TPOT Team Project Organizational Tool Old Dominion University

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TPOT Team Project Organizational Tool Old Dominion University CS 410 Team Black Feasibility Presentation

TPOT Team Project Organizational Tool Old Dominion University CS 410 Team Black Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

2 Team Black Mentor Dr. Pilar Pazos, Ph. D. mpazosla@odu. edu Thomas TJ Carson

2 Team Black Mentor Dr. Pilar Pazos, Ph. D. mpazosla@odu. edu Thomas TJ Carson tcarson 522@gmail. com Jose Brandariz jr. brandariz 89@gmail. com Pernell Dixon pdixo 005@odu. edu Joe Elder jelde 010@gmail. com Josh Ward jward 056@odu. edu Aaron Walden awald 001@odu. edu ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

3 3 Problem Statement In an increasingly asynchronous educational environment, the organization of geographically

3 3 Problem Statement In an increasingly asynchronous educational environment, the organization of geographically dispersed teams has become a significant challenge. ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

4 Outline 4 Problem Statement 3 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal 5 Instructor Process

4 Outline 4 Problem Statement 3 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal 5 Instructor Process Flow 8 Virtual Teams’ Rise and Importance 10 Problem Characteristics 14 Solution Statement 15 Solution Goals 16 Improved Instructor Process Flow 17 Major Components Diagram 18 Potential Benefits of TPOT 19 Potential Drawbacks of TPOT 20 Competition Matrix 21 Summary and Conclusion 22 References 23 ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

5 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Team Mentor Research interests: • • Dr. Pilar

5 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Team Mentor Research interests: • • Dr. Pilar Pazos Ph. D. Industrial Engineering Emphasis Engineering Mgmt Texas Tech University, 2005 Assistant Professor – ODU, Department of Engineering Management and Systems Engineering ODU – Team Black 5 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 CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

6 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Managing Multiple Team Projects Instructors of online, project-based

6 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Managing Multiple Team Projects Instructors of online, project-based courses are regularly managing 15 or more teams. With such numbers, it becomes difficult to: • Determine/track team status • Offer support/feedback • Assess deliverables Additionally, students have difficulties collaborating from dispersed locations. ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013 6

7 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Currently: • Organization left totally to instructors •

7 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Currently: • Organization left totally to instructors • No tool to aggregate team data • Mostly ad hoc solution: email, Blackboard, Google sites, Smartsheet ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013 7

Instructor Process Flow: Team Status Determination CS 410 Feasibility Presentation ODU – Team Black

Instructor Process Flow: Team Status Determination CS 410 Feasibility Presentation ODU – Team Black Oct 23, 2013

9 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Dr. Pazos’ proposed project: • Team collaboration software

9 Case Study: Dr. Pazos’ Proposal Dr. Pazos’ proposed project: • Team collaboration software • Focus on the development of student teams • Instructor Dashboard o Monitor teams’ status o Receive deliverables o Provide Feedback ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013 9

10 What is a Virtual Team (VT)? According to an oft-cited 2009 literature review:

10 What is a Virtual Team (VT)? According to an oft-cited 2009 literature review: Necessary Characteristics 1 Other common characteristics 2 • Geographical dispersion • Impermanence • Unification by a common purpose • Small size • Electronic communication • Knowledge workers • Cross-boundary collaboration • Inter-company Distance learning (DL) project teams satisfy 7 of these 8 1, 2. Ebrahim et al. ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013 10

11 Dispersed Student Teams Are VTs 11 They satisfy all necessary characteristics: And most

11 Dispersed Student Teams Are VTs 11 They satisfy all necessary characteristics: And most common characteristics: • Geographical dispersion – nature of DL • Impermanent – single course • Common purpose – course project • Small size – typically under 7 • Electronic communication – email, Blackboard • Knowledge workers – most degrees • Cross-boundary collaboration – students have in this domain diverse backgrounds, electives, minors Additionally, they will become the professional VTs of the future. ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

