Team Coordination

Large project systems require a coordinated team of project engineers for effective development Team organization involves devising roles for individuals and assigning responsibilities Organizational structure attempts to facilitate cooperation

Team Formation and Organization Group Management Meeting Techniques

Team Organizations
Organizing is building a team Appropriate organization depends on project length and complexity For long-term projects, job satisfaction is extremely important for reduced turnover Need mix of senior and junior engineers to facilitate both accomplishing the task and training Adding people to a project introduces further delays

Team Organizations

Hierarchical organizations minimize and discourage communication, while democratic organizations encourage it Appropriate size depends on complexity
small teams lead to cohesive design, less overhead, more unity, higher morale but some tasks too complex optimal size between 3 and 8

Appropriate design leads to appropriate assignment of tasks and appropriate team organization

Centralized-Control
Hierarchical organizational structure and matching pattern of communication
chief programmer team
chief programmer project manager

librarian

programmers specialists

chief programmer reports to peer project manager programmers report to chief programmer librarian responsible for central repository specialists added as needed

Works well with simple tasks that can be grasped by one good engineer, but single point of failure

Decentralized Control
Ring organization and connected communication
democratic team

decisions made by consensus all work is group work: ego-less programming leads to higher morale and job satisfaction not appropriate for large teams

More appropriate for less understood and more complex programs with longer term project

 Hierarchy with extra communication

project manager

Mixed Control

senior engineers

junior engineers

senior engineers report to project manager junior engineers report to senior engineers control is vested in project manager and senior engineers communication is decentralized among each set of peers and their supervisor

Limits communication to a small group and realizes benefits of group decisions by vesting authority

 Team members

Effective Teams

desire to be part of group task have an interest in task with social interaction are interested in improvement and can accept constructive criticism are genuinely interested in sharing knowledge do their own share

Team approach
generates conflict requires good strategies forming: initial meeting to get acquainted and assess skills storming: characterized by conflict and open brainstorming norming: establishing normal patterns of behavior and approach performing: documenting the results

Conflict Resolution
Conflict is a positive attribute indicative of multiple ideas Conflict management is selecting between alternative actions Conflict resolution can be done by compromise: great appeal, but may indicate avoiding forcing: one person insists on action avoidance: ignore conflict, hoping it will go away confrontation: examine areas of disagreement, discuss differences
and bring solution out in open

Group cohesion leads toward cooperation and good conflict resolution

Meeting Techniques
Schedule early, at times when all can attend, at good venue, started when all arrive Prepare well, with detailed agenda and list of action items Procedures: complete agenda, discuss facts, solicit input from all members, take action, everyone should leave with something to do before next meeting Group Interaction: pay attention and react, concentrate on group, watch for nonverbal communication, backtrack when problems arise