cs147 - terry winograd - 1 lecture 5 – working in teams terry winograd cs147 - introduction to...

CS147 - Terry Winograd - 1

Lecture 5 – Working in Teams

Terry WinogradCS147 - Introduction to Human-

Computer Interaction DesignComputer Science Department

Stanford UniversityAutumn 2006


Learning Goals

• Understand the value of diversity within a team, with both its benefits and its costs

• Be able to recognize the different dimensions of diversity

• Be able to establish the conditions of trust that allow creativity

• Be able to structure meetings to be productive

• Be able to apply models to deal with problems that will come up in collaboration


Diversity

• Diverse backgrounds • Diverse skills • Diverse styles


Group Effectiveness

• You need to deal with group process questions in order to make the work effective

• People work and learn best when they have a safe environment

• Don’t let things go by, or they become blocks - deal with them directly


Learned Interaction Patterns

• Power and participation– People bring their oppression to groups– Women, minorities, etc. don’t speak up– We fall into habitual roles

• Trust and creativity– If you’re afraid, you play it safe

• The value of the marginal– People who tend not to contribute have

much to offer


Interdisciplinary Teams

• Different dimensions of value• Different languages• Different cultures


Meyers-Briggs Personality Type

• Based on Karl Jung’s type theory• Popularized by many people

• Preference Dimensions– Introvert – Extrovert– Intuitive – Sensate– Thinking – Feeling– Perceiving – Judging


Introvert – Extrovert

• Where, primarily, do you direct your energy?– If you prefer to direct your energy to deal

with people, things, situations, or "the outer world", then your preference is for Extraversion. This is denoted by the letter "E".

– If you prefer to direct your energy to deal with ideas, information, explanations or beliefs, or "the inner world", then your preference is for Introversion. This is denoted by the letter "I".


Intuitive – Sensate

• How do you prefer to process information?– If you prefer to deal with facts, what you

know, to have clarity, or to describe what you see, then your preference is for Sensing. This is denoted by the letter "S".

– If you prefer to deal with ideas, look into the unknown, to generate new possibilities or to anticipate what isn't obvious, then your preference is for Intuition. This is denoted by the letter "N".


Thinking – Feeling

• How do you prefer to make decisions?– If you prefer to decide on the basis of

objective logic, using an analytic and detached approach, then your preference is for Thinking. This is denoted by the letter "T".

– If you prefer to decide using values and/or personal beliefs, on the basis of what you believe is important or what you or others care about, then your preference is for Feeling. This is denoted by the letter "F".


How do you prefer to organize your life?

• If you prefer your life to be planned, stable and organized then your preference is for Judging (not to be confused with 'Judgmental', which is quite different). This is denoted by the letter "J".

• If you prefer to go with the flow, to maintain flexibility and respond to things as they arise, then your preference is for Perception. This is denoted by the letter "P".


iNntuitive Thinking


INTP vs. ESFJ

• INTPs are pensive, analytical folks. They may venture so deeply into thought as to seem detached, and often actually are oblivious to the world around them. Precise about their descriptions, INTPs will often correct others (or be sorely tempted to) if the shade of meaning is a bit off. While annoying to the less concise, this fine discrimination ability gives INTPs so inclined a natural advantage as, for example, grammarians and linguists. INTPs are relatively easy-going and amenable to most anything until their principles are violated, about which they may become outspoken and inflexible. They prefer to return, however, to a reserved albeit benign ambiance, not wishing to make spectacles of themselves.

• ESFJs are people persons - they love people. They are warmly interested in others. They use their Sensing and Judging characteristics to gather specific, detailed information about others, and turn this information into supportive judgments. They want to like people, and have a special skill at bringing out the best in others. They are extremely good at reading others, and understanding their point of view. The ESFJ's strong desire to be liked and for everything to be pleasant makes them highly supportive of others. People like to be around ESFJs, because the ESFJ has a special gift of invariably making people feel good about themselves.


Career Paths

INTP ESFJ

Home Economics Nursing Teaching Administrators Child Care Family Practice Physician Clergy or other religious work Office Managers Counselors / Social Work Bookkeeping / Accounting Administrative Assistants

ScientistsPhotographers Strategic Planners Mathematicians University Professors Computer Programmers, Systems Analysts, Computer Animation and Computer Specialists Technical Writers Engineers Lawyers / Attorneys Judges


Diverse Styles Making the Team Work

• Phases of the process (divergent vs. convergent)

• Process vs. product• Insight vs. detail• …


Getting things done

• Productive meetings• Investment• Set measurable goals• Be explicit about commitments• Constructive conflict


How can meetings be productive?

• Be rigorous about attendance and time

• Have an agenda• Do your homework• Review and negotiate commitments

clearly• Follow a process for roles and

reflection• End each meeting with process

review


Meeting Roles

• Facilitator– Reflection and intervention on

process

• Recorder– Make ideas part of group

consciousness

• How to do this in a small group versus a large meeting


Problem Team Members

• Whiners. – What should you do with someone who complains

about everything• Martyrs.

– What should you do if one of your group members insists on doing everything, and constantly complaining about how little others are doing?

• Saboteurs – What can you do when a group member undoes or

changes others’ work without permission and in a way that conflicts with prior agreements about how it should be done?

• Bullies. – What do you do when a group member is so bossy and

pushy that they constantly insist that others do it their way?

• Deadwood. – What do you do with “deadwood,” people who don’t

pull their weight?


When things go wrong...

• See it structurally– Don’t dwell on personalities– Recognize that problems are a normal

part of group process• Reflect as a group

– Characterize the problem– Make it explicit!

• Don’t be afraid to ask for help– TA, even the instructor– We recognize that it happens all the

time and want to make the teams all work


Diagnostic questions to ask yourself during the course of the project : Bob Sutton

A.The conversation game. Who talks the most? How talks the least? How interrupts

the most? Who gets interrupted the most? Are these patterns destructive or constructive?

B.The power game. Who is the most influential in the group, who is the least

influential? Do people get their way just because they are pushy or because they know better?

C.Are group members friends, enemies, or solo operators? Do people get “points” for helping others and asking for

help? Do you just watch people struggle and complain behind their backs? Or do you just do your own parts and paste them together somehow at the end?

D.Talk versus action. Do you hold people accountable for doing what they say?

Or do you encourage smart talk alone?


Diagnostic questions (2) : Bob Sutton

E. Performance norms. Do you ask people to make specific commitments? What

do you do when someone drops the ball? Forgive and forget? Forgive and remember? Talk about it? Simmer?

F. Conflict. Do you know how to fight? Do you fight over ideas or personality issues? Do you

know when to stop fighting? (Recognize rough stages of idea generation, idea selection, implementation, and testing).

G.“Full speed ahead” problems. Are you charging ahead, with your project idea or with

your division of labor, or do you stop regularly and ask if it is working?

H.Other norms. Are you unwittingly encouraging each other to be

procrastinate, to snivel, to fight about silly things, to arrive late, to be mean to each other… think about what you are allowing and encouraging in the group.

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