Tired of rushed, disconnected group projects? GroupPilot is an AI chatbot that builds collaboration through reflection, strengths based roles, and clear communication so teams do better work together.
Inspiration: Our team was part of DELFAI, a collaborative program between Boston University Wheelock College of Education & Human Development and Boston University Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences that brought together future educators and technologists. Through this partnership, we were challenged to design a tool that addressed a real and shared struggle. Across our experiences in classrooms, we all recognized that group projects often lack true collaboration. Students divide tasks, rush to meet deadlines, and rarely build meaningful connections with their peers. This disconnect leads to anxiety, conflict, and uneven participation. We wanted to create something that supported relationships, communication, and purpose, not just productivity. GroupPilot was inspired by our desire to make group work more human, intentional, and equitable.
What it does: GroupPilot is an intelligent chatbot designed to support students throughout every stage of group work. It begins by guiding each group member through reflection on their strengths, interests, goals, and preferred ways of working. This information helps teams better understand each other and build trust early in the process. The tool then supports collaborative planning through task management, deadline setting, and strengths based role assignments. It also assists with conflict resolution, communication, and accountability. For instructors, GroupPilot provides insight into group progress and engagement so they can offer timely support. Ultimately, the goal is to help students not only complete stronger projects but also develop long term collaboration and communication skills.
How we built it: We began by researching what makes groups effective and ineffective, focusing on communication, role clarity, and trust. We used brainstorming, design thinking, and a conjecture map to connect learning theory with our design decisions. Our team created a vignette to ground the project in a realistic classroom scenario and keep student emotions at the center. From there, we designed key features such as reflective prompts, team contracts, task planning tools, and structured conflict resolution. We also explored integration with shared calendars and collaborative platforms to reduce friction and improve organization, while thinking carefully about privacy and data use. Throughout the process, we refined our ideas through feedback, iteration, and interdisciplinary collaboration.
Challenges we ran into: One of our biggest challenges was balancing structure with flexibility. We wanted GroupPilot to guide students without limiting their autonomy or creativity. Another challenge involved privacy and ethical design, especially when considering access to personal schedules or shared documents. We also had to ensure that the tool promoted equity and did not reinforce participation gaps or silence quieter group members. Working across disciplines was another challenge, as we had to bridge differences in language, perspective, and problem solving. However, these challenges ultimately strengthened our collaboration and the quality of our design.
Accomplishments that we're proud of: We are proud of creating a tool that centers relationships and intentionality in group work. We successfully combined educational theory with technological design, ensuring that our work was grounded in real classroom needs. Our team built a clear vision, strong conceptual framework, and practical features that address communication, accountability, and motivation. We are also proud of how we collaborated as a team, modeling the same strengths based and reflective approach that GroupPilot promotes.
What we learned: Through this process, we learned that collaboration is a skill that must be taught, supported, and practiced. We gained experience in interdisciplinary teamwork, user centered design, and ethical technology development. We also learned the importance of listening to different perspectives and iterating based on feedback. This project showed us that meaningful group work requires trust, structure, and communication. It also reinforced the idea that technology should enhance human connection rather than replace it.
What's next for GroupPilot: Next, we hope to continue developing GroupPilot by testing it with real students and instructors to gather feedback and improve usability. We want to refine the chatbot’s conflict resolution strategies, strengthen privacy protections, and explore additional integrations that support collaboration. In the future, we envision GroupPilot being used across different educational settings, including large lecture courses, online learning environments, and professional training spaces. Our long term goal is to help students build lifelong collaboration skills that extend beyond the classroom.
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