Evaluating Idea Quantity and Variety When Using Digital Collaboration Tools to Support Brainstorming in Non-Collocated Teams

The advent of modern digital communication technology has enabled engineers to effectively collaborate regardless of team members’ geographic locations. As such, introducing engineering students to virtual environments and collaborative tools is particularly important to prepare them for careers in increasingly digital environments. This study investigates how integrating online collaboration tools in students’ idea generation activities impacts the i) quantity and ii) variety of ideas generated after a peer-feedback session. Students from five sections of a first-year engineering design course were assigned to either a collocated design team or a non-collocated design team to participate in a collaborative design feedback activity. Students individually generated an idea set using an online brainstorming tool (Stormboard), received peer-feedback via one of two delivery conditions (in-person or virtual through video conferencing), and revised their idea set based on the received feedback. Each final idea set was analyzed and compared to identify any differences in the final idea quantity and variety due to the assigned feedback delivery condition. Results revealed a statistically significant difference, but with minimal realistic impact on the final quantity of ideas (equivalent to a difference of one idea between groups). No statistically significant difference was found in the final variety of ideas generated between collocated and non-collocated design teams after the peerfeedback session. This suggests that feedback provided through digital collaboration tools may be used to support idea generation in non-collocated teams without being detrimental to ideation solutions. The implications of these findings are significant for faculty or students who may be involved in online learning activities centered on engineering design.

Agile Methods on Large Projects in Large Organizations

Agile methods have taken software development by storm but have been primarily applied to projects in what is referred to as the “agile sweet spot,” which consists of small collocated teams working on small, non-critical, green field, in-house software projects with stable architectures and simple governance rules. These methods are being used more and more on large projects, but little documentation is available in the academic literature. This article investigates the adoption and adaptation of agile methods for use on large projects in large organizations. The empirical study is based first on case studies, followed by a survey to validate and enrich the case study results. The results are somewhat paradoxical in that some features are common to almost all observations, whereas others show extreme variability. The common features include use of Scrum methodology and agile coaches, as well as the non-respect of the agile principle of emergent architecture.

Team Learning and Reflexivity in Technology-Mediated Collaboration

This study examines technological, educational/learning, and social affordances associated with the facilitation of team learning during technology-mediated collaborative problem solving. An empirical interpretive research approach using direct observation is used to interpret, evaluate and rate observable manifested behaviors and qualitative content (i.e., discussions) associated with team learning and team reflexivity. The theory of affordances and social impact theory are integrated to develop a conceptual model that asserts that collaboration mode (collocated vs. non-collocated and videoconferencing supported) will dictate the quality of information exchange, progressive elaboration of ideas, and the social processes that influence team learning. Team learning is then suggested to give rise to task and social reflexivity behaviors aimed at monitoring and evaluating acquired understanding, adaptation of task strategy, and maintenance of quality intra-team interactions. Results showed that collocated teams did engage in better quality team learning behaviors. Further, persistent reflection on task progress and solution accuracy yielded better team productivity while maintenance of a mutual supportive and positive climate yielded higher perceived quality interpersonal interactions. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the study are also discussed.

E-Leadership Styles for Global Virtual Teams

With time, an increasing number of organizations deploy global virtual teams (GVTs) in an effort to respond to the demands and the competitive nature of the global business arena. Leadership, a factor that is arguably central to the successful functioning of collocated teams, is much altered in view of the virtual backdrop, and thus, management practices, when referring to GVTs’ operation and effectiveness, have to be re-addressed. This chapter explores the contribution of a leader-coordinator in GVTs and – by drawing upon interviews with staff that participate in intra-organizational virtual teams of an eminent global operator – it discusses leadership approaches suitable for those teams. In addition, this chapter attempts to unveil and discuss the personal values that drive ordinary virtual actors to emergently lead their teams. Ultimately, the chapter suggests e-leadership styles which could be of foremost value to current and future virtual teams and virtual organizations.

