| Method |
Advantages |
Drawbacks |
| Face-to-face |
- Allows team members to quickly share a large number of ideas — particularly useful for brainstorming and debating the pros and cons of different ideas.
- Effective for drafting plans, outlines, and task schedules.
- Effective for discussing graphic design, such as a company brochure or the layout of a Web page.
|
- Often difficult to schedule large blocks of time when the team can meet outside of class.
- Can be difficult for everyone to have equal input — the person sitting at the keyboard can control what is said.
- Ineffective for drafting text and content — wastes individual time and can produce conflict.
- Often impossible in the workplace, where team members may be geographically distant.
|
| Divided |
- Allows the work to be completed in the least amount of time.
|
- Minimal collaboration.
- Can be difficult to recover if one team member fails to do his or her share or does a poor job.
- Content likely to contain duplications, gaps, and inconsistencies.
- Style can suffer from inconsistent tone, word choice, and writing quality.
|
| Layered |
- Helps ensure a high-quality project because everyone has multiple opportunities to contribute, critique, and improve upon the project.
- Maximizes the contributions of all group members.
- Motivates the group because everyone feels ownership of the full document.
- Particularly effective for drafting and revising.
- Mirrors collaboration in the workplace.
|
- Different team members’ roles may require unequal effort —this is common in a work setting but may create problems in a school setting, where all team members are expected to contribute equally.
- Requires thoughtful planning up front — some team members may feel anxious spending time on planning rather than jumping into the details.
|