Incorporating Distributed Teamwork and Collaborative Technology into MIS Curriculum

Faced with increased use of distributed project teams in industry, MIS students need to be trained to improve their awareness of and competence in distributed teamwork. This paper describes a curriculum initiative to incorporate distributed teamwork and collaborative technologies into software development and implementation projects for MIS students. There were two stages in the study; the first stage investigated co-located teams that engaged in project subtasks in a distributed format. The second stage investigated real distributed teams that engaged in a fully distributed project. Our study indicates that students increased their capacity to work in a distributed situation by using collaboration technologies. As instructors, we also learned ways to design and more effectively teach this type of class

Towards Web 2.0 Schools: Rethinking the Teachers

This paper aims at analyzing the Web 2.0 based distance education in the K-12 schools as an emerging phenomenon that catalyzes a new educational reform all over the world. Some pre-Web 2.0 best practice examples are analyzed in order to draw the main findings in the paper. The teacher’s professional qualification designed to meet the new challenges is considered as a key problem for a successful penetration of this phenomenon in the schools. It is emphasized on the importance of designing a life-long teacher training strategy adapted to the new achievements in the technology enhanced learning research and the new learning theories. Building social skills and competencies appropriate to work in a Web 2.0 based learning environment and other global ‘social software’ is recommended to be included both in the school curricula and the corresponding teacher development curricula. Such skills and competencies should penetrate the curricula of any life-long learning initiative dedicated to the citizens of the information society

Distances in Geographically Distributed Team: A Review

Distributed team is a group of people collaborating together virtually from different locations, different time zones and are culturally diverse from each other. Such team have the characteristics of both virtual team and culturally diverse team and is termed as Geographically Distributed Team (GDT). Members of geographically distributed team (GDT) experiences different forms of distances while working together as team both in terms of objective distance based on physical location and subjective distance based on perception. Since the members are located in different continents and working at different time zones they heavily rely on computer mediated communication tools to collaborate.Being distant from each other members experiences a unique set of challenges compared to traditional collocated team which hinders collaboration. The most commonly highlighted issues are related to absence of social ties, distorted flow of information, misunderstanding, misperception and miscommunication. The inability to observe each other work and lack of spontaneous communication due to physical distance builds in perceptual distances among members. The cultural differences among the members being from different nationality, values, beliefs, work style and languages adds to the complexity of working together as a team. Several research studies have looked into both positive and negative effect of distances on team effectiveness. This paper examines the various forms of distances experienced by individuals working in a distributed teams, how it has been measured and the challenges posed by it in GDT

A model to develop effective virtual teams

A reviewof the literature shows the factors that impact on the effectiveness of virtual teams arestill ambiguous. To address this problem we developed a research design that included a metaanalysisof the literature, a field experiment and survey. The meta-analysis identified factorswhich impact on the effectiveness of virtual teams which were then validated by a fieldexperiment and survey. The results of the study indicate that social dimensional factors need tobe considered early on in the virtual team creation process and are critical to the effectivenessof the team. Communication is a tool that directly influences the social dimensions of the teamand in addition the performance of the team has a positive impact on satisfaction with thevirtual team. A major contribution of the paper is an integrated model of factors that contributeto virtual team effectiveness

A SYNTHESIS OF SLOAN-C EFFECTIVE PRACTICES

Encouraging continuous improvement in the quality, scale and breadth of online education, the Sloan Consortium invites practitioners to share effective practices. This report synthesizes effective practices submitted by Sloan-C members to the online collection at http://www.sloanconsortium.org/effective as of December 2009. The synthesis includes links to the provider institutions and to detailed postings about practices

WYKORZYSTANIE PLATFORMY CDE WE WSPÓŁPRACY ZESPOŁOWEJ W BIM

In project processes, group collaboration and project documentation management are important aspects. In order for the cooperation of all project participants to be effective, it should be based first and foremost on adequate and effective communication. All project participants should use such solutions so that they can exchange, manage and combine information quickly and efficiently throughout the entire investment process, thus providing a complete picture of the situation. To this end, it is necessary to develop a catalogue of good practices supported by a variety of examples, as well as rules for group cooperation when using a CDE-type solution. The aim of this article was to show the advantages and benefits as well as the disadvantages and limitations in group collaboration when working on a single BIM model.W procesach projektowych ważny aspekt stanowi współpraca grupowa oraz zarządzanie dokumentacją projektową. Aby współpraca wszystkich uczestników projektu była efektywna, powinna opierać się przede wszystkim na odpowiedniej i efektywnej komunikacji. Wszyscy uczestnicy projektu powinni używać takich rozwiązań, aby przez cały proces inwestycyjny mogli szybko i sprawnie wymieniać się informacjami, zarządzać nimi i łączyć je ze sobą, dostarczając w ten sposób kompletny obraz danej sytuacji. W tym celu konieczne jest opracowanie katalogu dobrych praktyk podpartych różnorodnymi przykładami oraz zasad współpracy grupowej przy stosowaniu rozwiązań typu CDE. Celem artykułu było pokazanie zalet i korzyści oraz wad i ograniczeń we współpracy grupowej podczas pracy na jednym modelu BIM

