Set the contract in the first meeting
Before any work starts, agree on how you will communicate, how often you will meet, who does what, and internal deadlines a week ahead of the real one. Write it in a shared doc. Most group conflict is a disagreement about expectations that no one said out loud.
Divide by output, not by hope
Split the project into pieces that can be checked — a section drafted, a dataset cleaned, slides built — each with an owner and a date. "Everyone will help with everything" produces a scramble the night before. Rotate the coordinating role so it does not silently fall on one person.
When someone is not contributing
Address it early and directly, in the group, about the work: "The analysis section was due Tuesday and is not started — what is going on and what do you need?" Keep a light record of who submitted what and when. Escalating to the instructor in week two with a specific pattern is reasonable; doing it after the grade is posted is too late.
The fairness adjustment
Many project courses collect a confidential peer contribution form near the end. Instructors use it to adjust individual grades within a group when the split was genuinely uneven — it is not a popularity vote, and vague complaints do not move a grade. Concrete, dated examples do.
If the group is dysfunctional
Talk to the instructor before the project is due, not after. Options include a documented re-division of remaining work, a smaller scope for the struggling member, or in rare cases splitting the group. Conflict Resolution Services can facilitate a single hard conversation if the group wants a neutral third person.
Protecting your own record
Keep your drafts, your messages, and your share of the deliverable in a place you control. If the group's shared file is a mess at the deadline, being able to show your finished part is what lets an instructor grade you fairly.
Fictional information
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