Small, Short Duration Technical Team Dynamics

Abstract

Public reporting burden for the collection of information is estimated to average 1 hour per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to Washington Headquarters Services, Directorate for Information Operations and Reports, 1215 Jefferson Davis Highway, Suite 1204, Arlington VA 22202-4302. Respondents should be aware that notwithstanding any other provision of law, no person shall be subject to a penalty for failing to comply with a collection of information if it does not display a currently valid OMB control number. ABSTRACTHow to build effective teams is one of the most significant management questions of the day. Small, short duration technical teams drive critically important decision-making processes in a broad range of organizations in all sectors of the economy. Thus, gaining a better understanding of how small, short duration technical teams develop is of critical importance to contemporary managers.There has been much theorizing about how teams function, and many theoretical constructs have been proposed to define a general model of team development. The Tuckman (1965) four-stage sequential model of team development (Forming, Storming, Norming, and Performing, or FSNP) may be today's most widely used model. However, the Tuckman model is a conceptual statement that was suggested by the data and has not been empirically validated (Tuckman 1965). Hadyn et al. (1997, p. 118) state that, "despite increasing interest in teamwork, much of the literature on the subject is inconclusive and often derived from anecdote rather than primary research."It was the intent of this study to develop empirical evidence to determine whether or not the Tuckman model or some variant thereof provides an appropriate model to explain the development of small, short duration technical teams. A validated survey instrument of 31 questions was administered to 368 small, short duration technical teams within the Department of Defense, Defense Acquisition University (DAU). The resulting data were analyzed with scientific rigor to determine if these teams followed the Tuckman model or a variant of that model. This research has discovered a new general model of team dynamics (called the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) model) that applies to technical teams. It is a variant of the Tuckman model with a new twist that better fits the data. A technical team is defined as a group of individuals with specific expertise who are assembled to complete a task, which results in a product. This research demonstrates that not only do technical teams generally follow the DAU model; but that teams following the DAU model produce better products than teams that do not follow this model. It may, therefore, be possible to significantly improve producti...

From Lab to Internship and Back Again: Learning Autonomous Systems through Creating a Research and Development Ecosystem

“…Interpersonal issues were also found and interns had difficulty expressing their frustrations with mentors and learning to accept criticism. Thus, future iterations of this internship will focus on more careful intern selection, revising goals as appropriate with in-terns, and team development mechanisms to provide cohesion between intern teams and between mentors and interns (Knight, 2006).…”