It is crunch time for our students as they approach the end of the semester! Adjusting to the new normal during the concern over COVID-19 has not stopped their progress – the teams are busy trying to finish their research and synthesize their work into the final deliverables for their clients. We took the time to review the midpoint feedback from the clients and the peer evaluation, both with the team leaders and as a class. The feedback they received from their midpoint presentations has helped them to focus their efforts on what would be most impactful.
At several points throughout the semester, we ask the students to write a short essay reflecting on what they’ve learned, one of which is assigned after the midpoint presentation. Many students highlighted a shift in their perspective on the role of feedback:
“Throughout this project, I have learned how to give and receive constructive feedback, something that I avoided in my other projects as I didn’t want relationships within the team to get awkward. However, I have realized the feedback actually builds relationships.”
“After the midpoint presentation, our team had a chance to sit down and discuss each other’s performance. This was my first time exchanging in-person feedback with someone other than my manager, and so I was pleasantly surprised to see that the experience was a great help in promoting a healthy work environment for our team.”
Others reflected on their learning about the importance of incorporating stakeholder perspectives:
“I have learned it’s also very important to identify the stakeholders of the project and see it from their perspective. A solution set could end up tackling the problem from many views for our client to decide what will work best. By incorporating these views, we show our value in looking at it from the outside as business analysts.”
And almost all of the students said they learned about effective teamwork:
“As we were conducting primary interview, my team members and I communicated beforehand about details such as who is taking notes, who is asking the questions and when should another member step in during the interview. This way, we were able to gather a lot of useful information in a short amount of time.”
“In the past, I took working in a team as simply being in a group where each person does their share. Now I know that it is so much more. Working in a team requires collaboration, communication, a smooth workflow, personal bonds, and collectively time managing and allocating tasks..”
We are pleased to hear that the students are learning and growing as professionals from this experience, and are excited to see their final presentations! Stay tuned for further updates on the final presentations – and for the final reflection essay which students will publish on this blog!