As part of the MIT Emerging Talent Program, our group is committed to building a culture of collaboration, mutual respect, accountability, and transparency throughout all phases of our data science project. These norms guide how we work, communicate, make decisions, resolve conflicts, and support each other.
- We commit to doing what we say we will do and completing our tasks by the agreed deadlines.
- If an unexpected situation arises, we communicate early and clearly so the team can adjust.
- Repeated failure to deliver or attend meetings without communication will be addressed openly and respectfully.
- Trust is foundational; we repair it through dialogue, not silence.
- We encourage accountability check-ins during weekly meetings to review task progress.
- Primary tools:
- GitHub for issues, pull requests, and task-specific discussions.
- Slack for general team communication and informal updates.
- Zoom for scheduled meetings or urgent discussions.
- Best practices:
- Keep GitHub issues up to date with progress and blockers.
- Tag relevant team members when action is needed.
- Use threads on Slack to keep conversations organized.
- Schedule ad hoc meetings with clear objectives and time limits.
- Meetings are held weekly or biweekly and scheduled based on team availability.
- Each meeting will have a circulated agenda at least 24 hours in advance.
- Meeting minutes are recorded and shared for transparency.
- Everyone is encouraged to speak, and discussions are facilitated to ensure equal participation.
- We start and end meetings on time out of respect for everyone's schedule.
- All ideas are welcome during brainstorming sessions—there are no bad ideas.
- Discussions aim to explore all angles, while debates are used to make informed decisions.
- Decision-making will follow one of these approaches:
- Consensus, if possible.
- Majority vote, if needed.
- Expert judgment, when highly technical or urgent.
- Disagreements will be handled respectfully with data-driven arguments, not personal critiques.
- Follow GitHub flow:
- Use feature branches:
feature/<task-name>. - Submit Pull Requests (PRs) for review before merging.
- Use our PR template and link related issues.
- Use feature branches:
- At least one team member must review and approve each PR.
- Write clear commit messages and keep commits focused and small.
- All new features must include:
- Documentation updates (if applicable)
- Tests or validation (when possible)
- Comments for clarity on complex code
- Feedback should:
- Be constructive and actionable
- Focus on the work, not the person
- Highlight strengths as well as areas for improvement
- We welcome suggestions during reviews, and everyone is encouraged to ask questions.
- Code reviews are learning opportunities, not critiques.
- Every team member’s voice matters—we create space for quieter members to contribute.
- We do not tolerate discriminatory language or behavior.
- We assume good intent and strive to clarify misunderstandings kindly.
- We support each other's growth, ask for help when needed, and offer help when possible.
- We conduct retrospective sessions at key milestones to:
- Reflect on what went well
- Identify what can be improved
- Adjust team practices accordingly
- Norms can evolve—we revisit and revise them together as needed.
We strive to foster a team environment where trust, respect, transparency, and learning drive our success.
We hold ourselves accountable not just to our work, but to one another.
Together, we grow, build, and thrive.