17-313 Recitation 4

Team Dysfunction

TA Nour Ali

Components of Teamwork

Functional Team

Dysfunctional Team

Foundation of

Good resolution of

Honest & Equal

Regular checks for

Achievement of

Absence of

Fear of

Lack of

Avoidance of

Inattention to

Activity Overview

• Work with new ad-hoc teams!
• Each member has been assigned a role, practice playing your role
• Present your roles to the class and have audience guess each member’s role
• Discuss findings as a class & reflect on how to address issues in your Project 2 team!

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Assignment

Congratulations! Your team has been hired as software developers to work on CMU's graduate school application system. We have assigned each team to a specific task.

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As a team, research and find tools that can be used to improve your assigned system. Compare the strengths and weaknesses of the tools. At the end of this activity, your group should have agreed on a tool to use.

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Be sure to also assign each member a task in order to integrate the tool into your assigned system.

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Team Roles

• The Know-It-All: You think you are extremely experienced and know how to solve all problems on your own. Act like you don't need any help and just tell your team to watch while you search for the tool. Be pushy in telling other members how to search for information about the tool and shoot other members' ideas down.

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• The Agreer: You are afraid of raising conflicts and hence decided to just go along with whatever your team decides. Agree with everything during the activity and do not question the decisions of your team.

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• The Hitchhiker: Your goal is to do as little work as possible. Be friendly but not productive. Try to end the meeting as quickly as possible so you can slack off. Get other people to step in for you and take over your tasks. Make fake attempts to make it look like you tried to figure out the task, then pass off the work to someone else.

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• The Flaker: You're interested in the project, but don't want to contribute more time than necessary. Actively contribute to group discussions until tasks are being assigned, then begin giving reasons why you can't contribute more (i.e. busy with interview prep, midterm, or other assignments). If asked to do something else, continue finding other excuses on why you can’t contribute.

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• The Perfectionist: You want this project to be absolutely perfect in even the most minor details. To you, it's most important that the tool’s source code is fully readable, perfectly documented, has a large test suite, and is aesthetically pleasing, and you will argue for or against the tool based on these minor details.

Task:

• Research and find tools to improve the system you’re assigned
• Compare strengths & weaknesses of each tool and select one
• Assign each member a task for integrating the tool into the payment system

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Notes:

• Remember to roleplay the role given to you during this meeting
• Self-reflect on your own experience with team dysfunction

Part 1: Planning Meeting

Task:

• Present your roles to the class (~2 minutes per group)
• Have the audience guess what your team’s roles are

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Part 2: Performance

Teams

1

2

3

Team Roles

• The Contributor: You are aiming for general team success. Ask for your team members' opinions often, actively discuss solutions with your team, and demonstrate engagement throughout the activity.

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• The Know-It-All: You think you are extremely experienced and know how to solve all problems on your own. Act like you don't need any help and just tell your team to watch while you search for the tool. Be pushy in telling other members how to search for information about the tool and shoot other members' ideas down.

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• The Silent One: You assume your team members know everything and don’t feel you need to say much. Pay attention to the meeting, but simply do not suggest anything. Remain passive but friendly.

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• The Agreer: You are afraid of raising conflicts and hence decided to just go along with whatever your team decides. Agree with everything during the activity and do not question the decisions of your team.

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• The Hitchhiker: Your goal is to do as little work as possible. Be friendly but not productive. Try to end the meeting as quickly as possible so you can slack off. Get other people to step in for you and take over your tasks. Make fake attempts to make it look like you tried to figure out the task, then pass off the work to someone else.

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• The Flaker: You're interested in the project, but don't want to contribute more time than necessary. Actively contribute to group discussions until tasks are being assigned, then begin giving reasons why you can't contribute more (i.e. busy with interview prep, midterm, or other assignments). If asked to do something else, continue finding other excuses on why you can’t contribute.

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• The Perfectionist: You want this project to be absolutely perfect in even the most minor details. To you, it's most important that the tool’s source code is fully readable, perfectly documented, has a large test suite, and is aesthetically pleasing, and you will argue for or against the tool based on these minor details.

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Team 1

You've been asked to develop a better system for handling online payments made by graduate students for their applications.

Team 2

You've been asked to develop a better system for sending acceptances to accepted students.

Team 3

You've been asked to develop a better system for students to log in to their application portal.

Team 4

You've been asked to develop a better system for students to upload documents to their application.

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Team 5

You've been asked to enhance the system's reporting and analytics capabilities. Develop a tool that generates detailed reports and insights on application trends, demographics, and success rates, helping administrators make data-driven decisions.

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Team 6

You've been asked to improve the system's communication capabilities. Develop a tool or feature that allows administrators to send important updates, reminders, and notifications to applicants via email or other messaging channels.

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Team 7

You've been asked to enhance the system's security measures. Research and implement improved security protocols, such as two-factor authentication (2FA) or encryption, to safeguard sensitive applicant information and prevent data breaches.

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As a class, discuss the following question:

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• Were you able to identify the roles played by other groups? What problems were caused by their behavior?
• How would you handle these dysfunctional characteristics in future situations?
• Can you think of mitigation strategies and solutions to avoid these problems?

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Part 3: Class Reflection

Takeaways

1. Build a safe environment for members to speak up
2. Confront problems quickly, get team input
3. Focus on clarity + closure
4. Set same standards for everyone, be firm with deadlines
5. Be concrete with deliverables

Thanks!