Old Dominion University CS410 Team Black Design Presentation Team Project Organizational Tool Nov 20, 2013 TPOT

Old Dominion University CS410 Team Black

Design Presentation

Team Project Organizational Tool

Nov 20, 2013

TPOT

Team Black

ODU – Team Black

Aaron WaldenCo-leaderDatabase

Dr. Pilar Pazos, Ph.D.Mentor

Thomas TJ CarsonCo-leaderDatabase

Jose BrandarizBack-endSecurity

Pernell DixonFront-endSecurity

Joe ElderFront-end

Webmaster

Josh WardFront-endBack-end

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Nov 20, 2013CS410 Design Presentation

What is TPOT?3

TPOT will be web-based team and instructor

project collaboration software designed for the

educational environment.

The teapot metaphor:

When the project is "boiling,“ TPOT "whistles."

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ODU – Team Black Nov 20, 2013CS410 Design Presentation

Outline

ODU – Team Black

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• Dr. Pazos’ Proposal

• Current Situation in Virtual Education (with processes)

• Problem Statement

• Importance of Virtual Teams and their Education

• Problem Characteristics

• Solution Statement and Goals

• Major Components Required

• Hardware Components

• Software Components

• Database Components

• Database Trigger Example

• Database ER Diagrams/Schema

• Dashboard Components

• Mock Dashboard GUIs

• Team Page Components

• Site Map

• Comprehensive Operation Example

• Improved Process Flows

• Benefits of TPOT

• Risks

• Summary and Conclusion

Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal

ODU – Team Black

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Dr. Pilar Pazos

Research interests:

• Knowledge management• Computer-mediated communication• Collaborative learning• Engineering education

Teams research:

• Key factors contributing to teams’ effectiveness• Conflict management in virtual teams (VT)• Global virtual team management• Impacts of technology on virtual teams’ effectiveness• Virtual team training• Development of tools to support team collaboration

Team Mentor

Ph.D. Industrial EngineeringEmphasis Engineering MgmtTexas Tech University, 2005

Assistant Professor – ODU,Department of EngineeringManagement and Systems Engineering

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Managing Multiple Team Projects

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Instructors of online, project-based courses are regularly managing 15 or more teams, oftenasynchronously.

An increasingly common situation:

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• 6.7 million US college students (nearly 1 in 3) involved in virtual

coursework1

• From 10% of enrollment to over 30% since 20022

• ODU CS Dept attempting to make entire undergraduate

degree fully available virtually


1,2. Allen and Seaman, Changing Course

Current Situation

ODU – Team Black

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• Organization left totally to instructors

• No tool to aggregate all team data

• Team Google Site plus ad hoc: email,

Blackboard, Smartsheet

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8Current Process Flow: Team Status Determination 8

ODU – Team Black

CS410 Design Presentation

Nov 20, 2013

9Current Process Flow: Deliverable Assessment 9

ODU – Team Black


Nov 20, 2013

Problem Statement10

In an increasingly asynchronous educational

environment, the mentoring of geographically

dispersed teams has become a cumbersome

endeavor.

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Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal11

Dr. Pazos’ proposed project:

• Team collaboration software

• Focused on development of student team skills

• Instructor Dashboardo Monitor teams’ statuso Assess deliverableso Provide feedback

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What is a Virtual Team (VT)?12

According to an oft-cited 2009 literature review:

• Geographical dispersion

• Unification by a common purpose

• Electronic communication

• Cross-boundary collaboration

4,5. Ebrahim et al., “Virtual Teams, a Literature Review”

Necessary Characteristics4 Other common characteristics5

• Impermanence

• Small size

• Knowledge workers

• Inter-company

Distance learning (DL) project teams satisfy 7 of these 8

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Dispersed Student Teams Are VTs13

• Geographical dispersion – nature of DL

• Common purpose – course project

• Electronic communication – email, Blackboard

• Cross-boundary collaboration – students have

diverse backgrounds, electives, minors

They satisfy all necessary characteristics: And most common characteristics:

• Impermanent – single course

• Small size – typically under 7

• Knowledge workers – most degrees

in this domain

Additionally, they will become the professional VTs of the future.

