ENGR 1200 Engineering Methods

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ENGR 1200Engineering Methods

• Team Formation and Dynamics
• Adapted from Ralph M. Ford and Chris S. Coulston,
  Design for Electrical and Computer Engineers.
  Boston McGraw-Hill, 2005

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Teams What are they?

• Team defined A small group of people with
  complementary skills, who are committed to a
  common performance, performance goals, and
  approach for which they hold themselves mutually
  accountable. (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993)
• Small two to ten individuals. Management of
  groups larger than 10 becomes unwieldy.
• Complementary skills abilities that reinforce
  each other (mechanical design, electrical
  hardware design, software design)
• Common performance and performance goals
  the rationale for the existence of the team.
  What is it the team is formed to accomplish? Why
  is it not something that can be achieved by
  individuals working in isolation? How will the
  team recognize that its goals have been met?

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Teams What are they?

• Mutual accountability each member of the team
  is responsible to the others for carrying out his
  or her share of responsibilities.

Teams Why?

• Complexity of designs modern engineering
  designs are so complex that one individual cannot
  achieve significant results in a reasonable
  amount of time.
• Complexity of designs modern engineering
  designs require multiple skill sets that no one
  individual possesses.
• Concurrent engineering paradigm Bringing
  complex designs to fruition in a reasonable
  period of time requires multiple phases of the
  design to operated in parallel.

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Teams An Emphasis of Engineering at UT-Tyler

• EE Program Outcome 9 At the time a student
  completes the degree requirements and graduates
  with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical
  Engineering at the University of Texas at Tyler,
  the student will have the ability to contribute
  effectively as members of multi-disciplinary
  engineering teams.
• Multi-disciplinary engineering teams are groups
  of persons engaged in engineering who represent a
  spectrum of engineering and technical specialties
  (e.g., mechanical engineering, physics,
  chemistry, computer-aided design, manufacturing
  engineering, prototyping). To contribute
  effectively is to take an active and
  participatory role in the accomplishment of the
  tasks of a team.

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Teams An Emphasis of Engineering at UT-Tyler

• ME Program Outcome 2
• By the time of graduation, our mechanical
  engineering students will be able to design
  thermal/fluid, mechanical, and electro-mechanical
  components or systems, individually or on
  interdisciplinary teams, and effectively
  communicate those designs in both technical and
  non-technical forums.

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Team tales

• My own experiences with teams
• Grain moisture meter project (1986-1988)
• Radar velocity sensor manufacturing
  implementation (1984)
• Fixing the stepper-motor fiasco without the help
  of Customer Service (1992)
• Senior Design team experiences
• Scissors lift project
• Sailboat rudder project
• The team with personal conflicts
• The unregenerate engineer in isolation Id
  settle this man-to-man in the parking lot if we
  were still in high school
• The slacker (the only person ever to have to
  repeat Senior Design)

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Stages of Team Development

• Forming creation of the team.
• Storming team works to develop its objectives
  and team members find their roles in the team.
• Norming team develops cohesiveness as the
  objectives of the team, the roles of the members,
  and the team procedures become established.
• Performing team focuses on accomplishment of its
  objectives.
• Adjourning team dissolves project completed or
  cancelled, or team unable to function.

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Real Teams

• Selection of members should selected for their
  skills (technical, problem-solving, and
  interpersonal). Teams may be self-selected or
  assigned.
• Identification of objectives motivation to
  participate dissipates if objectives are not
  defined. Katzenbach and Smith found that
  identification of objectives was one of the most
  important attributes of successful teams.
• Decision-making how are decisions made?
• Authority
• Expert member
• Average member opinion
• Authority decisions after discussion
• Minority (subcommittee)
• Majority
• Consensus

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Real Teams

• Development of team roles members should settle
  into their team roles as the team reaches the
  norming stage.
• Roles may be defined by discipline analog
  electronic design, digital electronic design,
  software, thermal systems, structures, machine
  design, etc.
• Roles may also be defined by other abilities
  concept generation, detailed documentation,
  making presentations, etc.
• Typical roles
• Leader
• Recorder
• Spokesperson
• Optimist
• Pessimist
• Analyst

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Real Teams

• Assign tasks and responsibilities this is
  critical to the success of the team. There are
  few things more detrimental to a team than the
  perception that the tasks are not being
  distributed equitably.
• Spend time together togetherness produces a
  greater degree of success. Do not exclude team
  members from informal get-togethers that may
  occur outside normal team meetings!
• Show respect for each other Listen communicate
  your ideas offer criticism of ideas, not
  persons show respect for team members who may be
  absent.
• Manage conflicts constructively conflicts are
  inevitable but do not need to be fatal to the
  team. They can even be catalysts to new
  solutions. But unresolved conflicts lead to
  suspicion, resentments, and personal conflicts.

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Real Teams

• Conflict management strategies
• Focus on performance and ideas, not
  personalities.
• Listen!
• Speak up with your concerns do not submerge
  them.
• Apply team process guidelines (team contract)
• Develop a plan to resolve conflict
• Seek mediation from outside the team when
  conflict otherwise appears to be intractable.
• Hold effective meetings
• Have a regular meeting schedule that excludes no
  one
• Have an agenda
• Arrive prepared
• Pay attention
• Take notes and summarize the outcomes of meetings
  in written form.

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Team Process Guidelines

• Name your team.
• State your mission and objectives.
• Decide upon leadership structure.
• One permanent team leader? Rotating leadership?
• Decide upon a decision-making strategy.
• Decide upon meeting times and roles. (Who will
  prepare the agenda? Who will write up the
  minutes?)
• Develop strategies for handling conflicts
• A team member does sub-standard work
• A team member does good work but does not
  accomplish his or her assigned tasks
• A team member does not attend meetings
• Team members develop a personal conflict
• Conflict becomes so entrenched that the team
  cannot find a resolution.