In companies as well as in classrooms, writing projects require forming teams of people to collaboratively develop documents. To collaborate well, you have to:
- Understand your role as either an individual contributor or a project manager.
- Understand the four phases of the document development process---planning; writing, usability testing, and editing; producing; and conducting a postmortem---and the roles and tasks associated with each phase.
- Recognize the usefulness of the peer editing team process.
- Familiarize yourself with the specific roles, skills, and responsibilities of both individual contributors and project managers; establish guidelines and job descriptions for each role; and adhere to the applicable guidelines and description to successfully perform your particular role.
Project managers must be able to:
- Track the project by developing schedules, writing progress reports, facilitating meetings, charting progress, and managing project records.
- Facilitate collaboration by establishing horizontal and vertical communication networks, conducting productive meetings, fostering team dynamics, anticipating the barriers to successful collaboration, and managing conflict.
When working on cross-cultural collaborative projects, appreciate the differences in how different cultures work together, including the relative value each places on the individual, the team, and the community.