13


The Rise of VTs14

• 1980s: self-managing expert teams increasingly common4

• 1990s: self-managing team concept globalized5

• 2000s: cheap Internet facilitates connection of dispersed team

members—the virtual team proliferates6

Currently, according to surveys:

• 46% of companies employ virtual teams7

• 72% of employees’ work at least partially virtual8

• 61% of employees attribute 50% productivity to virtual teamwork9

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ODU – Team Black Nov 20, 2013

4,5,6. Ebrahim et al., “Virtual Teams, a Literatiure Review”

8,9. “Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams”7. “SHRM Survey Findings”


The Benefits of VTs15

• Great flexibility

• Reduced costs

• Recruiting not limited by time/space (get best people)

• Effective decision making (more time to think)

• Reduced time-to-market

• Increased productivity

• Reduced pollution

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Once again, according to Ebrahim and his colleague’s literature review:


VTs: What to Conclude?1616


• Virtual teams: key component of contemporary

economy

• Thus, VT support is vital

• Student VT members become tomorrow’s pro VTs

• If TPOT helps nurture these teams, it will have a

tangible, positive impact on society


Problem Characteristics17

For virtual team members10:• Expectations often differ (roles, responsibilities)• Team member status difficult to determine• Trust takes longer to develop than in co-located team• Conflicts more difficult to resolve

For instructors11:• Information gathering very time-consuming• Support less effective• Accountability assessment prone to error

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10. Ebrahim et al., “Virtual Teams, a Literature Review” 11. Dr. Pazos Interview


Solution Statement18

Provide educationally-focused collaboration

software which facilitates transparent, efficient

virtual teamwork through the careful monitoring

and presentation of data.

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Solution Goals19

• Reduce instructor tedium

• Improve team member accountability

• Provide concise project status

• Delineate roles and responsibilities (tasks)

• Corral deliverables

• Maximize ease of collaboration (site accessibility)

• When project “boils,” TPOT “whistles”

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20Improved Instructor Process Flow: Team Status Determination20

ODU – Team Black

Original:


21Improved Instructor Process Flow: Team Status Determination21

ODU – Team Black

Original:


