Team Formation

Over the remainder of the semester, you will work in teams to build an interactive narrative visualization that addresses a question on one of the subthemes about housing affordability in Greater Boston. Before we launch into this phase of work, though, we’d like you to identify and assemble a team of 4 people.

Due: Wed 3/5, 11:59 pm ET
Submit the Google Form →

The final project will unfold over a sequence of milestones to give you plenty of opportunities to get feedback on your progress from your peers as well as the teaching staff.

Teams may pursue a final project topic that is not one of the five subthemes, with the caveats that 1) it still needs to relate to housing affordability in Greater Boston and 2) you need to be a group of 4 people and 3) you need to get instructor approval.

The interactive narrative visualization you make – how it is structured and designed – will be entirely up to you and your teammates. For instance, you might follow a strongly author-guided narrative (e.g., a scrolly or stepper slideshow), be fully reader-driven (e.g., an interactive data dashboard), or lie somewhere in-between (i.e., the “martini glass” structure).

Your Tasks

  1. Browse the five subthemes and choose one that you’d be interested in addressing as part of the final project. This subtheme can be the same one you began to explore as part of A2, but you are also welcome to pick another one. Each subtheme has datasets listed and several background readings. Read through at least one of these readings to familiarize yourself with some of the issues at stake for housing affordability (you may have already read some of these articles in previous assignments!).

  2. Assemble a team of 4 people that you would like to work with. You can choose who you want to work with. To help you find collaborators, we’ve created the #team-search channel in Slack for students to declare their interest in particular subtheme(s) and to invite other students to join their teams or to form teams with them. Don’t be shy! Many students in the class will be looking for teammates.

    If you propose a team of four students, the staff will accept the proposal, except in unusual circumstances (eg, if there is a concern that several team members are too far behind on assignments to be adequately prepared for the final project).

    If you propose fewer than four students, the staff may augment your team, by combining proposed teams, matching them by their declared interests. The staff will likewise assign individual students to teams, so don’t worry if you don’t have teammates in mind. We will do our best to ensure that every student is assigned to a team that matches their interests.

    If the number of students in the class is not divisible by four, one or more teams will have fewer than four members. The expectations of these teams will be scaled accordingly.

  3. Agree on a team contract. To facilitate a cohesive team and healthy dynamic, we ask you to agree on a “team contract.” We’ve found that such contracts take only a little time, but reduce the chance that projects are derailed by misunderstandings and disagreements. The team contract should be the result of an open and candid discussion amongst team members about what your individual aspirations and commitments are. Your team’s contract should include the following:

    • Expected level of achievement and effort for each team member (what grades do you expect to get? how much time do you plan to put in?);
    • Personal goals for each team member (building a great interactive visualization? learning a particular skill? affecting some policy change?);
    • Frequency, length and location of team meetings;
    • How quality of work will be maintained (reviewing each others’ code? team review meetings? pair programming?);
    • How tasks will be assigned, and what to do if deadlines are missed;
    • How decisions will be made and any disagreements resolved.

    When thinking about assigning tasks, you can divide the work for the project amongst team members as you please, with two caveats:

    • The amount of work per team member must be roughly the same over the length of the project; and
    • Each team member must participate in all stages and in all activities (e.g., data analysis, visualization design, coding and implementation, etc.).

  4. Pick a project manager. As we’re all aware, the semester can get busy and it’s easy to lose track of things. The project manager will help keep the group coordinated, facilitate communication between group members, and help everyone stay on track. The project manager will also be the primary contact with the course staff and client. Note: decisions about the project should still be made collectively as a group, the project manager is only the point person for logistical details.

  5. Register your team by Wed 3/5, 11:59 pm ET via this Google Form. Slack days may not be used to extend this deadline.