Global Information Systems:Global Information Systems:

Globally distributed teams (4)Globally distributed teams (4)

Prof. Dr. Jan M. Pawlowski11.10.2011

Contents

IntroductionIntroductionTeam issues (Garton, Wegryn, 2006)

Creating teams– Creating teams– Skills

Cultural profiles– Cultural profilesCommunication in distributed teams (Garton Wegryn 2006)(Garton, Wegryn, 2006)Architecture aspects: environment and toolstoolsSummary

The Open Unified Process –DisciplinesDisciplines

Architecture Requirements – Architecture Notebook

Configuration and Change Management

– Supporting Requirements Specification Vi iDevelopment

– Design – Build

– Vision – Use Case – Glossary

– Developer Test – Implementation

Project Management

– Use-Case Model Test– Test Case j g

– Iteration Plan – Project Plan– Work Items List

– Test Log – Test Script

– Risk List Roles Artefacts / Support[Source: http://www.epfwiki.net/wikis/openup/]

Issues

Staffing: Finding selecting and initiatingStaffing: Finding, selecting and initiating virtual teamsCoordination of tasks and dependent workCoordination of tasks and dependent work itemsCommunication between teamsCultural aspects, barriers, and solutions

The virtual managerg

Skills requiredSkills required– General management

People management– People management– Communication

Technical knowledge– Technical knowledge– Decision making

P bl l i– Problem solving– Administration

C lt l k l d d kill– Cultural knowledge and skills

Cost issues

Management time for coordinationManagement time for coordinationTraining cost for cross-cultural communicationcommunicationCost of misunderstanding (re-work, delays, drop-out)p )Increased cost for offshore expertsCommunication, travel costCommunication, travel cost

Creating teamsg

Process– Choose team members– Interview team members

C id t d i– Consider team dynamics– Consider personalities of team members– Evaluate abilities, skills / competenciesEvaluate abilities, skills / competencies

Staffing plan– General information– Staffing process– Goals, objectives, timelines– Staffing profiles– Staffing profiles– Skill sets and requirements– Organizational chart

Creating teams (2)g ( )

Defining roles and responsibilitiesDefining roles and responsibilities– Job description

Annual performance objectives– Annual performance objectives– Growth and development plan

Cultural profiles (Dafoulas, Macaulay, 2001)

Management issuesg

Team meetings across time zonesTeam meetings across time zones– Split regional teams

Rotating conference calls– Rotating conference calls– Management meetings

Managing language difficultiesManaging language difficulties– Translation

C i ti l ( l it f h– Communication rules (clarity of speech, rotating right to speak,…)Avoiding / knowing gestures– Avoiding / knowing gestures

– Questions in different cultures

Building teamsg

Managing cultural differences (see L3)Managing cultural differences (see L3)Considering adjustment to calculate productivity and potential difficultiesproductivity and potential difficultiesPhases of cultural adjustment– EnthusiasmEnthusiasm– Conflict Stage

Integration Stage– Integration Stage– Adaptation Stage

Virtual Teamwork

Discovering commonalitiesDiscovering commonalities– Workshops, informal meetings

Creating trustgUnderstanding dynamics of the teamCreating a virtual communityg yTeam member interaction– Virtual communication– Virtual team days– Sharing best practices– Rewards

Virtual Teamwork Processes

Communication process: A formal planCommunication process: A formal plan defines…– Stakeholder groupsStakeholder groups– Formal Communication plan

• MeetingsMeetings• Conference call• Communication tools• Documents• Website / intranet updates

– Informal communication / escalation– Communication rules

Virtual Teamwork Processes (2)( )

General process managementp g– Design, development, …

Change control processE h d l i t– E.g., resources, schedule, maintenance, catastrophes, …

Defect-tracking process (technical)g p ( )Organizational processesClient and vendor processesSt t tStatus report processRisk ManagementEscalation proceduresEscalation procedures

Describing team / individual profilesg

What are necessary competences?What are necessary competences?A competence is a set of knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes to solve a problem inabilities and attitudes to solve a problem in a given contextCompetences differ according top g– Domain– Career path / positionCareer path / position– Education– Context (country project )Context (country, project, …)

Related Concepts (modified, North 1998)North, 1998)

Competitiveness

Skill

Competence

+applying to new settings

+ uniqueness

I f ti

Knowledge

new settings

+use

+context

Data

Information

+meaning

+context

Symbol +syntax

Competencies

Learning Outcomes defined in theLearning Outcomes defined in the European Qualification Framework as – “[…] statements of what a learner knows,

understands and is able to do on completion of a learning process”

Learning outcomes described byLearning outcomes described by competencies: e.g. will have a strong knowledge of …g

We define competencies as a collection of skills, abilities, and attitudes to solve a problem in a given context.

