If you feel the situation you are in is unfair, also keep in mind that life is often not fair. Whatever you do, keep in mind that many FYP groups and professional programming teams face issues like yours, so this is a good learning experience! Just be sure to learn from it, especially when you next pick teammates for some other project. What if you think someone is a free rider but other teammates don't think so or don't care? In that case, you can either talk to the person individually, seek your advisor's help or just endure the situation and try to be a friend, since you are a minority. A true friend will try to help him/her face reality sooner rather than later. It also might be good to mention that eventually someone is going to make the free rider face reality (e.g., an employer or wife/husband). In case he/she does change and do his/her share of the work, you will have helped him/her achieve his/her goals and your group achieve its goals. In any case, keep in mind that you are helping both your team and the free rider. In most cases, the earlier that action is taken, the better! Avoiding the issue and just hoping it will go away often makes matters worse for the entire group, especially after December. Do the person's parents know about the problem? A group meeting at the person's home or a phone call to his/her parents may help.Have you talked to mutual friends about the problem and asked them for advice and/or help in talking to the person?.Has the person's problem been brought up in a meeting with your group's FYP advisor?.Self-assessment report regarding each person's contributions and that grades will be given individually based partly on this report?

Has anyone reminded the person that at the end of the project each team member will complete a.Has anyone communicated to the person that he/she is not only hurting the group but hurting himself/herself, as the project will affect future job prospects and could delay graduation in some cases?.If the group has a super strong leader who dominates most decisions and enjoys doing lots of work, can he/she learn to be a better and more empathetic leader so that the other teammates feel good about following his/her lead? Can he/she work more with the person to coach him/her to achieve his/her tasks?.Is your group plagued with a competitive spirit which causes members to constantly lift up their own work, belittle others' work and avoid verbalizing any struggles, weaknesses or mistakes?.During your group meetings, can you try to have more regular honest (and polite) evaluation of each other's progress?.Is it possible to redistribute the work so the person feels more motivated to work hard?.If the person simply has a problem with time management, is there a friendly way to help him/her do better in managing his/her time, like more frequent meetings or working in pairs?.Here are some possible approaches to rectify the problem:

Asking your FYP advisor to split up your group to relieve you of your group's free rider is usually not the optimal solution. The first step should always be to try to think of the best way to rectify the problem in a friendly, harmonious way. If the group has consensus that one person is a free rider, then it's time to deal with the problem. Is there a super strong leader in the group who dominates decisions so much and is so hard-working that the person feels unimportant or unappreciated?.Does the group affirm the person for the good work he/she has done (if any), or is the group usually critical or belittling of his/her work?.Based on the division of work, is the person able to work on tasks that he/she really enjoys doing or is good at? Or is he/she stuck with boring work that nobody else wants to do?.Does the group listen to the person's ideas or shoot all or most of them down? (This can be very discouraging and reduce motivation to contribute.).Does the person have any family problems or health issues?.Does the person have too many personal commitments, like too much coursework or a part-time job?.Is the person capable of doing what he/she is expected to do? Have any expectations been unrealistic?.

Does the person understand what he/she is supposed to be doing?.

How many times has the person failed to do what was expected by the group?.

Does the person attend all the meetings?.

Why do you feel that he/she is a free rider? Before accusing anybody of being a free rider, stop and think.

Rider problem