Team Learning and Reflexivity in Technology-Mediated Collaboration

This study examines technological, educational/learning, and social affordances associated with the facilitation of team learning during technology-mediated collaborative problem solving. An empirical interpretive research approach using direct observation is used to interpret, evaluate and rate observable manifested behaviors and qualitative content (i.e., discussions) associated with team learning and team reflexivity. The theory of affordances and social impact theory are integrated to develop a conceptual model that asserts that collaboration mode (collocated vs. non-collocated and videoconferencing supported) will dictate the quality of information exchange, progressive elaboration of ideas, and the social processes that influence team learning. Team learning is then suggested to give rise to task and social reflexivity behaviors aimed at monitoring and evaluating acquired understanding, adaptation of task strategy, and maintenance of quality intra-team interactions. Results showed that collocated teams did engage in better quality team learning behaviors. Further, persistent reflection on task progress and solution accuracy yielded better team productivity while maintenance of a mutual supportive and positive climate yielded higher perceived quality interpersonal interactions. Theoretical, methodological and practical implications of the study are also discussed.

Effective Virtual Teams

Virtual teams are now being used by many organizations to enhance the productivity of their employees and to bring together a diversity of skills and resources (Gignac, 2005; Majchrzak, Malhotra, Stamps, & Lipnack, 2004), and it has been suggested that this will become the normal way of working in teams in the near future (Jones, Oyund, & Pace, 2005). Virtual teams are groups of individuals who work together from different locations (i.e., are geographically dispersed), work at interdependent tasks, share responsibilities for outcomes, and rely on technology for much of their communication (Cohen & Gibson, 2003). While the use of virtual teams is more common in today’s organization, working in these teams is more complex and challenging than working in traditional, collocated teams (Dewar, 2006), and success rates in virtual teams are low (Goodbody, 2005). This article suggests best practices that organizations and virtual team members can follow to help their virtual teams reach their full potential. In this article, virtual team best practices are identified from three perspectives: organizational best practices, team leadership best practices, and team member best practices. Ideas for best practices were identified from three sources: six case studies of actual virtual teams (Staples, Wong, & Cameron, 2004); the existing literature on virtual teams; and the existing literature on traditional (i.e., collocated) teams and telecommuting (i.e., research on virtual work at the individual level).

The Impact of Communication Medium on Virtual Team Group Process

Organizations must provide appropriate work group structures and communication technologies in order for work groups to function effectively and efficiently. This study investigated the hypotheses that team structure (e.g., fully collocated teams vs. virtual teams) and communication mode (i.e., face-toface vs. videoconferencing) will impact virtual team group processes (e.g., team orientation, workload sharing, proclivity to seek and exchange information) that evolve. Furthermore, these group processes will dictate team member information exchange patterns (e.g., across all team members vs. only within collocated subgroups), which subsequently impact team productivity (i.e., accuracy and timeliness) and group process satisfaction. Four-person teams worked in either face-to-face (i.e., fully collocated group) or videoconferencing (i.e., dispersed subgroups) settings to develop detailed design documentation for specified enhancements to a hypothetical university information system. Results indicated that the dispersed subgroups exhibited more within subgroup collective behaviors and engaged greater within subgroup information exchange as compared to fully collocated teams, where more teamwide collective behaviors and information exchange were observed. Furthermore, greater team collective behaviors gave rise to greater information exchange and activation among team members. Finally, information exchange and activation were associated positively with productivity and process satisfaction.

Communication, Structural Links, and Conflict in Three Inter-Organizational Virtual Collaborations

Conflict is just as common in virtual teams as it is in collocated teams. However little is known about the process of conflict in these teams. The study presented in this chapter analyzed conflict in three inter-organizational teams. The purpose of this research is to identify primary types of conflict in virtual teams, examine the role that the structure of communication plays in the conflict, and examine the influence of the social context. Specifically, this chapter (1) reviews the extant literature on conflict in virtual teams and organizational conflict in general; (2) presents results from a study of three inter-organizational virtual team collaborations; and (3) offers an outline of potential future research in this area and provides best practices and potential pitfalls for practitioners to consider when structuring inter-organizational virtual teams.

E-Leadership Styles for Global Virtual Teams

With time, an increasing number of organizations deploy global virtual teams (GVTs) in an effort to respond to the demands and the competitive nature of the global business arena. Leadership, a factor that is arguably central to the successful functioning of collocated teams, is much altered in view of the virtual backdrop, and thus, management practices, when referring to GVTs’ operation and effectiveness, have to be re-addressed. This chapter explores the contribution of a leader-coordinator in GVTs and – by drawing upon interviews with staff that participate in intra-organizational virtual teams of an eminent global operator – it discusses leadership approaches suitable for those teams. In addition, this chapter attempts to unveil and discuss the personal values that drive ordinary virtual actors to emergently lead their teams. Ultimately, the chapter suggests e-leadership styles which could be of foremost value to current and future virtual teams and virtual organizations.