Managing Collaborative Writing Projects

Writing in groups presents a unique challenge. Individuals have different interests, different backgrounds, and different attitudes toward writing. Following are several processes which are necessary for the management of effective team writing experiences.

a) Team building
b) Analysis of the task
c) Management of writing
d) Management of time
e) Management of Document stages
f) Management of Style and format
g) Conflict Management
h) Document Review

Team Building: Identifying right members for collaborative writing and allowing the members to select the section of choice is key aspect of team building. Every member needs to be given a chance to speak, and respect must be shown for each person's ideas.

Analysis of the Task: The group must analyze the task to be done so that each member has the same interpretation. They must consider the major questions to be answered concerning the writing project (e.g., what is the purpose of this document? Who is going to need it?).

Management of the Writing Itself: The writing task should be divided into sections. The group can then decide which individuals or teams will work on each section, and plan how long each activity should take. The most common ways to do this are to make an outline of the document or an outline of the steps that will occur in the writing process. Either approach may be used to divide up the tasks. When the group members have identified the work that is to be done, they must make some decisions regarding the following:
Group versus individual work. Decide which activities are to be done as a group and which are to be done by individual group members. Be realistic about expectations. Do not waste group time if an individual can do the task well. However, do not assign an individual a task which will require group consensus every step of the way.
Equivalency of tasks. Each group member should have an equal amount of work. This will help the group complete the job as quickly as possible, and will ensure fairness. Before agreeing on individual assignments, review the tasks as a group and try to determine how much time each task will take. Some activities will be more difficult than others. Even after estimating task difficulty, it may be necessary to re-estimate part way through the project and adjust accordingly.

Best use of individual skills: Make every effort to give the right assignments to the right people. Match up individual skill with a job that utilizes that skill. If group members are comfortable with each other, they will be less hesitant to state their own strengths and weaknesses.

Management of Time: Time deadlines affect group writing tasks constantly. Not only must the group find a common time to get together, but they must see that each section of the project gets accomplished in a reasonable amount of time.
To keep the writing on schedule, it is a good idea to post a large chart or graph on the bulletin board, displaying both the names of the sections to be completed and the estimated dates of completion (e.g., a type of line graph or bar graph). As each task is finished it can be shaded in; everyone can then see at a glance how the work is progressing. An alternate idea would be to post sections of the work itself, using a type of storyboard format.

Management of Document Stages: In a large writing project, keeping track of the document itself can be a problem, both at the beginning when the work is so spread out, and later on when individuals start making revisions. Often, writers complete as many as six or eight revisions. It becomes difficult to know if the version you are reading is the latest one. Writers need to find a way to keep track of what is being written.

Management of Style and Format: It is a good idea for the group to develop a style and format guide at the very beginning of the writing project. The group should consider questions like the following:
*How many illustrations (and of what type) should be included in the document?
*Will processes be explained in point form (with numbers or bullets) or paragraph form?
*Which technical terms will be used and which are necessary to define?
*Will abbreviations be allowed, and if so, which ones?
*What size should the type, margins, and headings be?
*What style guide will be used? Which spelling conventions?
Agreement and understanding regarding basic style and format will make the final editing of the document an easier task.

Conflict Management: Conflicts of both personalities and ideas are common in writing groups. Groups need to face these conflicts and respond to them directly.
If there appears to be a personality conflict between two group members, other members should take steps to resolve the conflict as soon as they become aware that it exists. They need to find the source of the problem. For example, does one group member feel over worked? Is credit for work done being given in an unfair manner? If group members know what the problem is, there is a good chance they can find a way to reach a satisfactory resolution.
Careful management of group meetings is essential for all members to remain receptive to new ideas. One or two group members should not be allowed to dominate group discussion. One technique that will allow for more individual involvement is that of polling each member every so often. The group leader or meeting chairperson can ask each group member in turn what she or he thinks of an idea, giving all members time to talk. As a result there will be more ideas, more discussion, and better solutions.

Document Review: The content should be reviewed by all the members of the team, even if the sections are written by different members. The process helps to maintain uniformity in document flow and reduce redundancy, making the document readable.