Understanding the team Introduction –Software development projects too large. Need more people –Software development is through the efforts of a software development team. –Collaborative work is often a key issue in software engineering Definition A team : group of individuals who possess a level of constructive interpersonal skills, and who are dedicated to the achievement of a common goal

Challenges of Software Development Democratic Team Business TeamRescue Team Tester Team Challenges Larger teams Specialization Distribution Rapid technology change Chief Programmer Team

Understanding the team Aspects of Teamwork No optimal team structure, any structure consists of variety of roles : Project manager Architect Application development Tool smith Quality assurance person Suystem integrator, build and relaese person Designer.

Understanding the team Creating the right team 1.Put the right people together Issues : Availability of the right personnel Competitive task to get ”good”people 2.Good team not necessarily composed of all the best ones

Ways that People can Work Together Individual Improvement Group Sharing Tools Jelled Team

Understanding teams Understanding teams Structuring team environments Structuring team environments –Team management structure –People structure –Shared space structure Defining teams Defining teams Building a team Building a team Supporting team activities Supporting team activities Team Workflow - Outline

Team management structure Time needed to be planned and organized efficiently. People resources must be structured efficiently Shared space must be designed to optimize communication between team members

Shared Space Structure Physical Communications Symbolic shared space : Team members sharing a Unified modelling language for the modelling of the solution to be implemented Interpersonal sharing

The Concept of Shared Space UML Physical : facilitates face to face and interpersonal exchange Symbolic : Sharing a Unified Modeling Language for the modeling of the solution to be implemented Communications :new technologies facilitate team activities Interpersonal : Meeting and workshop can be used to increase the interpersonal exchange

Team management stucture

Understanding teams Understanding teams Structuring team environments Structuring team environments Defining teams Defining teams  Distinguishing a group from a team  Team fundamentals  Team organization and behavior Building a team Building a team Supporting team activities Supporting team activities Team - Outline

Defining the team Introduction Dev processes involve several stakeholders, each of has a different understanding of what needs to be done. As stakeholders increase their common understanding of the product to be built, they converge to a common approach on how the work is to be distributed.

Defining the team Basic Definition At least 2 people working toward a common goal/objective/mission, each is assigned a role. The completion of the mission requires some form of dependndecy and collaboration among group members –Too many stars within the same team could create distractions. –Alack of stars can leave a team strugling with even the smallest of problems. –few stars are appropriate

Team # group Working together cooperatively can be more productive than working together less collaboratively on the same problem. Interdependence among group members marks the transition from a group to a team (negotiate decision making). Results by team depend on these strong interdependencies A team implies superior group performance. Team players work together and build contributions from every team member to a common goal

Requirements Group Architecture Group Analysis & Design and Implementation Group Test Group New Members A Typical Group is a Collection of Individuals The same people in requirements through implementationThe same people in requirements through implementation –Minimize hand- over Well-balanced teamsWell-balanced teams In general, teams should be composed of no more that 5-7 peopleIn general, teams should be composed of no more that 5-7 people Implementation Group Consultants

Team fundamentals No more than 5 to 7 individuals Dedicated to a project, specific goals How to form a team ? –Members recruited –Agree om a team goal (goal well defined) –Plan created ( plan for work, team member roles, ) –Common teamwork process –Plan monitored by the project manager –Commitments are made (to the goal, role and plan) –Physical environment must be supportive and adapted to the team –Mutual respect and support of all members

Team Behavior within Organizational Structures Each member adapts to other Tennis Double Whole team moves together Every player has a fixed position Hockey Team Baseball team Software development Difficult to say which team structure is more appropriate.

Understanding teams Understanding teams Structuring team environments Structuring team environments Defining teams Defining teams Building a team Building a team –The four-stage team development model –The five phases for building team spirit –The three steps to creating a jelled team Supporting team activities Supporting team activities - Team Workflow - Outline

BUILDING A TEAM Teams do not just happen Teams are developped. Development through a series of well-defined steps to learn how to work : together cooperatively with commonly held purposes and goals. 3 models for describing how teams evolve : –Four stage Team dev Model –Five phases for building team spirit –Three steps for creating a jelled team

