People Management and

Team Organization
CSCE A401
 People Management
• Software development involves teamwork
• Members must coordinate work, decisions,
etc.
• As the size of the teams increase,
communication between team members
increases exponentially
– Large teams usually split into smaller teams
to confine coordination and communication
 Types of Team Organizations
• Hierarchical
• Business
• Matrix
• Chief Programmer
• SWAT
• Open Structured
• Search and Rescue Team
• Professional Athletic Team
 Hierarchical Team
• Project is divided into major subsystems
• Each subsystem is headed by a project manager
– If a subsystem is complex, it may be further divided
into smaller components
• Most of the work done at the leaves of the tree
• Peter Principle
– In a hierarchical organization each employee in
general rises until reaching a level at which he is
incompetent
– Rewards management more for rising up the tree
 Business Team
• Most common of the team structures
• Peer group headed by a technical lead
– Aside from the leader, the team members are all
equal in status and differentiated by expertise
– Technical lead is also an active technical contributor
but also responsible for final decisions and
communicates externally for the team
• Streamlines communication with management,
allows team members to work in their area of
expertise, allows the team itself to sort out who
should work on what
• Strength and weakness is its generality
 Matrix
• Basic units with specializations
• Individuals with their specialty assigned to projects requiring those
talents
• Each feature team is responsible for developing one feature of the
product
• Good for problem resolution teams

