Communication Structures in Partially Distributed Teams: The Importance of Inclusiveness

A partially distributed team (PDT) consists of two or more subteams that are separated geographically. In a PDT, members of a given subteam are co-located, but they collaborate with members of geographically distant subteams. PDTs are commonplace across diverse IT settings, including outsourcing, off-shoring, and distributed organizations. Often the distance separating subteams spans multiple time zones that encompass diverse cultures and countries, as in the case of global software development teams. Findings are presented from a large-scale international PDT project involving IT students from 13 universities. Quantitative analysis of three emergent communication structures adopted by PDTs show significant differences in terms of both procedural (i.e., awareness and coordination) and socio-emotional (i.e., shared identity and trust) team interaction variables as well as perceptions of team performance. Furthermore, a qualitative analysis shows that inclusive leadership behaviors and the use of inclusive media and software positively impact team interaction processes and performance

Unpacking Agile Enterprise Architecture Innovation work practices: A Qualitative Case Study of a Railroad Company

Agile EA is the process for managing enterprise architecture modeling and redesign efforts with principles of agile methods. However, very little work has been done till date on how organizations adopt these methodological innovations such as integration of agile methods with enterprise architecture. This is problematic, because we know that organizations face stiff challenges in bringing new innovations that fundamentally disrupt their enterprise architecture. Hence we ask: How does agile EA get adopted in practice and what are the underlying mechanisms through which teams self-organize and adapt? To this end, we studied a large-scale agile EA development effort to modernize the legacy systems at a top railroad company referred to as “Alpha” (a pseudonym). Our qualitative analysis shows how multi-teams self-organize and adjust the pace of the development efforts by strategically (1) choosing different type of agile methods and (2) embedding resources across teams for increasing communications

Crossing the Chasm of Agile Enterprise Architecture Innovation: A Case Study of Service Modernization at a Railroad Company

Agile EA is the process for managing enterprise architecture modeling and redesign efforts with principles of agile methods such as iterations, lean thinking, pair programming etc., for faster development times. However, very little work has been done till date on how organizations adopt these methodological innovations such as integration of agile methods with enterprise architecture. This is problematic, because we know that organizations face stiff challenges in bringing new innovations that fundamentally disrupt their enterprise architecture. It is for this reason organizations rely on external consultants to internalize the concepts that are non-native to its actors. Hence we ask: What factors affect the adoption process of agile EA in organizations? If so what is the adoption rate over time? And what is the role of internal and external change agents in adoption process? To address this questions, we plan on conducting a field study in a top railroad company referred to as “Alpha” (a pseudonym) for exploring the variations in routines to understand the agile EA adoption process. Specifically, the proposed research study has two goals. First, we wish to develop a formal process theory about the adoption of agile enterprise architecture innovations using grounded theory approach. Second, through this study we would like to provide design guidelines for crossing the chasm of agile EA

Leadership and Trust in Partially Distributed Software Development Teams

Partially distributed teams (PDTs) are common as organizations collaborate across distances. A PDT has at least one collocated subteam and at least two geographically dispersed subteams. We describe a large-scale experiment that examines student global PDTs working on software requirements for an emergency MIS; the teams comprised one U.S. subteam and one Dutch subteam. Leadership configuration was varied so that some teams had only a team leader; some had only subteam leaders; and some had both. However most teams chose to select subteam leaders, regardless of instructions. Trust has been found to be important for team functioning in traditional and virtual teams. This paper focuses on the experimental results related to leadership and trust in PDTs. Results indicate that while there is no evidence that trust varies by leadership configuration, the type of leader (subteam/team) matters and that trust is associated with leader effectiveness and perceptions of team and subteam performance

Promoting Group Creativity in Upstream Requirements Engineering

The upstream stage of requirements engineering (RE) focuses primarily on determining high-level organizational requirements. Upstream RE provides perhaps the best opportunity to instill creativity into the design process, since it is where stakeholders figure out what to build. However, exactly how to incorporate creativity into current RE methods remains a fundamental concern. Negative social influences, such as those associated with status differentials, ingroup bias, and majority influence, can impede group creativity and otherwise negatively impact the upstream RE process. This paper discusses these issues. Two IBIS-based design rationale approaches are presented and suggestions for diminishing the potential for negative social influences are offered

Politeness Theory and Computer-Mediated Communication: A Sociolinguistic Approach to Analyzing Relational Messages

This conceptual paper suggests how Politeness Theory [6] -- well known in anthropological and linguistic literatures -- can contribute to the study of role relations in computer-mediated communication. Politeness, phrasing things so as to show respect and esteem for the face of others, occurs throughout social interchange. The paper reviews politeness theory and enumerates specific linguistic indices of politeness. It then discusses how recognition of the central role of face-work in social interchange can enhance understanding of why and where emotion-work might occur in CMC, how such emotion-work (in the form of politeness) can be reliably observed and quantitatively measured at a linguistic level of analysis, and how the distribution of politeness phenomena is systematically related to variables of interest in CMC research -- such as status, cohesion, impersonality, friendship, and communicative efficiency

Trust in Partially Distributed Teams

Partially Distributed Teams (PDTs) are increasingly utilized as a means for inter-organizational collaboration. In a PDT, members within a subteam are collocated and communicate face-to-face and electronically, but communication between two or more geographically separated subteams occurs primarily through electronic media. A PDT has characteristics and issues unique to its hybrid structure, such as increased likelihood of in-group/out-group dynamics. Trust has been shown to be important for effectiveness. Through a quasi-experimental field study, we examine dimensions of trust and their effects on performance and satisfaction in PDTs. Results indicate that trust in PDTs has multiple dimensions which have different effects on outcomes and that early trust is distinguishable from longer term trust. This research contributes by offering a more articulated understanding of trust at different phases of a PDT’s life cycle and by identifying three distinct types of trust that play a role in the effective functioning of PDTs

Modeling the Antecedents of Perceived Performance in Partially Distributed Teams

Global distributed teams are increasingly common as organizations collaborate in the global economy. Partially distributed teams are often formed to gather expertise from different locations to accomplish the organizational goals. A PDT is a team in which there is at least one collocated subteam which is geographically distant from other subteams and communicates with the other subteams through electronic media. In this paper we build and test a model of the antecedents of perceived performance. The research shows that conflict and shared identity predict trust which predicts levels of perceived performance of PDTs. Surprisingly, we did not find support for the hypotheses that cultural or temporal distance predicts either conflict or shared identity. We posit reasons for this and suggest future research to further investigate the influences on perceived performance in a PDT