Building a High Performance Team Instructor: Manfred Huber Partially adapted from Mike O’Dell

What SD Students Say (about team/projects) Nobody wants to work with someone who will not pull their load. Most want to work with someone who thinks and works like they do. Everyone wants to work on a "meaningful", or "real world" product. Most want their project to be a success. Most would like to work on a project that is directly relevant to their future/current job. CSE 4316

What SD Student Say (about team/projects) Everyone wants all of their teammates to be honest, trustworthy, and hard-working. Only a few of you want to be a team leader. Many of you don't understand why you need to work on a team - i.e., with other people. Not everyone is a “technical expert”. Many of you are nervous about your presentation/oral communication skills. Each of you has a unique set of skills that can contribute to your teams/projects success. CSE 4316

Team Productivity Studies have shown that productivity of teams can vary significantly1 As much as 5 to 1, in studies where backgrounds and experience varied between teams Typically 2.5 to 1 between teams with similar backgrounds and experience 1 Boehm, 1981; DeMarco & Lister, 1985; Weinberg & Schulman, 1974; Boehm, et. al., 1984; Valett & McGarry, 1989 CSE 4316

Characteristics of High-Performance Teams Case Study: Amish Barn Raising (pp. 273-274) The movie “Witness” illustrates an Amish barn raising where an Amish community builds a barn for a member in a single day. Team structure Team dynamics Other team characteristics Why did it work? What are potential problems? CSE 4316

Characteristics of High-Performance Teams Case Study 12.1 (pp. 274-275) In the Giga-Quote 2.0 project 5 team members work together under an informal team lead with decisions made by consensus. Team structure, dynamics & characteristics Why didn’t it work? CSE 4316

Characteristics of High-Performance Teams Case Study 12.2 (pp. 277-278) Team of actuarial consultants fresh out of college working for a startup company. Team structure, dynamics & characteristics Why did it work? CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a shared, elevating vision or goal Buy-in… every single member of the team Streamlines decision making on smaller issues Provides focus and avoids wasted time Builds trust… and cooperation Small issues stay small… focus is on BIG GOAL The vision MUST be important to the organization, and create challenging work CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a sense of shared identity A sense that you belong together A way to distinguish your team from others Shared sense of humor Satisfaction in teammates’ accomplishments “WE,” instead of “I” in your team language Competitive FIRE! Thoughts/ideas on how you go about building this shared identity for YOUR team? CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a results-driven structure Organized with max. development speed and efficiency in mind Clear, and clearly understood, roles for everyone Accountability for each individual Effective communication system & rules (up-down, down-up, across) Performance monitoring/measurement Decisions are based on FACT, not opinions or mandate CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have competent team members Teams are a blend of individuals, each with different key competencies and skills Key Competencies Strong technical skills in relevant areas Strong desire to contribute Strong collaborative skills Mix of roles… every team must have: Organization and Leadership Communication capabilities Specific technical capabilities But… Flexible, not Rigid CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a common commitment to team Involves personal sacrifices for the team (that you may not make for the larger organization) Calls for a commitment of your personal time and energy… everyone! Each member must know and buy-in to exactly what you and your team are committing to… VISION… CHALLENGE… TEAM IDENTITY CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They trust each other Four components of trust: Honesty Openness Consistency Respect Breach just one… trust is gone! Trust is learned, not mandated CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have interdependence among members Understand and rely on each other strengths Everybody gets to contribute… in the way(s) that they are best qualified to do so Everybody gets to participate in critical decisions that affect the team Everybody looks for ways to make other members successful Result: everyone gravitates to the role in which they are most productive! CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They communicate effectively Establish preferred ways to communicate Stay in touch with each other Establish their own “team language” based on mutual understanding (Recall Case Study 12.2) Express true feelings, without any fear of retribution or embarrassment Even (or, maybe, especially) the “bad news” CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a sense of autonomy Feel like you can do whatever you need to do to make the project/product successful Based on trust within the organization (a.k.a. management) No micro-managing No second-guessing No overriding tough decisions Full support in those “impossible” situations CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They have a sense of empowerment The organization gives you the power to do what is right for your team You can make decisions, within the context of your project, and not have them over-turned You can make a few mistakes, and not have them held against you CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They are “right-sized” Small enough to communicate effectively Small enough to work efficiently Small enough to bond as a team Large enough to form a group identity Large enough to get the job done Large enough to include the right key competencies and skills Larger projects can usually be broken into smaller, more efficient, teams CSE 4316

What Makes a High-Performance Team? They enjoy what they are doing Not every enjoyable team is a high-performance team… but Every high-performance team is enjoyable! Shared sense of humor, secret hand-shakes, team vocabulary, secret jokes… done in good taste, these things can be FUN. CSE 4316

An Effective Team Is not an individual, or two No “geniuses” No “heroes” Everyone contributes equally Need not be experts on anything Must have a leader Must have a balance of key competencies Must have a balance of relevant skills Must have identity/cohesiveness CSE 4316

Individual Capabilities A good team is made up of individuals who have the following basic skill sets: Organizational Communication Technical CSE 4316

