The good and bad of "real world" projects

I use "real world" projects in my courses a lot. They have drawbacks. They can require a lot of effort by the students, the clients sometimes are unreasonably demanding or, worse, clueless about academia, etc.  So why use them?  I'm sure you know some reasons.  One is that they give you something important to put on your resume, and to talk about in interviews. Another is that you learn about a real organization, including its goals and problems.  But there are others.  An  important one is that you usually have a chance to demonstrate your problem-solving creativity (or lack of it).  Another is that you learn or improve your skills in team management, i.e. handling slackers and the inability for all members of the team to find a common time to meet. So don't moan when a professor announces one of these projects.  Treat it as a great way to build your skills (and have some fun with it, too).