Bob Travica MIS 2000 Class 11 Group Processes and Group Support Systems Updated Feb. 2015

Bob Travica Outline Workgroup (Team) Concepts & Project Team Team Life Process Group Support Systems Distributed Teams Summary 2 of 13

Bob Travica Workgroup Concepts Workgroup or team: - Collection of people working together on a specific task for a defined period of time. - Team is an organization in small with a shorter life span. - An organization can be team-based (e.g., Protegra; se Ch. 10). -Task: What needs to be done -Work roles: Who does what -Timeline: Start and end point, landmarks, schedule Workgroup defined by: More… 3 of 13

Bob Travica - Success conditions: member composition, communication, leadership -Group could do more than an individual – synergy -But there may be problems in teamwork: -some members do not put in their part (free ride) -members accept mainstream thinking without reasoning (groupthink) - Members depend directly on each other – interdependence: can be sequential, parallel, & reciprocal (process coordinaiton aspect). 4 of 13

Bob Travica Project Team Project Team (PT) is a kind of team that performs in fundamental production processes (see case later). PT has a key role in project-driven organizations (research, marketing, construction, public accounting, software development) PT has lots of autonomy as it manages work, money, time. Collocated and Distributed team 5 of 13

Bob Travica Team life process A set of complex activities (phases) from team formation to team’s delivery of product and disbanding. Cyclical process. Each complex activity is a process in itself: 1. Set team task & team 2. Establish team roles & leadership 3. Create project schedule, Set communication channels More Developing/Using Group Mind 1. Forming 3. Norming4. Performing 5. Disbanding 2. Storming Focus of GSS 6 of 13

Bob Travica Team life cycle (cont.) 4. Performing phase – most imporatnt; Execute project activities  Socialize  Deliver product - Group mind may develop – better performance 5. Create final reports & close project Developing/Using Group Mind 1. Forming 2. Storming 3. Norming4. Performing 5. Disbanding Focus for IS 7 of 13

Bob Travica Group Support Systems Support the Performing phase (sub-process) in the team life cycle. 1.Project Management System (PMS): Covers activities, people, time, financials (tracking work hours, expenses), management of versions of developed software, and sharing of project documentation. A team project is planned as a process that consists of activities. Activities employ team members, and are timed. People get paid at a certain rate, and PMS calculates the pay, variance from budget, etc. (next slide). More… 8 of 13

Bob Travica Output from PMS showing plan and execution of a project. More… Activity Time People John Jean Money: Hourly rate is entered in a separate sheet for each person, and the system multiplies it by planned time entered in this sheet. With the progress function, the budget balance is tracked. PMS generates many reports automatically. John Jean, Alex Alex Inventory Management System 9 of Project Management System: Gantt Chart

Bob Travica –Boeing-Rocketdyne’s Internet Notebook PMS Project: Developing an economical type of rocket engine in 10 months Distributed team made of engineers from Boeing and two partners; Very successful outcomes. GSS supporting the team: Internet Notebook (repository of design documentation with online access via laptops, notifications on project progress tracked, hypertext links on learning sources). Functions that required more time & effort were used less – surprising to management. Internet Notebook PMS Document repository Linked learning sources SCHEDULE 10 of 13

Bob Travica 2. File Sharing System - Google docs, drop boxes; included in other GSSFile Sharing System 3. Application Sharing System - Sharing screens and programs; e.g., engineers cooperating on the same diagram.Application Sharing System Group Support Systems 11 of 13

Bob Travica Facilitator – Moderates the session Decision makers – team or ad-hoc group Group Support Systems 4. Workflow Support System - Electronically connecting individual tasks in a process; see case in Chapter Teleconferencing Systems - Meeting at distance; videoconferencing, private , el. bulletin boards, chat – communication syste4ms serving dispersed groups 6. Group Decision Support System - Group brainstorming and option selection via GDSS. Parallel and reciprocal coordination. 12 of 13

Bob Travica Team of our time! YOU will work in it! Challenges for distributed teams: o Aligning workflows over space & time; IS for communication and work support are necessary o Following same values and norms o Maintaining trust in others and their work o Effective communication is the key to sucess Distributed Teams 13 of 13

Bob Travica Summary Workgroup (Team) is a collection of people working together on a specific task for a defined period. Some key aspects: interdependence, synergy, composition, communication, leadership. Project team plays key role in project-driven organizations. Team life cycle is a process that consists of five phases (sub-processes). GSS types are: Project Management System, File Sharing System, Applications Sharing, System, Workflow Support System, Teleconferencing System, & Group Decision Support System. In a distributed (virtual) team members work at different locations and face particular challenges. 14 of 13