Our plan as a team was to plan, design, and build an “egg-protection” device of our own engineering following the project rules.
RULES:
Materials: 1 raw egg, 8 straws and 2 feet of masking tape
Execution Time: 10 MINUTES
Process: We drop our egg in its device from a height of 10 feet. The egg must not break.
Design Requirements: The egg shell MUST be at least 50% visible in our design.
Our first step in the planning process was to define our goals and objectives. We divided our responsibilities and within 10 mins our group completed the following:
1) One member of our team wrote our team members’ names on a sheet of paper
2) Another member identified the name of our egg
3) I drew the design for our final contraption
4) All together we built our planned design
5) Kristina brought both, our paper and the egg, to the front of the room before the time was up.
Step 2: we determined our current status compared to our objectives: we identified resources (one raw egg, 8 straws and 2 feet of masking tape). In addition, we identified each group member’s strengths that work in our favor and each member weaknesses that can hold us back and as a result we applied each member skills accordingly.
Step 3: we developed promises and several alternative strategies (primarily we had three different strategies and three different designs). We evaluated the alternatives to access strengths and weaknesses of each. Finally we came up with the final plan and design.
Step 4: we analyzed the alternatives and made a tactical plan. We chose the alternative most likely to accomplish our objectives. In addition, we allocated jobs and roles. Each group member was participating: one was holding the egg, another one was cutting the straws, the third one was cutting the tape and etc.
Step 5: we implemented the plan and, as I mentioned above, all of us were participating and the roles were clear allocated.
However, we didn’t really have enough time to evaluate the results and take any corrective actions and, in addition, we didn’t have a real leader. That’s why probably our plan failed. We could have been more effective and successful if we had more time and a real leader.
Interesting in how all the steps in the planning process can be executed but still not be enough to win a task at hand. I guess having a leader is needed in initiating any project where being successful is the main objective.
ReplyDeleteI also think that it's hard to come up with a leader when all the members in the group didn't really know each other well. I mean, it takes at least familiarity for one to elect another for a certain position such as a leader. Time constraint is definitely another factor. I think it would have been better if we had a little bit more time to plan.
ReplyDeleteI agree as well with the remark about not having a team leader. although we were successful, it was definitely a little disorganized without the designation of one leader which added some stress to project. I think by doing this project, we saw the importance of little details that actually make big differences.
ReplyDeleteIt is so funny, other than a select one or two groups max, no one really had a leader for there group. Just like Ashley said above, it doesn't necessarily mean that you will win, but it does add a little bit of organization and relieves some of the anxiety within the group. It is like anything in life, when there is disorganization, it adds a little bit of unnecessary stress because people are throwing ideas and trying to do things from every angle. I think for the most part, most all of the groups worked in the same way. A bunch of people thrown together, in a short amount of time, trying to accomplish the best construction of a group representation of what everyone thinks is a great idea. The reason why some of us won the competition, was because they thought outside of the box. If I took anything away from this whole project, is that thinking outside of the box is not just a way of winning some competition in a management class, but a way to win in life.
ReplyDeleteThe planning process was very well executed, and despite that there was still a flaw. Even with a very specific system laid in place there may be issues that come up, in your case the lack of time and leadership stopped your progress.
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