Organizational Capabilities (e.g.) Planning Personnel management Scheduling Tracking Reporting Ability to stay on track Ability to keep others on track CSE 4316

Communication Capabilities (e.g.) Written reports/presentations Clear and correct English Proper format Timely Good with presentation/visual aids Verbal Oral reviews/team meetings “Sales” presentations Training CSE 4316

Communication Capabilities (e.g.) Critical Analysis Reviewing materials, plans Reviewing/evaluating customer and sponsor input Clearly conceptualizing difficult ideas/issues Understanding and integrating other approaches/opinions Considering alternative design approaches Objective, open-minded, clear-thinker CSE 4316

Technical Capabilities (e.g.) Requirements analysis Architectural design Detail design Test design Coding to meet specifications Test supervision and execution Product packaging Hardware interface Source control Change control Knowledge of specific languages Knowledge of specific technologies CSE 4316

Team Capabilities… are the union of individual capabilities BUT, a team must have (develop) a sufficient level of ALL required capabilities. NB…… A high-performance team maximizes its capabilities AS A TEAM. A high-performance team matches individual skills with the job(s) to be done. CSE 4316

Projects and Team Structure Kinds of teams: Problem-resolution teams: Team focused on solving complex, poorly defined problems. E.g.: Software team to diagnose new showstopper defects. Creativity teams: Team tasked with exploring possibilities and finding new ways to address issues. E.g.: Software team breaking new ground in terms of applications. Tactical-execution teams: Team focused on carrying out a well-defined plan. E.g.: Software team working on sell-defined product upgrade. CSE 4316

Kinds of Teams Problem-resolution team: Team focused on solving complex, poorly defined problems. E.g.: Software team to diagnose new showstopper defects. What features should this team have ? What team member characteristics are important ? What structures would be useful CSE 4316

Kinds of Teams Creativity team: Team tasked with exploring possibilities and finding new ways to address issues. E.g.: Software team breaking new ground in terms of applications. What features should this team have ? What team member characteristics are important ? What structures would be useful CSE 4316

Kinds of Teams Tactical-execution team: Team focused on carrying out a well-defined plan. E.g.: Software team working on sell-defined product upgrade. What features should this team have ? What team member characteristics are important ? What structures would be useful CSE 4316

Team Models Business team: A team of equals headed by a team lead. Team lead serves as technical coordinator and is usually chosen based on technical expertise. Team lead is responsible for most communications with management. CSE 4316

Team Models Chief-Programmer Team: A team built around a “superstar” who handles most of the technical specifications. Other team members specialize according to their strengths with a focus of keeping administrative tasks away from the chief programmer. CSE 4316

Team Models SkunkworksTeam: A team that organizes itself internally (without management interference). Management is only kept informed of overall progress; everything else stays inside the team. A team lead is either assigned internally or arises over time. CSE 4316

Team Models Feature Team: A team that has specialized members/subteams, each one reporting in their area. CSE 4316

Team Models SWAT Team: A team that has specialized members and is highly trained together so every member knows the strengths and weaknesses of every other member. Has well established structures. CSE 4316

Team Models Athletic Team: A team that has specialized members where each one takes on a specific area. Has well established structures. CSE 4316

Projects and Teams Case Study 13-1: Mismatch Characteristics of the team? Why it failed? CSE 4316

Projects and Teams Case Study 13-2: Good Match Characteristics of the team? Why it succeeded? CSE 4316

Building Your Teams

Self-Assessment Form Complete using the form on the website Clearly mark your answers on the form Keep a copy of the form, turn in the original on the due date After completing your form, get together with potential partners and evaluate the possibility of forming a competent, high performance team CSE 4316

Ratings on the Form Rate yourself from 1 to 5 1 – definitely not a skill that you possess 2 – classroom/limited knowledge only 3 – ok: can do it, but not really well yet 4 – one or more successful team projects where you used this capability 5 – professional. This is what you do for a living CSE 4316

Assignments Submit a short paper that identifies your proposed team (due September 2). Key points: Each team must have 4 or 5 members No close friends/significant others on same team CpE, CS and SwE students will be equitably (as evenly as possible, given enrollment) distributed among the teams (per diagram in “Day 1” slides) Must have a strong leader on each team Consider times of availability, travel, project choices, etc. CSE 4316

Assignments Due at beginning of Lab next Friday: Individual Assessment Forms Make a copy for your and your teams use and reference later During the Lab, each new group will: Prepare and turn in a Team Assessment form Recommend preparing duplicate for team to keep Select top 3 projects in order of preference Verify/identify your team leader Begin the process….. CSE 4316

Team Assessment/Needs In our next lab period, you will begin to evaluate your proposed team using the team assessment vehicle. Total score in each skill for all team members is the team score You may need to assess other skills than those listed on the form for your team’s project If your team score is low in some areas, you will need to be sure your planning includes additional education CSE 4316

First Lab After Teams and Projects Set First Team Status Report Team name!! Preliminary roles and responsibilities of individuals Team weaknesses identified and plan to resolve Early assessment of risks associated with your project CSE 4316