Transcript Technological Considerations

Technological Considerations
ETM5361/MSIS5600
Managing Virtual Project Teams
Nicholas C. Romano, Jr., Ph.D.
[email protected]
Paul E. Rossler, Ph.D., P.E.
[email protected]
1
Overview
• What technologies are available for virtual
teaming?
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of
each?
• What should be considered when deciding
on the best technology to use in a specific
case?
2
Selection and use of technology
influences factors in teamwork
Goal
Clarity and
Acceptance
Members’
Knowledge,
Skills,
Abilities
Access to
Ability and
Information Willingness to
and Other
“Attend”
Resources
Form
Team
Teamwork
Team
Leadership
Group
Process and
Facilitation
Trust
External
Cost or
Schedule
Pressures
3
Technology (or groupware)
issues
• Selecting and providing access to the right
collaborative technology
• Ensuring members have skill in, and
comfort with, that collaborative technology
4
Interactive
Communication
Level
Concerted
High
Coordinated
Connected
Collected
Low
Individual
Low
Source: Nunamaker et al., 2001
Process and Task Structure
High
The Yellow Sticky Approach to
Level 4 Collaboration
Two primary factors that affect
technology selection and use
• Social presence
– The degree to which the technology facilitates a
personal connection with others
• Information richness
– The amount and variety of information flowing
through a specific communication media
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“Media differ markedly in their
capacity to convey information.”
• Ability to handle multiple information cues
simultaneously
• Ability to facilitate rapid feedback
• Ability to establish a personal focus
Source: Lengel, R. H., & Daft, R. L. 1988. The selection of
communication media as an executive skill. The Academy of
Management Executive, 2(3): 225-232.
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Another way to think about
information richness
“The more learning that can be pumped
through a medium, the richer the medium.”
Source: Lengel, R. H., & Daft, R. L. 1988. The selection of
communication media as an executive skill. The Academy of
Management Executive, 2(3): 225-232.
9
Media Richness Hierarchy
Highest
Physical presence (face-to-face)
Interactive media (telephone,
electronic media)
Media
Richness
Personal static media (memos, letters,
tailored computer reports)
Lowest
Impersonal static media (flyers,
bulletins, generalized computer reports)
Based on Lengel, R. H., & Daft, R. L. 1988.
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Media Selection Framework
Media Richness
Rich
Communication
Failure
Effective
Communication
Data glut. Excess cues
cause confusion.
Effective
Communication failure
Lean Communication Data starvation. Too few cues.
Routine
Non-Routine
Management Problem
Based on Lengel, R. H., & Daft, R. L. 1988.
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Some media selection rules
1. Send non-routine, difficult
communications through a rich medium
2. Send routine, simple communications
through a lean medium
3. Use rich media to extend your (social)
presence
4. Use rich media for implementing strategy
Source: Lengel, R. H., & Daft, R. L. 1988.
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5. Don’t let media censor information about
critical issues
6. Evaluate new communication
technologies as a single channel in the
media spectrum
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Systems to support different
meeting modes
Place
Same
Different
Same
Sessions
Group Support
Audio/Video
Group Support
Different
Team Rooms
Project Rooms
Team Database
Virtual Sessions
Time
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Other factors in selecting
technology
• Permanence
– The degree to which the technology is capable
of creating a historical record
• Symbolic meaning
– Context over and above the message that is
implied by the technology
Source: Duarte, D. L., & Snyder, N. T. 2001. Mastering Virtual
Teams (2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
15
• Experience and familiarity with the
technology
• Time constraints
• Organizational and functional cultures
– Differences in norms among members
regarding group work and technology
• Access to technological training and support
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Internetbased
Knowledge mgmt. sys.
Availability
Compatibility
Face-toface
Distance
Culture
Security req. or specs
Financial resources
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
E-mail
Project complexity
Project timeframe
Letter
Conditions
Phone
Channel
X
X
X
X
X
Training
Table based on results found in Pauleen, D. J., & Yoong, P. 2001. Relationship building and the
use of ICT in boundary-crossing virtual teams: A facilitator's perspective. Journal of
Information Technology, 16: 205-220.
X
X
X
X
X
X
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Synchronous technologies
• Desktop and real-time data conferencing
• Electronic meeting systems (EMS)
• Electronic display (computer-based
whiteboards)
• Video conferencing
• Audio conferencing
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Chat
Chat plus
Elec. Mtg.
System
Elec. display
w/ voice link
Video w/
voice
Generating ideas, plans
Collecting data
2
2
3
2
1
Problems w/ answers
(Structured, semi-)
2
3
2
2
2
Problems w/out answers
(Unstructured, wicked)
1
3
2
2
2
Negotiating technical or
interpersonal conflicts
1
2
2
1
2
Technology
Task
Key: 3 = most useful, 1 = least useful
Based Duarte, D. L., & Snyder, N. T. 2001. Mastering Virtual Teams
(2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
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Asynchronous technologies
•
•
•
•
E-mail
Group calendars and schedules
Bulletin boards and web pages
Non-real-time database sharing and
conferencing
• Workflow applications
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Non-real-time
data conference
2
2
2
Problems w/ answers
(Structured, semi-)
2
2
2
Problems w/out answers
(Unstructured, wicked)
1
1
1
Negotiating technical or
interpersonal conflicts
1
1
1
Group
calendars
E-mail
Task
Workflow
applications
Bulletin boards,
web pages
Generating ideas, plans
Collecting data
Technology
Key: 3 = most useful, 1 = least useful
Based Duarte, D. L., & Snyder, N. T. 2001. Mastering Virtual Teams
(2nd Ed.). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
21
An example: GroupSystems for
collaborative support
• Support for Small or Large Groups on the
Internet and Intranets
• Create Shared Agendas
• Generate Ideas
• Share, Evaluate and Organize Information
• Create Knowledge
• Poll, Rank, and Prioritize ideas for
consensus
• Jointly Create Documents Complete
Records / Reports
• Draw and Annotate on Shared Whiteboards
• Import/Export to Lotus Notes and other
Software
• Administer Surveys
• Obtain Commitment and Take Action
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GroupSystems Basic Tools
• Electronic Brainstorming: Unstructured idea
generation
• Categorizer: Refine, Rearrange, Categorize ideas
• Vote:
Prioritize, Measure consensus, Graph results
• Topic Commenter: Structured idea and information
sharing
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GroupSystems BasicTools
• Group Outliner:
Build hierarchical process models
• Shared Whiteboard:
• Report Writer:
Team Graphical Illustration
Store Results / Produce Reports
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GroupSystems Advanced Tools
• Alternative Analysis: Evaluate alternatives using
multiple criteria. Produce statistical and graphical results.
• Survey: Create electronic questionnaires, including
subjective and objective items. Collect & tabulate
responses. Produce varied reports.
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• Activity Modeler :
SMEs describe business processes and activities in
parallel; system makes the linkages and draws the
electronic pictures automatically.
• Data Modeler :
SMEs describe business Data Flows and Stores in parallel;
system makes the relationships and develops data model
automatically.
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Team Processes
Idea
Generation
Idea
Organization
Idea Evaluation
and Prioritization
Idea
Exploration
Idea Development
and Exposition
GSS Tools
Brainstorming
Topic Commenter
Idea Organizer
Categorizer
Group Outliner
Group Matrix
Alternative Evaluator
Vote
Stake Holder analysis
Assumption surfacing
Group Writer
Team Graphics
Screen Prototyper28
Summary
• Social presence, information richness, and
other factors play role in selecting
technology
• Technologies vary with respect to their
usefulness for virtual team tasks
• GroupSystems is an example of groupware
that attempts to match tool to task
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