Transcript INFO 324 Team Process and Product Week 9 Dr. Jennifer Booker College of Information Science and Technology Drexel University Copyright by Gregory W. Hislopwww.ischool.drexel.edu Introduction.

INFO 324
Team Process and Product
Week 9
Dr. Jennifer Booker
College of Information Science and
Technology
Drexel University
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
1
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Introduction
Agenda
• Change and Creativity
• Brain storming as a technique
• Trackers
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
2
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Brainstorming
• A team based approach to spark creativity
– Problem solving
– Idea generation
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
3
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Value of Brainstorming
• Positive potential
– Quickly broaden a set of ideas
– Spark creativity via interaction
– Build team participation
• Negative potential
– Results are not used
– Real intent is manipulative
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
4
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm - Prep
• Setting - Good time, location, and right
people in the room
• Focus – have a specific purpose
– Clearly defined deliverable
• Plan – know how the result will be used
– And communicate that at the start
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
5
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm - Prep
• Roles
– Facilitator – to get the best result
– Scribe – to capture the result accurately and
completely
• Materials
– Opening statement of the topic, deliverable,
and plan for use
– Ground rules for participation
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
6
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm – Doing it
• Bound the time – and keep it relatively
short
• Stay focused on the topic
• Relax – the goal is to be creative
• Respect and record all ideas without
criticism
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
7
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm – Doing it
Copyright by Gregory W. Hislop
8
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm – Doing it
• Build on comments of others
– Requires careful listening
• Avoid negative or limiting comments
• Avoid analysis and evaluation
• Ensure that everyone participates
– As evenly as possible
• Aim for concrete, actionable items
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
9
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm – Creativity
Techniques
• Opposites –ideas for worst possible
solution to a problem
• Constraint removal – ideas if constraint X
were removed (cost, time, physics)
• Constraint addition – ideas if constraints
were very tight (cost, time)
• Etc. – there are many of these
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
10
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm - Afterwards
• Take input seriously
• Follow through with plan for use
• Pick the best ideas
– Assign people to accomplish these ideas
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
11
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm - Afterwards
• Brainstorming can foster creativity and set
direction
• Don’t confuse brainstorming for product
• Most of the actual work is done after the
brainstorming
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
12
www.ischool.drexel.edu
How to Brainstorm - Afterwards
• Most projects are done in teams, but most
of the actual work is done by individuals
– Team process must address the individual
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
13
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Reading Assignment
• Brainstorming
– http://www.scottberkun.com/essays/34-howto-run-a-brainstorming-meeting/
• Project team startup
– http://www.yourofficecoach.com/topics/cowork
er_relationships/working_in_teams/successful
_team_start_up.aspx
– Hint: readings are fair game on the next test
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
14
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Trackers
• Problem: lots of work items floating around
in projects. Team needs some way to
keep track of it all
• Types of items include
– Bugs
– Feature requests
– Support requests
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
15
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Trackers
• Browsable list of items
• Basic search support
– Finding particular topics
– Finding items by status, age, assigned
person, etc.
• Ability to assign, update, and track items
• History of items completed
– Part of project analysis and tracking
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
16
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Trackers - Demo
• Source Forge Old interface
– https://sourceforge.net/tracker/?group_id=549
989
• Source Forge New interface
– https://sourceforge.net/p/fossevaluation/ticket
s/
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
17
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Class Activity: Brainstorm!
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
18
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Currman Feature Requests
• Currman is a curriculum manager
– And an empty shell for an open source project
• From the Summary: “Currman provides
features for students to help them
understand the degree, and track their
progress through the program.”
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
19
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Brainstorming Activity
• What features should Currman have for
students?
• Brainstorm to generate feature ideas
• Record them
– Etherpad
– Feature requests
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
20
www.ischool.drexel.edu
Corner Office
• New York Times interview series
– http://projects.nytimes.com/corner-office
– Mostly CEO’s
– Many tech companies
• Lots of interesting comments on
leadership and management
– Being successful, getting hired, etc
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
21
www.ischool.drexel.edu
In Your Future...
• Assignment 9 – last one!
• Test #2
Copyright by Gregory W.
Hislop
22
www.ischool.drexel.edu