Team Contracts

GT 1000: First-Year Seminar, Physics

1 Why Write a Contract?

Most group projects that go wrong do so for predictable reasons: no one agreed on who does what, when the team meets, or what happens when someone stops responding. A team contract settles those questions at the start, while everyone still gets along.

A contract is not a legal document, and it is not a formality. It is a short, specific agreement that your team can point to when something goes wrong. Research groups, lab partners, and engineering teams make the same kinds of agreements, sometimes on paper and sometimes not. Writing it down is how you make sure everyone agreed to the same thing.

Tip

Be specific. “We will communicate regularly” can’t be checked. “We use GroupMe and reply within 24 hours on weekdays” can.

2 What Goes in the Contract

The Team Project Contract must address each section below.

2.1 Team Members and Contact Information

Names and GT email addresses for all four members.

2.2 Track and Topic

Which track your team chose, and:

  • Track A (Inside a Physics Lab): your first-choice research group and professor, plus one or two backups, and whether you have contacted them yet. For a group outside the School of Physics, explain in two or three sentences how its work relates to physics.
  • Track B (Measure Tech): the quantity you will measure and your two methods. If you are proposing an experiment that is not on the menu, describe it so it can be approved.

2.3 Roles and Tasks

Each member’s primary role and what else each person is responsible for, including their section of the presentation. Everyone should do a fair share of the work.

Track A: Inside a Physics Lab Track B: Measure Tech
Liaison Project Manager
Interview Lead Lead Experimentalist
Science Lead Data Analyst
Media and Deck Lead Communications Lead

The Team Project page describes each role.

2.4 Meetings

When and where the team will meet, including at least one in-person planning meeting and at least one full rehearsal before presenting.

2.5 Communication

The channel the team will use (e.g., GroupMe or Teams) and how quickly members are expected to respond.

2.6 Internal Deadlines

Target dates for:

  • your lab visit and interview (Track A), or your data collection, including the session the Team Leader will observe (Track B);
  • your check-in with the Team Leader by October 23;
  • drafts and a final version ahead of the November 6 slide deadline.

2.7 Backup Plan

How the team will cover for technology failures or a member who is sick on presentation day.

2.8 Conflict Resolution

What the team will do if a member stops communicating or contributing. The first step is talking with that member; if that does not resolve it, contact the Team Leader or instructor before the assignment is due, not after.

2.9 Signatures

Every team member signs and dates the contract.

3 Vague vs. Specific

Vague Specific
We will meet when needed. We meet Tuesdays, 6–7 PM, in the Clough Commons.
Everyone will help with the slides. Each member drafts the slides for their own section by Oct. 30; the Media and Deck Lead combines them by Nov. 2.
We will practice before presenting. Full rehearsal with a timer on Nov. 3 (Teams 1–2) or Nov. 10 (Teams 3–4).
We will deal with problems as they come up. If someone misses two meetings or does not reply for 48 hours, one teammate contacts them directly; if nothing changes in three days, we email the Team Leader.

4 Helpful Resources