🍱 Building the Winning Team¶
"My team had 4 best friends. Zero workers. We had a great time planning. We had a terrible time submitting a broken project."
— A lesson in team-building.
Your team is the foundation of your project. A bad team can ruin a great idea. A great team can save a mediocre one.
👤 The Archetypes: Know Your Teammates¶
Every project team has these characters. The question is: do you have the right mix?
✅ The Ideal Teammate Archetypes¶
| Role | Trait | What They Do |
|---|---|---|
| The Presenter 🎤 | External-facing, confident, articulate. | Handles the Viva, talks to the guide, designs the PPT. |
| The Architect 💻 | Technical wizard, loves debugging. | Writes the core logic, builds the backend, fixes the "impossible" bugs. |
| The Scribe 📝 | Organized, meticulous, good writer. | Maintains the project diary, writes the 100-page report, formats the bibliography. |
| The All-Rounder 🔧 | Flexible, willing to learn anything. | Fills gaps, handles testing, manages logistics (printing, guide meetings). |
For a 4-member team, you need all four. If you have two "Architects" and zero "Scribes," your report will be a disaster.
❌ The Toxic Teammate Archetypes¶
Watch out for these:
The Ghost 👻
Disappears for weeks. Doesn't reply to messages. Shows up on demo day asking, "So, what did we build?"
The Panic Merchant 😱
Constantly anxious about everything but does nothing to fix it. Creates stress for the team without adding value.
The 'I'll Do It Later' Guy 🐢
Skilled, but lazy. Always promises to deliver "by tonight." Delivers nothing.
The Credit Taker 📸
Does 10% of the work. Takes 50% of the credit. Somehow ends up presenting the best modules in the Viva.
🚫 The Team Selection Red Flags¶
1. The Friendship Trap¶
Don't pick teammates just because they're your best friends. Ask yourself:
"Will they actually work? Or will they expect me to carry them?"
Friendship is great. But a failed project ruins friendships.
2. The "I'll Carry Them" Fallacy¶
You might think: "They're weak, but I'll carry them."
Here's the problem: In the final Viva, the examiner asks individual questions. If your teammate can't explain the module they "worked on," it reflects poorly on the entire team.
Exception: If someone is genuinely from an unrelated background (e.g., a non-CS student in a CS project), you can guide them. But they must still learn their part.
3. The "Silent Techie" Problem¶
If you're the technical lead and you build everything in silence, your team will have no clue about the project. Then, in the Viva, when you're asked about the frontend (which your teammate supposedly built), they'll freeze—and you'll look like you did everything alone (which evaluators don't like either).
Teach your teammates as you build.
📈 Management Tips¶
Keep a Paper Trail¶
Always update your guide regularly—ideally by email.
"Update: Completed API integration. Facing a minor CORS issue, will fix by Monday."
This email serves as proof of your consistent work. If there's ever a dispute about contributions, you have receipts.
Address Conflicts Early¶
If a teammate isn't contributing, talk to them in Week 2, not Week 10. If it doesn't improve, escalate to your guide before it's too late.
The Real-World Truth
In the industry, projects are built by teams, not individuals. Learning how to manage a "Ghost Teammate" or a technical disagreement is a skill you'll use for the rest of your career.