Group Observation

I thought the idea of group observation was good and bad.  I thought being the one observing the group gave a new perspective to see how a group operates and where the groups stronger and weaker parts are.  However I feel that in order to see if a group is running successfully you need to be apart of the group.  You experience this first hand then you know what works and what doesn't.  I felt that only observing a group for a few visits wasnt necessarily enough time to see what the group's flaws are.  Overall, I learned alot about group observation and the different things that make a group more effective.