big G) we’re all committed to achieve together? Is our Project Goal scaled to our resources (dreams, materials, skills, differences, etc.) and constraints (assignment, time, skills, etc.)  What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing? GOALS  Personal: (Insert your own goals)  –> Stretch out the weekly work throughout several days to ensure I am putting the most effort –> Submit one article discussing the effects of COVID on Almaty’s air quality Big Goal G: Decreasing the people’s exposure to air pollution and the amount of health diseases and deaths associated with cardiovascular and lung diseases in Almaty and improving overall quality of life  Small Goals: Strengthen our relationship with AlmaU to better understand the students and people there.   Creating our survey to identify our prime customer segments.  Recruitment passionate students to continue working on our project Better understanding of the financial side of our project Scaled to our resources and constraints?  Our Project goal is scaled to our resources and constraints. Our venture is still in the early stages of development. We have an ultimate goal and know how we want to approach it, which is through a mobile app that will provide individualized advice. Our advice will guide people through better behaviors that can be taken to decrease the chances of getting a chronic illness associated with cardiovascular and lung health.  What are the metrics for success for what we’re producing? Decrease in the morbidity and mortality rates from conditions related to cardiovascular and lung diseases  Decreasing the medical cost related to poor health
Roles	Who is responsible for which deliverables? Alondra, Josue, Hugo – responsible for developing the survey and sending it out.  Rebecca, Nathaly, Ulan – responsible for figuring out the financial portion of the project, identifying the funding sources.  Everyone – responsible for writing a research paper, finding ways to make our project sustainable in the long term, and connecting with the partners from AlmaU.  Which deliverables that require collaboration, subgroups & individual work?  All of our deliverables require collaboration because they are fundamental parts of our project.  Who does each person depend upon to succeed? Everyone depends on one another for various things. We know what our strengths and weaknesses are and use them to our advantage.  Do we need a project manager to coordinate?  No, we do not need a project manager because we all keep each other accountable.
Procedures	Decision Making –  Consensus/majority rules If there is a tie in votes, our advisor’s vote will break the tie Effective Meetings Everyone comes with updates on their progress with their deliverables We review goals and methods to progress towards them  Meeting roles:   Facilitator- advisor Notetaker- Rebecca Implementer- Alondra  Specialist in culture and language-Ulan Main presenter, networker-Josue  Specialist in Kazakhstan environmental history-Hugo  Communication- Zoom Weekly meetings with Advisor and team on Fridays @ 11:30 AM Weekly meetings with only team members to work on deliverables together and update one another  We send messages to update one another on our progress and where we may need help Email advisor with updates on progress
Relationships	Team Diversity – What is the diversity on our team?  Our team consist of a range of disciplines from computer science/ engineering to environmental studies/ economics/business Disciplines to tap for solutions;  individual learning styles for the stages of invention;  overall team learning style strengths and places to supplement;  cultural backgrounds , work experience,  dreams to leverage for scope & impact of goals, new roles, better procedures;  languages for more diverse customer set, bigger market; Alondra→ Invested in learning about the environmental issues being faced globally. Learns mainly from social interactions Hugo- Learns mainly from reading. Enjoys to learn about other cultures and  Ulan – Comes from the same cultural background as the region our project is based on, fluent in their naitve language  Nathaly- Passionate about environmental issues and helping disadvantaged groups. Learns by doing and seeing. Rebecca→  Josue  Listening – Notice my binary thinking, auto-rankism, and go beyond it.  Team Name Air Quality, Almaty