Pitfalls which could be experienced by any member of the team.

inadequate communication
The most common complaints I hear from team members is that one member of the team is not communicating often enough with the rest of the team. It is very difficult to communicate TOO OFTEN. It is very easy to communicate TOO LITTLE.Your team will be establishing a communication plan, please make sure you review it and follow it.

Analyze your teammates and figure out the most effective way to reach them. Some folks always respond to their cell phone but may have problems picking up email. The client may respond best to a written summary of what you have discussed, or they may prefer to take their own notes.

You may be thinking to yourself "why do I have to call one team member and then telephone another? Why can 't my team just communicate with email since that is my preferred way to communicate?" Well as a team member you need to do what it takes to make things work. There is no correct or incorrect method of communication. Do whatever it takes to make it work. If no technique works, send your instructor a note.

friends/spouses working on a team together
I have tried this for several years and it almost always ends in disaster. I had a boyfriend/girlfriend set of CDs who only talked to each other and ignored the rest of the team. They shared all tasks so I could never tell who to grade for what. The girl would speak for the boy who never attended meetings. They also began to feel that the rest of the team was against them, and a "us against the world" attitude developed.

When part of the team are good friends or a couple they may find it hard to bond with the rest of the team because they have already bonded with each other. When disagreements occur the couple or friends will tend to form a faction that may be more resistant to compromise or too see the other teammates point of view.

If your spouse or friend is having trouble completing their assigned tasks, it will be very tempting to step in and do the work for them. This is a big mistake and always ends with guilt, embarrassment or resentment, it is also against class policy to do work for a teammate.

Doing the work of a classmate with the intention of "being helpful"
Friends and couples are not the only ones who do each other's work. Folks tend to fall into 2 categories: "the rescuers" and "the reporters" . I encourage you to be a reporter .I have provided guidelines for who does what, the PM may clarify team assignments. Stick to the plan. If something does not get done, the team will not be graded down, the site will still be created. When you do someone else's work you make it very difficult for me to do my job as the teacher. I can't help a student who is struggling or reprimand a student who is lazy, when you "cover" for them.

waiting too long to ask for help

one element stops the entire process

the client not understanding what the various parts of a site are called and consequently asking for the wrong thing. NOt understanding what a splash page is until they are shown the page.

biting off more than you can chew - content photos not to exceed 25. Navigation goes from each to complex in the following continuum. All navigation is text >>navigation is graphic links > > rollover navigation >> remote rollover navigation >> remote persistent navigation >> flyaway menus.

creating a template that is too complex

letting a member of your team take over the template and then losing control of the project

not trusting your CDs- leave them alone to do their job

not giving the client the PSD documents in the hope of forcing the client to hire you after the class is over

blaming Imageready or dreamweaver for a messy template

having such a high standard that no one on your team is doing things good enough to suit you so you redo it