Networking Graphics Databases QA

Project A X X X

Project B X X

Project C X X X
 Chief Programmer
• The chief programmer is the team leader. This
person must be a superstar and design/code
much of the project
• Other people just provide support services
for the star
– They act as assistants in various capacities,
documentation, administration, etc.
– Similar to a surgeon in the OR
• Makes good use of superstars; but hard to find
anyone “super” enough
• Can have conflict with the leader who makes all
decisions
 SWAT
• Skilled With Advanced Tools
• Based on the RAD methodology
• Typically builds incremental versions of a
software system
– Focuses on
• Reusable components
• Use of development tools
• Software generators
• Groupware and workflow management software
– Members must be experienced with multiple skills
 Open or Weakly Structured
• Combine open management style with clear
structure on team roles
• Technical leader
– Responsible for resolving issues for which no
consensus can be reached
• Moderator for meetings
• Rotate among members for various tasks
• Tries to combine a focus on individual specialists
as well as centralized coordination of activities
 Skunk Works
• Take a bunch of talented people, hide
them from the rest of the world, and see
what they can do
• Based on the “black program” model
– Covert development of sensitive systems
• May get extremely high creativity in
exchange for low visibility and high risk
 Search and Rescue
• Focuses on solving a particular problem
• Needs very specialized product knowledge
• Like a “tiger team” to attack a
specific problem
• Consists of software and hardware
specialists with detailed business
environment knowledge
• Often used for emergency maintenance
 Professional Athletic Team
• The developers are the stars of this team.
• Managers and everyone else are
secondary.
• Roles are very specialized
• Good for tactical execution teams, which
need specialized skills
• Lots of stars may not get along
 General Team Principles
• Use fewer and better people
– Highest productivity is achieved by a relatively small
group of people
– Large groups require exponentially more
communication, which has a negative effect on
productivity
– Need to keep one person in charge of the project’s
overall vision (chief programmer or architect)
• Try to fit tasks to the capabilities and motivation
of the people available
• Select people for a well-balanced and
harmonious team
• Someone who does not fit the team should be
removed
 Motivation
• Researchers have found a 10:1 range of
performance among people with the same
levels of experience
• Key to this is their motivation
• Problem is that motivation is hard to
measure, quantify, or express
 Motivation
• Types of motivating factors will vary from
person to person
– Career growth potential
– Management potential
– Personal life: is it possible to have one?
– Status
– Peer recognition
– Personal achievement...
 Motivation
• More motivating factors:
– Money! (or grades in our case)
– Company ownership
– Job security
– Work environment
– Home environment (travel, entertainment, …)
• No single thing motivates everyone but
some factors are more important than
others
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc
 Top Five Motivational Factors
• Achievement (reaching goals)
• Possibility for Growth (personal
improvement)
• The Work Itself
• Personal Life
• Technical Supervision Opportunity
 Achievement
• Ownership: Get developers to own (set
and agree to) the schedules they are
working to achieve
• Goal Setting: Set specific goals for
development (speed, quality, etc.)
– Keep it to one or two specific goals
 Possibility for Growth
• Support continuing education
• Conferences (attending, maybe
presenting)
• Mentor new staff
• Avoid unrealistic schedule pressure
• Expect 2-3 weeks per year for training
and education
 The Work Itself
• Five main aspects
– Skill Variety: to avoid boredom and fatigue
– Task Identity: to be able to identify
your product
– Task Significance: to work on
something important
– Autonomy: to control how your task is done
– Job Feedback: to see your work in action
 Personal Life
• Traditionally, is a significant motivation
for developers, not managers
– Respect holidays and weekends as much
as possible
– Respect family and emergency needs
– Avoid extensive travel
 Tech. Supervision Opportunity
• Motivation for developers, not managers
– Project Leads: Can assign leads for each
technical area in the project: graphics,
database design, etc.
– Functional Leads: Or assign leads for each
process area: system testing, technical
reviews, performance evaluation, etc.
– Assign mentor positions to all but most
junior staff
 Other Motivational Factors
• Rewards and Incentives - prizes,
promotions, bonuses, …
• Pilot projects - adds importance to project
– Try something new each project
• Performance reviews - need proper
reviews to ensure good performance
feedback
 Motivation Killers
• Lack of hygiene - a clean office is required
– Good lighting, office ergonomics, up to date
equipment
• Management manipulation - don’t pretend
your staff is dumb
• Excessive schedule pressure - have we
emphasized this enough yet?
• Lack of appreciation - kudos are
not optional...
 More Motivation Killers
• Meddling by technically inept managers
• Leaving developers out of decisions
• Productivity barriers in the environment
• Low product quality - destroys sense
of achievement
• Blatant motivation campaigns - be subtle
 Teamwork
• The Amish barn raising is cited as a prime
example of teamwork
– Barn raised in a single day without electricity
or power tools
– Jobs for entire community
• Kids carry food, tools
• Men cooperate
• No gripes or distractions
• Nobody leaves until the barn is complete
• Model of the perfect team?
 Teamwork’s Importance
• Major factors
• Effectiveness of teams can vary by a
factor of 2-6 on the same project
– Group cohesiveness is a key factor in
team effectiveness
– Developers’ experience is also significant
 Characteristics of High
Performance Teams
• A shared elevating vision or goal
– A clear objective builds trust and focus,
keeps perspective
• Challenging work
– The project must be challenging to be worth
the team’s focus
• A sense of team identity (who are we?)
– Team name, dress code (IBM’s Black Team),
etc...
 Characteristics of High
Performance Teams
• A results-driven structure
– Must have clear roles, monitoring, feedback,
and decision making methods based on fact
• Competent team members (not expert)
– Select people based on technical skills, desire
to contribute, and teamwork skills
• Commitment to the team
– Sometimes merely asking is enough to get it...
 Characteristics of High
Performance Teams
• Mutual trust
– Honesty, openness, consistency, respect
• Interdependence among team members
– Share decisions, balance strengths
• Effective communication
– Need to be able to communicate bad news,
while it still can be fixed or accommodated...
 Characteristics of High
Performance Teams
• A sense of autonomy (independence)
– In spite of a chance of making mistakes
• A sense of empowerment (authority)
– Can say ‘no’ to a request, or break a little rule
• Small team size
– 3 to 5 per team, max of 10
• A high level of enjoyment (fun!)
 How to Manage a Team
• Establish a vision for the team
• Create change needed to bring about
the vision
• Manage the team as a team, not
as individuals
– Make the team responsible rather than
individuals for their individual actions
• Delegate tasks clearly to the team
• Let team work out the details
 Team Failure
• If team isn’t working, examine the
motivation, organization, and information
• Other possible causes include:
– Lack of vision
– Lack of identity
• Members that would rather work alone, or lack of
commitment
– Lack of recognition
– Productivity roadblocks
• Environment too stifling?
 Team Failure
• More causes:
– Ineffective communication
– Lack of trust
– Problem personnel (don’t ignore them!)
• Members that are belligerent, cover up ignorance rather than
try to learn, are territorial, grumble, don’t pitch in
– “My code is too complicated to test”
– “No one else can fix the bugs in my code.”
• In a review of 32 management teams, the most consistent
and intense complaint from members was their team leaders
were unwilling to confront and resolve problems with poor
performance by team members
• First approach is for the entire team to coach the problem
person on how to work as part of a team
• Second resort is to fire the person
 Practical Guidelines for Team
Leaders
• As a team leader I will
– Avoid compromising the team’s objective with political
issues
– Exhibit personal commitment to the team’s goal
– Not dilute the team’s efforts with too many priorities
– Be fair and impartial toward all team members
– Be willing to confront and resolve issues associated
with inadequate performance by team members
– Be open to new ideas and information from team
members
 Practical Guidelines for Team
Members
• As a team member I will:
– Demonstrate a realistic understanding of my role and
accountabilities
– Demonstrate objective and fact-based judgments
– Collaborate effectively with other team members
– Make the team goal a higher priority than any
personal objective
– Demonstrate a willingness to devote whatever effort
is necessary to achieve team success
– Be willing to share information, perceptions, and
feedback appropriately
 Practical Guidelines for Team
Members
• As a team member I will:
– Provide help to other team members when needed
and appropriate
– Demonstrate high standards of excellence
– Stand behind and support team decisions
– Demonstrate courage of conviction by directly
confronting important issues
– Demonstrate leadership in ways that contribute to the
team’s success
– Respond constructively to feedback from others