Wikiprojects. Today’s agenda A short introduction to team leadership Virtual teams – the Jarvenpaa & Leidner study Wiki-principles in project management.

Wikiprojects

Today’s agenda

• A short introduction to team leadership

• Virtual teams – the Jarvenpaa & Leidner study

• Wiki-principles in project management – discussion questions

Project leadership

• Project leadership as activities directed upwards/downwards, outwards/inwards, and forward/backwards

• Upwards and outwards: Connect to stakeholders• Inwards and downwards: Concentrate on

performance• Backwards and forwards: Keep the project on

track

Connect to stakeholders

• Get stakeholder approval

• Build credibility

• Work in networks

• Market the project

Concentrate on performance

• Formulate individual criteria for success

• State aims and direction

• Celebrate success

• Stop and reflect

• Create a stimulating environment

• Be tough on quality

Keep the project on track

• Plan and control

• Think before

• Keep the whole team informed

• Get feedback whenever possible

Team development

• Forming• Storming• Norming• Performing• Adjourning• Mourning

Project team development and effectiveness

• Forming– Transition from individual to team member– Group attempt to define the and plan the tasks

that have to be done– Little actual work accomplished– Feelings: excitement, anticipation, suspicion,

anxiety, hesitancy– Manager needs to provide direction and

structure

Project team development and effectiveness

• Storming– Conflict emerges tension increases– Motivation and morale low– Feelings: frustration, anger, hostility– Manager needs to be directive, but less so than

in forming stage

Project team development and effectiveness

• Norming– Relationships become settled– Conflict and dissatisfaction are reduced– Cohesion and trust begin to develop– Greater sharing of information, ideas, and

feelings– Manager minimizes directiveness and takes on

a supportive role

Project team development and effectiveness

• Adjourning

• Mourning

Project team development and effectiveness

• Barriers to team effectiveness– Unclear goals

– Unclear definition of roles and responsibilities

– Lack of project structure

– Lack of commitment

– Poor communication

– Poor leadership

– Turnover of project team members

– Dysfunctional behavior

Project team development and effectiveness

• The effective project team– Clear understanding of objective– Clear expectations of each person’s role– A results orientation– A high degree of cooperation and

collaboration– A high level of trust

Project team development and effectiveness

• Performing– Great degree of interdependency

• Members frequently collaborate and willingly help each other

– Team feels fully empowered– Manager fully delegates authority and

responsibility • Manager’s role is to facilitate and support

development of corrective actions if actual progress falls behind plan

Time management

1. At the end of each identify several goals you want to accomplish the following week

2. At the end of each day make a to-do list for the next day3. Read daily to-do list first thing in morning, keep it in

sight all day4. Control interruptions5. Learn to say no6. Make effective use of waiting time7. Try to handle most paperwork only once8. Reward yourself at the end of the week if you

accomplished all your goals

The virtual teams challenge

• Increased use of teamwork characterised by- temporary relationship episodes- culturally diversity- geographic spread- electronic communication

Why virtual teams?

• Permeable interfaces and boundaries• Market driven organising and re-organising• Best competences gathered across time, space and

cultures• Flexibility• Lower costs• Improved resource utilisation• Faster development cycles

Problems of virtual teams

• Low individual commitment

• Role overload

• Role ambiguity

• Abseentism

• Lack of trust

• Psychological distance

• Communication problems

Team development (Järvenpää & Leidner, 1998)

The three functions of effective groups

• Production (problem solving and task-related performance)

• Member support (member inclusion, participation, loyalty, commitment)

• Goup well-being (interaction, member roles, power, politics)

Must be present at all phases of the project!

Virtual communication

Should imply lower quality of communication and trust, since face-to-face interaction is needed to build trust

Research results: Not lower quality, but lower speed of trust-building

SIDE theory (Walther, 1997)

• Social identification/deindividuation theory• Perceived inclusion/exclusion based on perceived

characteristics of others in the group• Affirmed characteristics => reinforce identity and

increase social identification• Absence of F2F communication means more

stereotyping, which increases the probability of affirmed characteristics (deindividuation of other group members)

The wiki-principles

• Coase’s law: ” A firm will tend to expand until the cost of organizing an extra transaction within the firm become equal to the costs of carrying out the same transaction on the open market”

• The inverted Coase law:“A firm will tend to expand until the cost of carrying out an extra transaction on the open market become equal to the costs of organizing the same transaction within the firm “

The four principles

• Openness

• Peering

• Sharing

• Acting globally

Discussion questions

• How can wiki-principles be applied to (1) delivery projects, (2) development projects, (3) change projects?

• What are the pros and cons of wikiprinciples in relation to project management? (In the three different forms)

• The wikiproject team – what are the conditions for trust? Is trust needed?