Four-Stage Team Development Model Forming or initial phase of team buildingForming or initial phase of team building –Individuals usually focus on their own areas of knoledge. –Groups seek purposes and relevance. – Social relationships are established. –Group begins to work with the leader. StormingStorming –Members challenge each other, argue. – Conflicts emerge between members due to differences in goals and struggle for control and direction. –Members discover differences and learn how to deal with them(resolve conflicts) –Addressing conflicts constructively results in gaining confidence in bring up issues without going on the attack and blaming others. – Learn to listen to other members and Build trust

Four-Stage Team Development Model NormingNorming –Commonalities and shared interests are recognized and processes for communications are established. –Team starts to jell –Team establishes ground rules and its own norms for acceptable behavior PerformingPerforming –A team identity has formed and members associate strongly with the group. –Team members are able to diagnose and solve problems Note : Difficult to reach such maturity Very easy to fall back into the forming stage (leader replaced, new people join)

Team spirit Endorses a Five-Phase Spiral Model Purpose : Create a true bonding of high performance team InitiatingInitiating –Sharing of personal interests : learn about each other interests –Short informal social activities : lunches VisioningVisioning –Development a shared vision or purpose as a group –Peer reviews of team works ClaimingClaiming –Identifying and aligning members with roles and goals in the team –Democratic team structure

Team spirit Endorses a Five-Phase Spiral Model CelebratingCelebrating –Recognition of team and individual accomplishment : Team members express their appreciation and positive regards toward others. –Social events outlining project milestones ( small celebration marking the progress) Letting goLetting go –Constructive feedback among team members – the whole team acknowledges each task completed by a team member (member appreciated for having completed it). –Valuable and trustworthy feeling

Jelled team All teams in a jelled state have this in common: –A jelled team has a specific goal, a goal that is shared by all members. –All members of a jelled team have a high sense of responsibility and commitment. –All members of a jelled team feel they are accomplishing something of value.

Jelled team –All members of a jelled team take interest in each others work, since it’s part of their goal. –The members are enjoying themselves. They long to get to work to spend time together while moving the project forward. Laughter is frequent. –A jelled team has great communication: with customers, management and in between members. Once a team begins to jell, the probability of success goes up spectacularly

Strong Cohesion Jelled Team Explicit task Clear Goal

Creating a jelled team Agree on common goals. – detailed plan, performance target, quelity objectives, schedule milestones Agree on strategy and plan Defining the process, establish the essential artifacts. Right skills to the right roles Adapting the use of tools with their roles Know what, how and when to start and finish their tasks. Aware of responsibilities and unique skills.

Team Members are not Interchangeable Define rolesDefine roles Right skillsRight skills Appropriate toolsAppropriate tools Project Manager Performance Engineer Release Engineer AnalystDeveloper Tester

Understanding teams Understanding teams Structuring team environments Structuring team environments Defining teams Defining teams Building a team Building a team Supporting team activities Supporting team activities –Virtual teaming –VTA Tools for collaborative activities Team Workflow - Outline

Supporting team activities Introduction We Need to unify a team´s effort around a common process, Modelling language and set of artifacts. Each member should share the same understanding of the artifacts and methods used. Open communication is key. With the advent of the Internet, some team activities are distributed over various time frames and geographic locations

Virtual teaming Electronic meeting vs face to face meetings Support for geographically distributed teams. Provides repository for team documents and knowledge (real time shared object) Integrates a host of computer communication channels (audio, videos, , chat …..etc) Also used to support collaborative activities using a number of tools.

Virtual Teaming Approach-VTA Categorizer Encourages team members to converge to key issues Electronic Brain Storming Tool Allows group to diverge from customary thinking for new and creative ideas Team outliner Allows to create on a multilevel tree of topics.Helps a team explore issues in depth and details

Virtual Teaming Approach-VTA Alternative analyzer Provides a shared environment for making decision based on many criteria. Voter Provides methods to reach a consensus or decision

Conclusion Team –Group of people working together –Sharing the same working space and tool Before creating a team –Understand the culture of the organization. Team do not occur accidentally Team development passes through many steps Jelled team : strong cohesion, clear goal, explicit task definition. Various electronic tools can help team members brainstorm and reach consensus

Questions What is needed in order to guarantee the success of a team Explain the expected benefit of a jelled team Difference between a group and a team Pros and cons of a team composed of ”stars” ?