Competence scheme

Processes Influence Factorsinfluence

aim at influence

influenceCompetencies

solve

Problems Knowledge

is part of is part of

is embedded in

Context

Sample characteristicsConcept Description Sample Attributes

C i D i i f i /& l i T f i d i i bjCompetencies Description of competencies /& learning

outcomes to perform a task

Type of competencies, description, subject,

level (proficiency level from EQF),

complexity

Problem Description of a problem in which a

competency should be applied

Situation description, actors, type of tasks,

expected outcomes

Context Description of the environment and Descriptions of cultural (e.g., country,

influence factors in which a competency

is applied

country characteristics), institutional (e.g.,

Higher Education, enterprise), economic

(e.g., time & budget constraints), location

(geographic location, environment),

technical (technical requirements, systems)

context

Use of competences

Description of Competence ProfilesDescription of Competence Profiles– For position or employee

Targeted lifelong learning and employeeTargeted lifelong learning and employee developmentTargeted work force buildingTargeted work force building (complementary competences in one group)g p)Finding the right employees

Competence descriptions

Globalization competences

According to Stier (2006) six ares ofAccording to Stier (2006) six ares of intercultural competences (the six “c”)– CommunicativeCommunicative– Cooperative– ConfidenceConfidence– Commitment

Critical thinking– Critical thinking– Comparability

Internationalization Curriculum

Internationalization CompetenciesInternationalization Competencies

Groupwork

CommunicationProject CollaborationCommunicationProject management

Collaboration

Intercultural competencies

ICT liICT literacy

M lti ti l T ti l

Domain specific competencies

Multinational case studies

Transnational groupwork ...

p pSubject A

Subject C

Subject B

Subject D

...

...

...

...

Competence Categories

Domain specific competences focusing on domain competences adapted for the international context.ICT competences / Literacy ranging from basic computer skills and skills to operate different programs to more complex knowledge about IT Architectures, Security and Management and Information retrieval.y gProject Management and Leadership competences, which could also be referred to as Coordination competences, covering areas such as basic business competences, team management and work distribution.Collaboration and Knowledge Management competences includingCollaboration and Knowledge Management competences including knowledge sharing and transfer as well as work attitudes in an international team.Communication competences which focus strictly on the exchange of messages and information in verbal and written form including choice ofmessages and information in verbal and written form including choice of communication style and management of communication.Intercultural competences including cultural awareness and understanding of cultural differences.

E L i C i l

Competencies in ISDE-Learning Curriculum

Internationalization Competencies

Groupworkp

CommunicationProject management

Collaboration

Intercultural competenciesCulture models

Intercultural competencies

ICT literacyInternational online groupwork

Multinational case studies

Transnational groupwork ...

ISD competenciesApplication knowledge Technology knowledge Knowledge management

Collaborative Groupwork Information Literacy

Competence mappingg

Describe the problem / challenge / successDescribe the problem / challenge / success factor– Success factorsSuccess factors – Culture models– …

Describe the competence using competence vocabulary and derive thecompetence vocabulary and derive the complexity Map competence profiles to actors to be p p precruited

Knowledge management and learning in virtual teamslearning in virtual teams

Need to find extract share and re-useNeed to find, extract, share and re use knowledge in development processes

