ECE194 S’02 Introduction to Engineering Design Arizona State University 1

Team Training

The comments were remarkably consistent:

My overall view of a team’s performance matched closely the internal evaluation

Within the team, all of the reviews (i.e. the comments) were generally quite similar

A few thoughts concerning the performance of the teams in ECE194, F’01

ECE194 S’02 Introduction to Engineering Design Arizona State University 2

Team Training

Review of last year’s comments

“Our team really worked well together”

“Each of us contributed along the way”

“We were all pretty different and that helped us come up with some pretty good ideas”

“Everyone shared responsibility and effort”

ECE194 S’02 Introduction to Engineering Design Arizona State University 3

Team Training

Review of last year’s comments, cont.

“X missed presentations and meetings out of class, he wasn’t very reliable, and he showed up late if at all.”

“Y did not attend the meetings or help with the written report”

“I was very disappointed that my ‘teammates’ could just not get motivated”

ECE194 S’02 Introduction to Engineering Design Arizona State University 4

Team Training

Guidelines for reacting to group problems

Anticipate and prevent group problems whenever possible

If a group spends time developing itself into a team, many problems can be anticipated and prevented.

Get to know each other Establish ground rules Discuss norms for group behavior Agree to an improvement plan

ECE194 S’02 Introduction to Engineering Design Arizona State University 5

Team Training

Think of each problem as a group problem

ECE194 S’02 Introduction to Engineering Design Arizona State University 6

Team Training Neither over-react nor under-react

Your team must learn to differentiate between fleeting disruptions and chronic behaviors.

A range of responses can include: Do nothing (non-intervention, appropriate for fleeting disruptions)

Off-line conversation (minimal intervention) outside the group meeting, using constructive feedback techniques

Impersonal group time (low intervention) inside the group meeting, focusing attention on the problem, not the offender

Off-line confrontation (medium intervention) outside the group meeting, which is similar to off-line conversation, but more assertive.

In-group confrontation (high intervention), but with constructive feedback techniques