22Major Components Diagram22


Google Apps Scripts 3rd Party Web Server

TPOT Database Server

Instructor Dashboard

BrowserBrowser

Team Sites

Instructor

Team Members and Partners


23Existing Tool: Team Google Sites23


• Part of Dr. Pazos’ team tools

• No embedded PHP, JS, etc

Provides natively:• Comments• File hosting• Site activity• Page change alerts

Our plan:• Using Google Apps

Scripts, incorporate our own database

• Access site data using Google Sites API

• Create new template pages integrating these scripts


Hardware Components2424

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Hardware

Database Server

Test MachinesWeb Server


Software


Team Page TemplatesDatabase

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Software Components2525


Database

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Database Milestones

MySQL Server Schema Triggers

ConstraintsTablesEmail

Notifications

Database Components2626


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Trigger Example2727

User creates new TaskTrigger activates

procedureNew Task INSERTed into

Task table

DB retrieves User emailDB emails new Task alert

to UserDB retrieves Task

attributes

User Action Script SQL to DB DB Server Action


ODU – Team Black

Nov 20, 2013

Database ER Diagram 12828


User

IDNum J oined

1 NEnrolled_ in

Team NameIDNum

Course

IDNum

Title

Begin

End

M

N

Member_of

FirstName

LastName

MiddleName

Role

1 1Receives_Grade_C

1 NCreates_C

User Course

Grades1 N

User1 N

Creates_T Team

Timestamp

Timestamp

Timestamp

Timestamp

Timestamp

TimestampGrade

Subject

CrseNum

1

Role

Email

Nov 20, 2013

Database Schema 12929

Course

PK IDNum

Title

Subject

CrseNum

Begin

End

Enrolled_ in

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 CI D

PK Role

Timestamp

Team

PK I DNum

Name

Member_ of

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 TI D

PK Role

Timestamp

Creates_ T

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 TI D

Timestamp

Creates_ C

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 CID

Timestamp

Receives_ Grade_ C

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 CI D

Grade

Timestamp

Grades

PK,FK1 I I D

PK,FK2 SI D

PK,FK3 CI D

Timestamp

User

PK I DNum

FirstName

MiddleName

LastName

J oined

Email

ODU – Team Black



ODU – Team Black

Web_PageUser1 N

Acts_on_W

URL

Team

Action

Timestamp

FileUser1 N

Acts_on_F

Path/Filename

Team

Action

Timestamp

Type

Size



Web_ Page

PK URL

FK1 Team

Acts_ on_ W

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 URL

Action

PK Timestamp

File

PK Path/ Filename

FK1 Team

Size

Type

Acts_ on_ F

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 Path/ Filename

Action

PK Timestamp

User

PK I DNum

FirstName

MiddleName

LastName

J oined

Email

Team

PK I DNum

Name



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User Message

Receives1 N

Timestamp

Timestamp

IDNum

Body

Subject

User

1 NActs_on_T

Assigns1 N

Timestamp

Timestamp

IDNum

Course

Name

Due_Date

Gradable

Task

Completed

1 NSends

Action

Receives_Grade_T

1 1

Timestamp Grade

1

Description



Message

PK I DNum

Subject

Body

Task

PK IDNum

FK1 Course

Name

Gradable

Due_ Date

Completed

Description

Sends

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 MI D

Timestamp

User

PK I DNum

FirstName

MiddleName

LastName

J oined

Email

Acts_ on_ T

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 TI D

Action

PK Timestamp

Receives_ Grade_ T

FK1 UID

FK2 TI D

Grade

Timestamp

Assigns

PK,FK1 ASSI GNER

PK,FK2 ASSI GNEE

PK,FK3 TI D

Timestamp

Receives

FK1 UI D

FK2 MI D

Timestamp

Course

PK IDNum

Title

Subject

CrseNum

Begin

End ODU – Team Black



ODU – Team Black

TaskUserN 1

HasSub_slot

SlotNum IDNum

1 NSubmits

File

1

Timestamp



Task

PK I DNum

FK1 Course

Name

Gradable

Due_ Date

Completed

Description

User

PK I DNum

FirstName

MiddleName

LastName

J oined

Email

File

PK Path/ Filename

FK1 Team

Size

Type

Sub_ slot

PK,FK1 TI D

PK SlotNum

Submits

PK,FK1 UI D

PK,FK2 TI D

PK,FK3 SlotNum

PK,FK4 File

PK Timestamp

Course

PK IDNum

Title

Subject

CrseNum

Begin

End

Team

PK I DNum

Name

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ODU – Team Black

Dashboard Milestones

GUI Back-end Scripts

DB Update Forms

Filterable Table Views

SQL Queries

Overview

Team Pages

Activity

Files Tasks

Messages Admin

Grades

DML Updates

HTML/Script Elements

Dashboard Components3636


Mock GUI: Dashboard Overview 3737

Mock GUI: Dashboard Tasks 3838

Mock GUI: Dashboard Files 3939

Mock GUI: Dashboard Files 4040

Mock GUI: Dashboard Messages 4141

Mock GUI: Dashboard Grades 4242

Team Page Templates

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Team Page Milestones

Google Apps Scripts

HTML GUI Elements

Google Sites API

GUI Elements

SQL Queries

Project Status

Member Info

Task Manager

Message Manager

File Manager

Team Activity

Grades

Team-created / Default Pages

Team Page Components4343



ODU – Team Black

Site Map4444

Overview

Team Pages

Activity

Files

Tasks Messages

Admin

Grades

Project Status

Tasks

Files

Member Info

Messages

Team Activity

Grades

Team-created / Default Pages

TPOT LoginTeam Project

Pages

Account Options

Register

Instructor rolerequired to access


ODU – Team Black

Example Operation - Instructor4545

Visits Grades page Retrieves all courses user instructs from DB

Updates DB with user’s ‘visited’ action

Selects courseRetrieves all gradable tasks for course

Displays task selector Selects taskRetrieves all teams and students in course and graded status for task

Displays team/student selectorSelects team/student

Displays grade/feedback UI

Displays links to latest submissions for all slots Assess deliverable Submit grade and

feedback

Updates DB with grade information

Updates DB with user’s ‘graded’ action

Updates team/student selector graded status

Displays course selector

Selects team/student

User action Script DB action Script UI action


Benefits of TPOT46

• Faster status determination

• Faster deliverable assessment

• Increased accountability

• Increased concision of team status

• Increased clarity of team responsibilities

• Maximized ease of collaboration

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ODU – Team Black

P r o b a b i l i t y1 2 3 4 5

Impact

5 T2

4 T1 C1

3 C2

2 T3

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47TPOT Risk Matrix: Customer Risks47

C1 - Resistance to Adoption

Probability 2Impact 4

Inertia is powerful: students and instructors may forego use of TPOT in favor of existing solutions, which are numerous and well-developed in many cases.