12 12 The Rise of VTs • 1980 s: self-managing expert teams increasingly common

12 12 The Rise of VTs • 1980 s: self-managing expert teams increasingly common 3 • 1990 s: self-managing team concept globalized 4 • 2000 s: cheap Internet facilitates connection of dispersed team members—the virtual team proliferates 5 Currently, according to surveys: • 46% of companies employ virtual teams 6 • 72% of employees’ work at least partially virtual 7 • 61% of employees attribute 50% productivity to virtual teamwork 8 • 6. 7 million US college students (1/3) involved in virtual coursework 9 3, 4, 5. Ebrahim et al. 6. “SHRM Survey Findings” 7, 8. “Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams” ODU – Team Black 9. Allen and Seaman CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

13 13 The Benefits of VTs Once again, according to Ebrahim and his colleague’s

13 13 The Benefits of VTs Once again, according to Ebrahim and his colleague’s literature review: • Great flexibility • Reduced costs • Recruiting not limited by time/space (get best people) • Effective decision making (more time to stew) • Reduced time-to-market • Increased productivity • Reduced pollution ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

14 14 Problem Characteristics For virtual team members 10: • Team member status difficult

14 14 Problem Characteristics For virtual team members 10: • Team member status difficult to determine • Trust takes longer to develop than in co-located team • Expectations often differ (roles, responsibilities) • Conflicts more difficult to resolve • Deliverable versions confusing For instructors 11: • Information gathering very time-consuming • Support less effective • Accountability assessment prone to error 10. Ebrahim et al. 11. Dr. Pazos Interview ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

15 15 Solution Statement Provide educationally-focused collaboration software which facilitates transparent, efficient virtual teamwork

15 15 Solution Statement Provide educationally-focused collaboration software which facilitates transparent, efficient virtual teamwork through the careful monitoring and presentation of data. ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

16 16 Solution Goals • Reduce instructor tedium • Reduce time required to trust

16 16 Solution Goals • Reduce instructor tedium • Reduce time required to trust team members • Provide concise team and team member status • Delineate roles and responsibilities (tasks) • Organize deliverables • Maximize ease of collaboration (accessibility) • When project “boils, ” TPOT “whistles” ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

Improved Instructor Process Flow: Team Status Determination Original: ODU – Team Black CS 410

Improved Instructor Process Flow: Team Status Determination Original: ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

Major Components Diagram Oct 23, 2013 ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation

Major Components Diagram Oct 23, 2013 ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation 18 18

19 Potential Benefits of TPOT • Decreased time needed to trust team members •

19 Potential Benefits of TPOT • Decreased time needed to trust team members • Decreased time needed to determine status • Decreased time needed to gather deliverables • Increased accountability • Increased clarity of team status • Increased clarity of team member roles and responsibilities • Maximized ease of collaboration ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013 19

20 Potential Drawbacks of TPOT • Accountability by activity tracking imperfect o Vulnerable to

20 Potential Drawbacks of TPOT • Accountability by activity tracking imperfect o Vulnerable to deception • Dashboard only works with our base page o Must abandon Google sites o May lack features of commercial competitors ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013 20

21 21 Competition Matrix Y ? N Instructor Dash Open Source Web-based Tasks Track

21 21 Competition Matrix Y ? N Instructor Dash Open Source Web-based Tasks Track Activity Status TPOT Basecamp Collabtive Project. net Project. Libre Microsoft Project Teambox Smartsheet Central Desktop Project Kaiser Project Insight Clarizen dot. Project ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

22 Summary and Conclusion 22 TPOT will: • Be web-based collaboration software • Be

22 Summary and Conclusion 22 TPOT will: • Be web-based collaboration software • Be designed for mature college students and their instructors • Implement an aggregative Instructor Dashboard • Address the lack of information available to VTs • Hopefully be used by future CS 410 students ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013

23 23 References Allen, I. Elaine and Jeff Seaman. Changing Course: Ten Years of

23 23 References 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/Survey. Findings/Articles/Documents/Virtual%20 Teams_FINAL. pptx>. “The Challenges of Working in Virtual Teams. ” RW 3 LLC, 2012. <http: //rw-3. com/VTSReportv 7. pdf>. ODU – Team Black CS 410 Feasibility Presentation Oct 23, 2013