This document is intended to help you complete your upcoming Peer Evaluation.
(1) First, make the qualitative portion of the evaluation meaningful. The following should help you write the performance evaluation portion of the assignment --- the "narrative description that explains each person's level of activity and their contribution or lack of contribution."
You must strive to be as clear and as precise and as fair as possible when assessing your teammates' performance. This evaluation skill will most certainly be a part of your professional career. Now is a good time to practice and refine this necessary part of teamwork.
As you prepare to write this evaluation, think about the following PERFORMANCE dimensions:
| Made all meetings | -or- | missed a bunch? |
| Arrived early, ready to work | -or- | was a drain on the team and left early? |
| Contributed at the meetings | -or- | criticized with no solutions offered? |
| Initiated ideas | -or- | sat back & let others do this hard work? |
| Accepted responsibility | -or- | kept quiet, hoping to avoid tasks? |
| Delivered on promises | -or- | late, or didn't get work done? |
| Positive working attitude | -or- | complained a lot? |
| Organized | -or- | scattered and unproductive? |
| Prepared & helped make decisions | -or- | unprepared and disruptive? |
| Knowledgeable | -or- | weak conceptual/practical ad background? |
There are literally hundreds of dimensions upon which you can base a performance review. The ones listed above are simply used to illustrate the task at hand. That is, to what degree did each person in the group contribute to the overall success of the project?
Specific comments that are rich in detail make this narrative portion valuable and informative.
Don't gloss over weak performance. But don't downgrade someone based on their work style. Conflict within a group is normal and healthy. However, in the final analysis, performance counts.
(2) Second, make the quantitative portion of the evaluation meaningful.
By that I mean, DON'T be overly easy or overly harsh in your allocation of the bonus dollars. DO make the differences among teammates significant when allocating money.
In a team of five with $5,000 to be allocated, don't split hairs. If everyone participated fully and you had a great team experience, then $1,000 to each person is the appropriate thing to do.
However, if there were variances in performance, make accurate and appropriate dollar allocations. A $50-$100 difference among allocations is meaningless and equivalent to using weasel words in the narrative section. A good rule of thumb is to allocate money in increments of $500. This demands that you clearly place someone in the appropriate performance category.
Finally, this is a performance evaluation. Reread the following syllabus paragraph labeled "Deadlines & Standards":
"Attendance is required at all class, presentation, and web team meetings as well as several off-site professional development sessions. Depending upon scheduling, there may be a significant number and variety of off-site, after-hour, and off-class day meetings with Internet related organizations and individuals. Given the nature of the class, wherein web development teams make up an essential portion of the course, significant absence from class and team meetings can reduce your final course grade by up to two letter grades."
The key portion is that "web development teams make up an essential portion of the course...". Please do a thorough and professional job on this important task in the course.