Make decisions - Developing methods to enhance distributed design collaboration

Global virtual teams (GVTs), which are widely used around the world, hold a significant promise for multinational companies, due to their flexibility and innovation potential. However, they also face notable challenges caused by geographical distance and collaboration mediated by technology. The primary objective of this thesis is to document a design research process in which I develop structured means to support global virtual collaboration. In order to reach that goal, this study examines the challenges geographically distributed student teams face in the context of a global product innovation course called Mechanical Engineering 310 (ME310). ME310, originating from Stanford University, teaches students to tackle real world problems proposed by industry leading companies, by doing extensive design research, iterative prototyping, and testing with real users. The theoretical background aims to give an overview of collaboration and communication practices of global virtual teams as well as educational activities specific to this study. Secondly, the collaborative design process and its various phases are explored; how does the teams’ collaboration change in different parts of the project, what kind of challenges have been discovered, and what are the opportunities for further research. The design research of this thesis focuses on discovering the most significant challenges ME310 teams face during their design projects as well as understanding the underlying reasons causing them. The primary research data was collected through thematic semi-structured interviews with ME310 alumni from various universities around the world. Most notable challenges were found in three areas of global virtual teamwork; tuning in, creating a shared understanding, and design tasks. Based on the analysis, one specific design task was identified to be more critical than others; reaching consensus as a team. The findings from the design research are condensed into three design drivers which provide a starting point for concept development. The practical part of this study focuses on developing a “Convergence Guide” that can be utilized in distributed decision-making processes. This prototype guide offers a set of methods that enable teams to create a shared understanding of knowledge, to develop teams’ own evaluation criteria based on their values, and to make effective decisions as a team. To validate the proposed solution, the guide was tested with students and teaching personnel from ME310. The findings were highly encouraging and may offer new knowledge on distributed decision making processes. To conclude, although this thesis does not propose a comprehensive solution that is ready to be launched in virtual environments, the outcome can be utilized to support global distributed design collaboration in educational environments.Globaalit virtuaaliset tiimit ovat maailman laajuisesti käytössä monikansallisissa yrityksissä. Yrityksille niiden etuina ovat tiimien joustavuus ja innovaatipotentiaali. Maantieteellinen etäisyys ja teknologian välityksellä tapahtuva yhteistyö tuovat kuitenkin merkittäviä haasteita. Tämän opinnäytteen ensisijainen tavoite on dokumentoida muotoilun tutkimusprosessi, jossa kehitetään strukturoituja menetelmiä virtuaalisten tiimien yhteistyön tueksi. Tämän tavoitteen saavuttamiseksi työssä on tutkittu maantieteellisesti hajaantuneiden opiskelijatiimien kohtaamia haasteita. Tutkimuskohteena oli globaali tuotekehityskurssi ME310 (Mechanical Engineering 310), joka on lähtöisin Stanforfin yliopistosta. Kurssi perehdyttää opiskelijat isoilta yrityksiltä tulevien todellisen elämän haasteisiin. Kurssin aikana opiskelijat ratkovat yrityksiltä saatuja ongelmia tekemällä käyttäjätutkimusta, prototypoimalla ja testaamalla ideoita todellisten käyttäjien kanssa. Työn teorieettinen viitekehys antaa kokonaiskuvan globaalien virtuaalitiimien yhteistyö- ja kommunikointitavoista, sekä käsittelee työn kontekstiin liittyviä opetuksellisia aktiviteettejä. Tämän lisäksi tässä osiossa tarkastellaan yhteissuunittelun prosessia ja sen eri vaiheita. Tarkoituksena on ymmärtää miten virtuaalitiimien yhteistyö muuttuu projektin eri vaiheissa, millaisia haasteita on jo löydetty ja millaisia mahdollisuuksia nämä avaavat tulevalle tutkimukselle. Työn tutkimusosiossa keskittytään löytämään merkittävimpiä haasteita, joita ME310-tiimit kohtaavat etätyössä projektiensa aikana. Tavoitteena on myös selvittää syyt, jotka alunperin aiheuttavat nämä yhteistyön haasteet. Tutkimusmateriaali kerättiin haastattelemalla kurssin käyneitä opiskelijoita eri puolilta maailmaa käyttäen puolistrukturoitua haastattelumetodia. Löydökset jakautuivat kolmeen luokkaan: projektin tehokkaaseen aloitukseen, yhteisymmärryksen luomiseen, sekä muotoilun prosessiin liittyviin tehtäviin. Yhteisymmärryksen saavuttaminen päätöksenteossa tunnistettiin kriittisemmäksi haasteeksi. Tutkimuksen yhteenvetona luotiin muotoiluajurit ohjaamaan työn seuraavia vaiheita. Työn produktio osiossa kehitetään Päätöksenteko-opas (Convergence Guide), jota voidaan käyttää päätöksenteon tukena hajautetussa tiimityössä. Prototyyppi-opas sisältää metodeja, jotka auttavat tiimejä kehittämään paremman yhteisymmärryksen jo tuotetusta tiedosta, kehittämään yhteisen arviointikriteeristön omien arvojen perusteella, sekä tekemään tehokkaita päätöksiä. Opas testattiin opiskelijoiden ja opetustiimin jäsenten kanssa. Löydökset olivat hyvin rohkaisevia ja saattavat antaa uutta tietoa hajautetusta päätöksentekoprosessista. Vaikka opas ei ole sellaisenaan valmis käytettäväksi virtuaalisessa ympäristössä, sitä voidaan käyttää opetuksen tukena hajautetuissa tuotekehitysprojekteissa

Theorizing the Multilevel Effects of Interruptions and the Role of Communication Technology

Our understanding of how interrupting the work of an individual affects group outcomes and the role of communication technologies (CT) in shaping these effects is limited. Drawing upon coordination theory and the literatures on computer-mediated communication and interruptions, this paper develops a multilevel theory of work interruptions. It suggests that interruptions that target individuals can also affect other group members through various ripple effects and a cross-level direct effect. We also discuss how the usage of five CT capabilities during interruption episodes can moderate the impact of interruptions at the individual and group levels. Our theoretical model draws attention to the importance of examining the individual-to-group processes to better understand the impact of interruptions in group environments. Additionally, by accounting for the role of the use of CT capabilities during interruption episodes, our work contributes to both the interruptions literature, which dedicates scant attention to the interrupting media, and to IS research on media use and media effects