Mitigation Strategy: Ensure that TPOT’s user interface is as simple, attractive, and intuitive as possible by testing its design with actual students and instructors.


ODU – Team Black

P r o b a b i l i t y1 2 3 4 5

Impact

5 T2

4 T1 C1

3 C2

2 T3

1

48TPOT Risk Matrix: Customer Risks48

C2 - Hindered Projects


If TPOT’s use proves to be ineffective or otherwise problematic for teams, their projects may suffer, which could result in failed courses, disappointed industry partners, and poor instructor evaluations.

Mitigation Strategy: Ensure TPOT’s collaborative abilities by including known best collaboration practices and by extensive testing with actual projects.


ODU – Team Black

P r o b a b i l i t y1 2 3 4 5

Impact

5 T2

4 T1 C1

3 C2

2 T3

1

49TPOT Risk Matrix: Technical Risks49

T1 - Security of Projects


The leaking of a project’s intellectual property through database vulnerabilities may have financial repercussions for industry partners involved in high-level course projects.

Mitigation Strategy: Ensure database security through careful design, utilizing best practices.


ODU – Team Black

P r o b a b i l i t y1 2 3 4 5

Impact

5 T2

4 T1 C1

3 C2

2 T3

1


T2 – Real Data


The system may fail to function properly outside of the test environment (i.e. in actual use by students and instructors).

Mitigation Strategy: Thoroughly test the system using data drawn from real sources.


ODU – Team Black

P r o b a b i l i t y1 2 3 4 5

Impact

5 T2

4 T1 C1

3 C2

2 T3

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T3 - Maintenance


After graduation, the team may not have time to maintain the project. Google API changes may affect functionality.

Mitigation Strategy: Design the system to be easily maintainable.


Summary and Conclusion52

TPOT will:

• Be web-based collaboration software

• Be designed for mature college students and their instructors

• Build upon Dr. Pazos’ existing tool

• Implement an aggregative Instructor Dashboard

• Address the lack of information available to VTs

• Hopefully be used by future CS410 students

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References53

Allen, I. Elaine and Jeff Seaman. Changing Course: Ten Years of Tracking Online Education in the United States. Babson Survey Research Group, 2013. <http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf>.

Bullock, Charles and Jennifer Klein. "Virtual Work Environments in the Post-Recession Era." Brandman University, 2011. <http://www.brandman.edu/files/attachments/virtual_teams_brandman_forrester_white_paper.pdf>.

Ebrahim, Nader Ale, Shamsuddin Ahmed and Zahari Taha. “Virtual Teams: a Literature Review.” Australian Journal of Basic and Applied Sciences, no. 3 (March 2009): 2653-2669.

Pazos, Pilar. Interview by Team Black. Personal interview. ODU, October 2013.

"SHRM Survey Findings: Virtual Teams." Society for Human Resources Management, 2012. <http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Documents/Virtual%20Teams_FINAL.pptx>.

“The Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams.” RW3 LLC, 2012. <http://rw-3.com/VTSReportv7.pdf>.

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http://www.onlinelearningsurvey.com/reports/changingcourse.pdf



http://www.brandman.edu/files/attachments/virtual_teams_brandman_forrester_white_paper.pdf

http://www.shrm.org/Research/SurveyFindings/Articles/Documents/Virtual%20Teams_FINAL.pptx

http://rw-3.com/VTSReportv7.pdf

http://rw-3.com/VTSReportv7.pdf

AppendixTPOTODU CS410 Team Black

55Current Process Flow: Feedback55

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CS410 Design Presentation Nov 20, 2013

56Improved Process Flow: Feedback56

ODU – Team Black


57Current Process Flow: Task Creation/Assignment57

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58Improved Process Flow: Task Creation/Assignment58

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