Factors in team effectiveness: Cognitive and demographic similarities of software development team members

Kang, Hye-Ryun; Yang, Hee-dong; Rowley, Chris

doi:10.1177/0018726706072891

Cited by 72 publications

(52 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…Most important, team cognition is thought to impact team performance (Kang, Yang, & Rowley, 2006;Marks, Sabella, Burke, & Zaccaro, 2002;Webber, Chen, Payne, Marsh, & Zaccaro, 2000). Shared mental models provide a common framework for performance of individual task duties in a way that is ultimately compatible and serves as a valuable lens for interpreting changes in the performance environment (Marks, Zaccaro, & Mathieu, 2000).…”

Section: Team Cognition and Team Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cognitive underpinnings of effective teamwork: A meta-analysis.

DeChurch

Mesmer‐Magnus

2010

Journal of Applied Psychology

721

719

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Major theories of team effectiveness position emergent collective cognitive processes as central drivers of team performance. We meta-analytically cumulated 231 correlations culled from 65 independent studies of team cognition and its relations to teamwork processes, motivational states, and performance outcomes. We examined both broad relationships among cognition, behavior, motivation, and performance, as well as 3 underpinnings of team cognition as potential moderators of these relationships. Findings reveal there is indeed a cognitive foundation to teamwork; team cognition has strong positive relationships to team behavioral process, motivational states, and team performance. Meta-analytic regressions further indicate that team cognition explains significant incremental variance in team performance after the effects of behavioral and motivational dynamics have been controlled. The nature of emergence, form of cognition, and content of cognition moderate relationships among cognition, process, and performance, as do task interdependence and team type. Taken together, these findings not only cumulate extant research on team cognition but also provide a new interpretation of the impact of underlying dimensions of cognition as a way to frame and extend future research. Keywords: team cognition, mental model, transactive memory, shared cognition, meta-analysisWinning is about having the whole team on the same page.-Bill WaltonIf everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking.-George PattonThe reality for many organizations today is that work has become complex enough to require the use of teams at all hierarchical levels. Organizational success hinges upon the ability of teams to collaborate effectively and work efficiently toward solving complex problems. Therefore, understanding how information is collectively processed has become critical (Hinsz, Tindale, & Vollrath, 1997). As the opening quotes illustrate, there are commonly held beliefs that effective teamwork requires members to hold similar cognitive structures, and also those suggesting distinctive knowledge configurations are key. Consistent with these commonsense views of cognition, researchers have invoked constructs such as shared mental models (Cannon-Bowers, Salas, & Converse, 1993) and transactive memory systems (Moreland, Argote, & Krishnan, 1996) to examine the role of emergent collective cognition in team functioning. Since the early 1990s, investigators have attempted to uncover the importance of collective cognition using a variety of conceptualizations, empirical methods, and research strategies. Despite this substantial progress, the substantive and methodological differences across studies present a challenge for discerning a clear pattern of relationships in a way that enables research in this area to move forward (CannonBowers & Salas, 2001).In the current study, we used meta-analysis to empirically organize prior work on the basis of underlying dimensions of cognition, team features, and study characteristics. In doing so, we h...

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Section: Team Cognition and Team Effectivenessmentioning

confidence: 99%

The cognitive underpinnings of effective teamwork: A meta-analysis.

DeChurch

Mesmer‐Magnus

2010

Journal of Applied Psychology

721

719

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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“…The importance of shared mental models is shown by a study comparing the relative effect of mental models and demographic similarities such as age, tenure and gender, which finds that shared mental models has a larger effect on team performance [10].…”

Section: Shared Mental Modelsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Team Performance in Software Development: Research Results versus Agile Principles

et al. 2016

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In 1993, Walz, Elam and Curtis [1] stated that research on "how teams actually go about" making requirement determinations and design decisions can provide valuable insights for improving the quality and productivity. Since then, more and more tasks are performed by software, and software development is increasingly undertaken by teams. This article reviews studies on factors that influence team performance for co--located teams, and make propositions on five factors based on solid scientific studies. These propositions are relevant for practitioners in software teams, project managers, managers and researchers interested in software development. We ask how these propositions compare with current advice on software development as condensed in the Agile manifesto.

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“…Convergence represents a cognitive process where the emphasis (and level of analysis) shifts from individual team members-processing information independently-to the team, where shared and similar understandings guide collective information processing. Cumulative evidence supports converged mental models positively influence team functioning and performance (cf., Baba et al, 2004;Edwards, Day, Arthur, & Bell, 2006;Kang, Yang, & Rowley, 2006;Marks et al, 2000Marks et al, , 2002Mathieu et al, 2000;Mathieu, Heffner, Goodwin, Cannon-Bowers, & Salas, 2005;Webber, Chen, Payne, Marsh, & Zaccaro, 2000). More specifically, the existence of shared mental models may assist team members to recognize one another's needs and information requirements (Stout, Cannon-Bowers, Salas, & Milanovich, 1999) and facilitate team communication (Entin & Serfaty, 1999).…”

Section: Convergencementioning

confidence: 99%