Technology Management

MS 325

Managing and Developing Technology Teams

 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Constructing New Product Development Teams

1. Team Size
• New product development teams may range from a few members to
hundreds of members.
• Example of IBM and Yahoo.
• Social loafing occurs when, as the size of the team increases.
2. Team Composition
• A lack of cross-functional communication can lead to a poor fit between
product attributes and customer requirements.
• Cross-functional teams include members drawn from more than one
functional area, such as engineering, manufacturing, or marketing.
• Chrysler’s “vehicle deployment platform teams,” team members are drawn
from design, engineering, purchasing, manufacturing, product planning,
finance, and marketing.
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Constructing New Product Development Teams

2. Team Composition
• Teams that are composed of people from diverse backgrounds have
several advantages over teams that are drawn from only one or a few
functional areas.
• Diversity of team members, however, can also raise coordination and
communication costs.
• Individuals tend to interact more frequently and more intensely with other
individuals whom they perceive as being similar to them on one or more
dimensions. This phenomenon is known as homophily.
• It is easier and more comfortable to communicate with those who have
similar dialects, mental models, and belief systems.
• Heterogeneous teams often have greater difficulty integrating objectives
and views, leading to conflict and lower group cohesion.
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

The Structure of New Product Development Teams

One well-known typology of team structure classifies teams into four
types:
• Functional
• Lightweight
• Heavyweight
• Autonomous
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Functional Teams:
• Members report to functional manager.
• Temporary, and members may spend less than 10% of their time on
project.
• Typically no project manager or dedicated liaison personnel.
• Little opportunity for cross-functional integration.
• Likely to be appropriate for derivative projects.
Lightweight Teams:
• Members still report to functional manager.
• Temporary, and member may spend less than 25% of their time on project.
• Typically have a project manager and dedicated liaison personnel.
• Manager is typically junior or middle management.
• Likely to be appropriate for derivative projects.
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Heavyweight Teams:
• Members are collocated with project manager.
• Manager is typically senior and has significant authority to command
resources and evaluate members.
• Often still temporary, but core team members often dedicated full-time to
project.
• Likely to be appropriate for platform projects.
Autonomous Teams:
• Members collocated and dedicated full-time (and often permanently) to
team.
• Project manager is typically very senior manager.
• Project manager is given full control over resources contributed from
functional departments and has exclusive authority over evaluation and
reward of members.
• Autonomous teams may have own policies, procedures and reward systems
that may be different from rest of firm.
• Likely to be appropriate for breakthrough and major platform projects.
• Can be difficult to fold back into the organization.
Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Characteristics of Teams
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

The Management of New Product Development

Teams
Team Leadership:
• The team leader is responsible for directing the team’s activities,
maintaining the team’s alignment with project goals, and serving as a
communicator between the team and senior management.
• Different types of teams have different leadership needs.
Team Administration:
• Many organizations now have heavyweight and autonomous teams
develop a project charter and contract book.
• The project charter encapsulates the project’s mission and articulates
exact and measurable goals for the project.
• The contract book defines in detail the basic plan to achieve the goal laid
out in the project charter.
• Typically, the contract book will estimate the resources required, the
development time schedule, and the results that will be achieved.
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Managing Virtual Teams

• Virtual teams are teams in which members may be a great distance from
each other, but are still able to collaborate intensively via advanced
information technologies such as videoconferencing, groupware, and e-
mail or Internet chat programs.
• Many Virtual must often rely on communication channels that are much
less rich than face-to-face contact and face significant hurdles in
establishing norms and dialects and may suffer from greater conflict. They
may also have trouble negotiating multiple time zones, which can lead to
frustration.
• Virtual teams also face challenges in developing trust, resolving conflict,
and exchanging tacit knowledge.
Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Managing Virtual Teams

Typology of international virtual teams

 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Discussion Questions
• What are some advantages and disadvantages of collocation? For
what types of projects are virtual teams inappropriate??

• How can managers ensure that a team reaps the advantages of

diversity while not being thwarted by some of the challenges team
diversity raises?
 Managing and Developing Technology Teams

Walt Disney Case

1. Why does Disney keep its development teams small?

2. What are the pros and cons of the teams being so autonomous?

3. Is Disney’s team approach mostly suited to creative projects, or

would it work equally well in other kinds of industries?