Week 1.1 – 28th May. 2021
The second module’s primary focuses will be; collaboration working with a new mix of concepts with fresh perspectives, communication between our group of 5, needing to keep open minded and be ready to change direction, and explore innovation to create a new working prototype, which is a combination of all of our skills.
Aim: to work in a multidisciplinary team to design and develop an interactive prototype.
Our newly formed groups must pay close attention to the below;
- How the project is managed.
- What tools and frameworks are selected for communication and version control.
- How to maintain a unified product vision throughout the development process.
Why Teams?
I started to read, The Wisdom of Teams, and although every job I have had in the past, always had involved some form of teamwork, because I have worked on my own for a while now, after seeing what I could achieve with writing and illustrating my own children’s books, and all the different home study courses I have completed, I suppose thats why now I am a little concerned!?
However, reading further into the chapter, I found the below quote, and it has made me re-think about this and what real teamwork is.
“A team is not just any group working together”
(Katzenbach and Smith 2015: 15)
After looking deeper into the specific chapter; Why Teams?, I have gained a better understanding that the experiences I have had in the past was not entirely team work. (I was not in a small group, and individuals were always doing there own thing, but not reflecting together, or recognising the interests and achievements of others)
Teamwork represents a set of values that encourages behaviors such as listening and constructively responding to points of view expressed by others, giving others the benefit of the doubt, providing support to those who need it, and recognizing the interests and achievements of others.
(Katzenbach and Smith 2015: 15)
Katzenbach and Smith explains, that it is only when we practice working in a team, that it can help everyone communicate and work more effectively. It also highlights the performance of the individuals and the effects it has on the whole organization.
I do work well with people, but I think this is my first time working in a small group of 5, and after watching Al parkers video, linked with team work, and how to make a high performing team, I do have a better idea of what and how to approach this new task.
Team Formation
When researching further into team work, and new ways to set up your team, one article that caught my attention, dealt with team formation. I found this really interesting, as they experiment with different ways of setting up a team.
1)Teams were either going to be decided by the instructor,
2) By the students themselves,
3) Randomly chosen, by a computer programme.
The 3 Methods
The 3 methods, all had a link to helping the students connect better with one another, which overall was a positive thing to make note of, but the one method that they found to be the best way of helping students form a team, was by allowing the tutors to choose the individuals.
They found that teams designed by the course instructor were more diverse, but that students in these teams performed no better than their peers in self-selected or randomly assigned teams.
(Pociask, Gross and Shih 2017)
Week 1.2 – 1st June. 2021
Activity – Career Profiler
For the start of this module, our icebreaker activity consisted of us taking a personality test, and sharing the results with the rest of the students, and to reflect back on them. This is meant to help with each individuals skill set, making sure that each team of 5 has someone from each area, such as; programming, illustrating, animating, 2D/ 3D character design, background design or layout, storyboarding, a group leader, team working skills, organisation, presenting…the list is endless.
Automattic – WordPress.com – Broken Window Theory
This is what Automattic try to follow, “The broken windows theory“, they try to make sure all the little things are done well consistently, because this is what could effect the business massively.
By regularly fixing small things, you prevent bigger problems from starting. It’s similar to the platitudes ‘‘nip it in the bud’’.
(Berkun 2013: 98)
How to apply to my practice?
I want to apply the broken window theory to my practice, because I think that it is something that is not always thought about when working in a team, so I am going to focus on the smaller tasks, and check they are correct, look right and work well, before moving onto the next thing.
This is almost another Kanban method style, however taking one step at a time to start with, but making sure that all those “one steps”, are properly followed through, for a consistent and reliable end product. However, in my case for this second term it is all about team work, and making a new prototype that is fully functional, and pitching the concept to a panel of professionals.
Creating Atmosphere with the use of Humour
I just had to add the quote below, especially as I feel it is relevant to me, and my personality, and what I bring to the new team, other than just skills.
When I get people laughing, its a great feeling, the atmosphere that can be created in the room, or whilst in conversation, with adding a slightly humorous remark, or playing on the words that someone just mentioned, can light up the room and make everyone forget about any problems they may have.
I also think it is a fantastic way to motivate those that might not be keen on an idea, to just give it a try!
You get more mileage if you make people laugh, even if it’s at themselves, at the same time you’re reminding them of something they’ve forgotten.
(Berkun 2013: 82)
References
KATZENBACH, Jon R and Douglas K, SMITH. 2015. The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High-Performance Organization. Boston; Harvard Business Review Press.
Truity. 2021. Free Personality Tests and Career Assessments – Truity. [online] Available at: https://www.truity.com (Links to an external site.) [Accessed 01/06/ 2021].
PARKER, A. 2019. Working in Teams. https://flex.falmouth.ac.uk/courses/913/pages/week-1-an-introduction-to-teams?module_item_id=49985 [Accessed 02/06/2021].
POCIASK, Sarah, David GROSS and Mei-Yau SHIH. 2017. ‘Does Team Formation Impact Student Performance, Effort and Attitudes in a College Course Employing Collaborative Learning?’. Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, 17(3), 19-33.
Berkun, Scott. 2013. ‘The Year Without Pants : WordPress.com and the Future of Work’. Available at: https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/falmouth-ebooks/detail.action?docID=1357223. [Accessed 02/06/2021]
RALPHY GETS ANIMATED..? 