DTR (Define the Relationship) Prep

Define the Relationship Prep

Purpose

You will be a contributor in team settings throughout your Turing career working on complex technical challenges. You may be surprised to find out that < 1% of failing projects at Turing are due solely to technical deficiencies - in fact, the majority of failing projects are due to intrapersonal/team issues. In order to set yourself (and your teammates) up for success, it is critical to clearly communicate and set expectations with your teammates.

Before every project kickoff, we ask students to participate in a exercise known as Defining the Relationship (DTR), where you will work to set realistic expectations with your teammates around workflow, communication, etc.

However, prior starting Mod 1, it is crucial for you to reflect on what works for YOU! Obviously, this will change over the course of your Turing career as your learn more about your strengths and weaknesses, which is why this will be used as a living document.

Words of Wisdom

As you work through this document, avoid the following pitfalls:

  • “I’m flexible!” or “I’m down for whatever the group wants to do!”
    • This is typically where problems start. You actually DO have preferences and opinions - it’s better to communicate these from the get-go rather than have trouble come up later.
  • “I can’t really answer this until I start school”
    • Deciding on how you are going to show up as a teammate after you are in a working relationship with others does not always turn out so great. Push yourself to think through these relationships, dynamics, and your needs now.

Preparing to DTR

You will learn a lot in between now and the first team project you are assigned in Mod 1 - technical concepts, about yourself, and what working on technical projects collaboratively can look and feel like.

Start preparing for your first DTR conversation with a future project team members by following the directions in this Google Doc and be prepared to share your reflections with your small group in your next session.

Be sure to click the Make a Copy button and save to your own Google Drive for easy retrieval and sharing!



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