Lecture 2 Team Coordination 1 ICS 126 Team Coordination Team Formation and Organization Group Management Meeting Techniques Large software systems require a coordinated team of software engineers for effective development Team organization involves devising roles for individuals and assigning responsibilities Organizational structure attempts to facilitate cooperation

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 2 ICS 126 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

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 3 ICS 126 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

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 4 ICS 126 Centralized-Control Hierarchical organizational structure and matching pattern of communication – chief programmer team – 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”

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 5 ICS 126 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

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 6 ICS 126 Mixed Control Hierarchy with extra communication – 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

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 7 ICS 126 Effective Teams Team members – 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

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 8 ICS 126 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

Lecture 2 Team Coordination 9 ICS 126 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