Knowledge management approachesapproacheshuman-oriented technology-oriented

knowledge management personalization codification

strategy

comprehension of knowledge

knowledge is contained in peoples head

documented knowledge; detached f lg p p from employees

actors/roles knowledge worker, networks, and communities of interest

authors, experts, knowledge broker

knowledgeknowledge managements

systems (KMS)

interactive knowledge managements systems

integrative knowledge management systems

( )

prior knowledge management

system

communication and cooperation, locating of

t it t

publication, structuring and integration, search, presentation and i li ti fsystem

functions experts, community-support visualization of knowledge elements

Knowledge management processstrategy

processesp

instruments/

KnowledgeIdentification

KnowledgeUse

k l d b

content/topic

instruments/systems

KnowledgeAcquisition

KnowledgePreservation

processes

knowledge base

knowledgelife cycle

knowledgelife cycle

KnowledgeDistribution

KnowledgeDevelopment

yy

[Remus, 2002] [Probst, 1997][Remus, 2002] [ , ]

Knowledge management: success factorsfactors

Organizational cultureOrganizational cultureManagement supportCommon vision and understandingCommon vision and understandingHolistic, integrated approachContinuous participationContinuous participationMultiple communication channelsT h i l d i ti l i f t tTechnical and organizational infrastructureMotivational factors

Knowledge management in a global context: known issuesglobal context: known issues

General barriers: lack of time lack ofGeneral barriers: lack of time, lack of infrastructure, fearsCommunicationCommunicationCulture…

Global Knowledge

Context Stakeholders

Knowledge ManagementFramework

InstH

PIntervention A Intervention B Intervention N

Society Organization Individual

FrameworkI

ruments

Hum

an-baseinstrum

entsRes

ourc

es ProcessesExternal Processes

Business Processes

Stra

tegi

es

nfrastructure

sd Te

Knowledge Processes

es

echnologies atools

wle

dge

Pro

blem

s

and

Kno

w

Results

Validation, Feedback, Improvement

Culture

ResultsPerformance Knowledge …

Knowledge management in a global context: ideas for solutionsglobal context: ideas for solutions

Knowledge communitiesg– Based on a regional / local approach– Trust building in smaller groups

C t tContext awareness– Getting to know norms, values, … – Contextualized knowledgeContextualized knowledge

Multilingual infrastructure, communication supportTime allocation, Rewards, reputationUser involvementKnowledge facilitatorsUser generated content (Web 2 0 applications)User generated content (Web 2.0 applications)

Collaboration tools (cont.)( )Collaborative tools

Development environment– Development environment– Administration tools– Workflow tools– …

Virtual management toolsDocument library– Document library

– Shared calendar– Online meetings (video- / phone conferencing)g ( p g)– Online scheduling and planning– Discussion forum

A t l (IM l ti b d t l )– Awareness tools (IM, location-based tools)Knowledge management tools

Coordination[S

ouurce: Redm

ilees et al., 20077]

At the end of this phase, the following results should be ready:following results should be ready:

Refined project planRefined project planStaff plan / team building concept / training planningplanningCulture profilesCommunication planCommunication planCollaborative architecture

Questions

Which competencies / skills do virtual managersWhich competencies / skills do virtual managers and remote workers need?Which cultural influence factors affect

i ti ?communication?How do you assess the stage of the group process?process?Which tools should be available for virtual communication?Develop a communication plan including communication rules for a small virtual team in the US and FinlandUS and Finland.Which main barriers of KM can be identified, propose potential solutions.

ReferencesDafoulas, G., Macaulay, L.: Investigating Cultural Differences in Virtual Software Teams, The Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries EJISDC 7(4), 2001 Paquette, G. (2007). An Ontology and a Software Framework for Competency Modeling and Management. Educational Technology & Society 10 (3) pp 1 21Society, 10 (3), pp. 1-21.Pawlowski, J.M., Schrader, H., Khatami, P., Adelsberger, H.H. (2008): The Globalization Technology Competency Framework for the Knowledge Worker – an E-Learning Program for Enterprisethe Knowledge Worker an E Learning Program for Enterprise Resource Planning, European e-skills Conference, Thessaloniki, Oct. 2008. Available at: http://users.jyu.fi/~japawlow/cedefop_competencies_20081007final_citation pdfcitation.pdf

Contact Information ITRI

Prof. Dr. Jan M. Pawlowskijan.pawlowski@titu.jyu.fiSkype: jan_m_pawlowski

Office:Office:Telephone +358 14 260 2596Fax +358 14 260 2544Fax +358 14 260 2544http://users.jyu.fi/~japawlow