Assignment 2

Back in Fall ’07 I was assigned to a group for the final group project for Info 130, an introductory course on web design. We were definitely a group by the definition of being organized around the production of some output, and while we successfully completed the assignment, it was not the most successful group experience.

In terms of inputs, Kraut is correct in saying, “Diversity can be a mixed blessing…they are likely to have different values and beliefs about what is important” (332). The assignment was to create a functional website for a local club, organization or business. The four of us came with extremely varying levels of programming experience, design experience, and experience working in a group in general. One member of my group believed that the goal of the assignment was to just have something to hand in, while another member thought that getting an A was the ultimate (and only) successful ending to our group project. The final member had chosen the client, and it happened to be a professor that he worked with closely so he was even more motivated to create something completely over the top to impress his mentor. We all came from different cultures, had different views on what constitutes an elegant design, and different ideas of how much effort should be put into a homework assignment.


The factors of the interaction process definitely influenced our final output. The conflict between goals hurt our communication and there was a clear in-group-out-group differentiation between those that wanted to do really well and those that just wanted to pass. The member that became the leader, since he chose the client, was not the strongest and had trouble communicating with the others in the group. He ended up feeling so much pressure that he did much more work than was necessary.


We did produce a functional, well designed website for our client that is still used today. Technically speaking, all of the member needs were met because we finished, the professor was impressed, and we got an A. However, Kraut talks about other factors such as group maintenance—can we work together again? I would have to say that probably no one in my group would voluntarily work together again. The proximity of seeing each other in class three times a week definitely increased our productivity because the other members would slack off if they knew that no one was really keeping track of them.