TeamOrganization EEE493 2001 References:HvV 5.2

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Team OrganizationEEE493 2001ReferencesHvV
5.2
Royal Military College of Canada Electrical and
Computer Engineering

• Major Greg Phillips
• greg.phillips_at_rmc.ca
• 1-613-541-6000 ext. 6190

Major Ron Smith smith-r_at_rmc.ca 1-613-541-6000
ext. 6030
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Teaching Points

• Line of Business Organizations
• Software Team Organizational Structures
• Selecting the Right Organizational Structure

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Line-of-Business versus Project Organizations

• most studies of software engineering focus solely
  on the project organizational structures
• recognizing software functions within traditional
  line-of business hierarchies, emphasizes the
  important role that corporate policy and strategy
  has with respect to the success of software
  projects
• there is a requirement for staff / corporate
  bodies outside the selfish project office
• a project offices timeframe is too short

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Line-of-Business Organizational Structure
(typical)
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Hierarchical Organization

• distinct layers of workers versus managers
• suitable for production of software
• often designed according to the structure of the
  system
• often includes functional sub-teams responsible
  for project wide areas of responsibility
• examples CM, testing, QA
• coordination at the project level, generally
  based upon standardization of process or
  standardization of work products
• particular subsystems may dictate other styles

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Hierarchical Disadvantages

• specific knowledge and real work is at the bottom
  of the pyramid while power and decision making is
  at the top
• translation of information from top to bottom is
  often a lossy communications channel
• separating project evaluation form personal
  evaluation is difficult / challenging
• the Peter Principal - a person is promoted to
  their level of incompetence
• different skills are required at each level
• promotion may not be a suitable reward

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Matrix Organization

• employees act as corporate consultants, working
  on multiple teams at the same time
• a project team consists of a team core
  supplemented with matrix specialists
• matrix groups are usually formed based upon some
  common specialization
• examples GUI, databases, reliability, estimation
• coordination coordination of the matrix tasks is
  most closely aligned with the standardization of
  worker skills paradigm

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Matrix Disadvantages

• requires a high degree of trust and cooperation
  between matrix managers and project managers
• project manager goals are selfish short term
  project goals
• matrix manager goals are longer term corporate
  positioning goals
• workers may feel like they have multiple bosses
  and are constantly being pulled in different
  directions
• loyalty isnt always obvious - who do they really
  work for?

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Chief Programmer Team

• the equivalent of surgeon teams, but in software
• very small team sizes
• has a kernel of three people
• chief programmer - team leader, designer key
  programmer (competent technically and
  managerially)
• assistant - 2 I/C
• librarian - project administration and
  documentation, may be a junior programmer
  (trainee)
• coordination given the small team size and the
  predominance of the chief programmer, direct
  supervision is likely to be the means of
  coordinating tasks

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Chief Programmer Disadvantages

• elitist
• may lead to friction between Chief Programmer run
  teams and other styles of projects within a
  company
• where are you going to find enough good chief
  programmers?
• it is frequently the case that the best
  programmers make poor managers
• what happens if other team members challenge the
  decisions / competence of the chief?

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Skilled With Advanced Tools - SWAT Team

• usually only employed in an evolutionary or
  iterative development setting
• relatively small team (4-5 members- co-located)
• build increments of software systems
• employ whiteboarding / brainstorming techniques,
  component construction, high-level languages
  software generators
• supported often by GroupWare / workflow tools
• SWAT team leader more like a foreman
• team members generally multi-skilled
• coordination a mix of standardization of process
  (tied to tools) and mutual adjustment

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SWAT Disadvantages

• relies heavily upon the motivation and
  cooperation of the team
• implies keeping everyone motivated
• implies everyone gets along well
• both are difficult to maintain over an extended
  period of time
• may not scale well
• how do you coordinate multiple SWAT teams towards
  a larger common goal
• requires consistency of tools

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Open Structured Team

• combination of an open management style (to
  encourage innovation) with control structures (to
  ensure a timely execution)
• open management
• internal decisions are arrived by consensus
• technical team leader responsible for external
  controls and unresolved decisions
• all other team roles rotate among the team
• structure
• technical team leader ensures forward motion
• all proceedings recorded (products, process,
  decisions)
• coordination is by definition one of mutual
  adjustment

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Open Structured Disadvantages

• decision making is by majority voting
• this can split the team into factions
• minority groups may reject ownership of decisions
• selection of technical leader is a sensitive
  issue
• the style is applied in situations where the
  requirement for innovation is high selection of
  a technical leader not supported by the group
  members will likely stifle innovation

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The Importance of the Team

• numerous studies have shown that team capability
  has a disproportionate impact upon project
  productivity
• therefore getting the team composition and
  management right is critical
• factors such as morale, group norms and
  management style are more influential
  productivity drivers than say the use of higher
  level languages and product complexity

The human elements outweigh the technology
elements.
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Selecting the right Organizational Structure

• use fewer, better people
• small teams are more productive
• large groups require greater degrees of
  communication, leading to lower individual
  productivity and higher error rates
• strive for balance and harmony
• select a well rounded team
• do not attempt to assemble a team of stars
• look for good fits

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Selecting the right Organizational Structure

• accommodate personal growth
• reverse Peter Principle - a person rises to a
  level where they are indispensable
• the Paul Principle - a person rises to a level
  where their skills quickly become obsolete
• remove those who dont fit
• if someone clearly does not work well within the
  group, quickly remove them before they sour the
  remaining team

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Supplemental References

• Royce, Walker, Software Project Management - A
  Unified Framework, Addison-Wesley, 1998. ISBN
  0-201-30958-0

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