Last semester I took a compilers class here at UNI. The class consisted of 6 people, so when it came time to break into groups, we decided to be in one big group. Each person was then assigned a role to do for the project.

As the project manager, it was my job to control the schedule, lead team meetings, and make sure deliverables where submitted. I wanted this job more then the other ones, and was very happy when I got it. I feel that I made several mistakes.

First of all, I feel that I should have pushed harder in the beginning. Right away we had problems with getting this done quickly enough. Some of this was the size of the group. 6 people is simply to big for a project like this. There aren't enough things to do at all stages of the project, so at any given time, 50% of the group was essentially unable to make progress. I tried to split the tasks up and assign people things, but instead we should have brain stormed an alternative solution. Perhaps have a few people work on something down the road.

Second, I tried to control the situation more then I should have. I felt that if I didn't make sure all the holes were filled, they wouldn't get done. What this resulted in is that the roles ended up being basically worthless. Instead of having Kyle, the system architect, research the way all the modules would fit together, I simply set up everything in the source right away so we could get moving. I felt that delegating like I should have would result in us slowing down. The real effect was that Kyle became (understandably) agitated, and felt his contributions were worthless. Instead of having Trent, the system integrator, research and determine the most appropriate tools, (such as what version of Ruby to use, whether and how to use a doc system, source control, etc) I simply said "lets do x" for my own reasons. These resulted in Trent never fulfilling his role and not having the say he should have been alloted.

I tried to be an effective leader for this project, but I failed in many ways. Ultimately, we didn't finish our compiler, and I feel that it is in some way my fault. I did learn a lot about how to manage a group, though. Next time I will remember:

• Think critically about what size the group should be before committing
• If 'roles' are used, do not micro manage members; let them evolve their own ideas
• Start more dialogs earlier. Communication is the primary reason to work in a group
• Solve every problem that comes up, by priority. Do not pick and choose the ones that are easy to fix
• Document every major decision and the reason
• Schedule the whole project at the beginning. Everybody should always know what is due, when