Session 1.6 - How Teams Develop & How TSPi Builds Teams

Chapter 2: The Logic of the Team Software Process | Duration: 1 hr

Learning Objectives

By the end of this session, you will be able to:

  • Understand the natural process through which effective teams develop over time
  • Describe the team jelling process and convergence pattern
  • Explain how TSPi deliberately builds teams through structured processes
  • Identify the four key team-building steps: goals, roles, plans, and communication
  • Apply TSPi mechanisms to accelerate team formation and effectiveness

4

Key team-building steps in TSPi: Goals, Roles, Plans, Communication

3

Areas of convergence: Product understanding, goals, and process

5

TSPi team roles: Leader, Development, Planning, Quality/Process, Support

Introduction

Teams don't just magically appear as cohesive, high-performing units. There are two paths to team development:

By Chance

Teams may gradually develop over time through luck and natural interactions, but this process is unpredictable and often slow.

By Design

Teams can develop through a deliberate, conscious team-building process that accelerates formation and increases effectiveness.

TSPi takes the deliberate approach, providing structured processes that guide teams through proven team-building steps. This section explores both how teams naturally develop and how TSPi systematically builds effective teams.

How Teams Develop

At the outset, most teams start with individuals who have diverse goals and different understandings of what needs to be done. As teams jell, the members come to accept a common set of team goals. These goals take on special significance—team members will pursue them with enormous energy, not because of the nature of the goals themselves, but because the goals are important to the team.

"Even though the goals may be arbitrary, the team members will pursue them with enormous energy. They do this not because of the nature of the goals but rather because the goals are important to the team."

— Chapter 2, Section 2.5

Team Development: From Diverse to Unified
Time Initial State Diverse Goals Member A Own goals Member B Own goals Member C Own goals Member D Own goals Convergence Aligning Interaction & Alignment Jelled Team Common Goals Shared Vision Common Process

How Teams Jell

The jelling process follows a specific sequence that moves teams from diverse individual perspectives to a unified approach:

The Team Jelling Sequence
  1. Converge on Product Understanding: Team members first develop a common understanding of what product they intend to build. This forms the foundation for all future work.
  2. Define Goals: After understanding the product, the team defines its goals—what they want to achieve.
  3. Agree on Strategy: The team agrees on a strategy for how to develop the product.
  4. Create a Plan: Finally, the team makes a detailed plan for executing their strategy and achieving their goals.
Team Jelling Process Flow
Product Understanding What to build? Step 1 Converge on common vision Define Goals What to achieve? Step 2 Set team & personal goals Agree on Strategy How to approach? Step 3 Development approach Create Plan Detailed execution Jelled Team Ready to execute

The Convergence Process

Knowledge work can be viewed as an iterative process. Teams begin with diverse understandings and converge through a series of steps:

Iterative Convergence Steps
  1. Identify Unknowns: Agree on current confusions and disagreements
  2. Resolve Issues: Agree on how to resolve them and proceed
  3. Move Deeper: Progress to more detailed levels
  4. Repeat: Continue identifying and resolving at each level

As teams converge on a common understanding, they simultaneously converge on the details of both the intended product and the processes for producing it.

Convergence Funnel: From Confusion to Clarity
Diverse Views & Goals Iteration 1 Identify & resolve Iteration 2 More alignment Iteration 3 Converging Common Understanding Product + Process Clarity Many disagreements Few disagreements
Important Insight

What many engineers find surprising is that conflict, confusion, and disagreement are natural parts of this convergence process. It is how the team identifies issues to work on, and it is what generates the creative process that we call design.

How TSPi Builds Teams

Most small groups can become effective teams by focusing on basic team development techniques. TSPi provides a structured approach that guides teams through four key team-building steps:

TSPi Team-Building Framework
TSPi Launch Process GOALS Common objectives • Team goals • Member goals • Measurable ROLES Clear responsibilities • Leader • Managers • Ownership PLANS Detailed roadmap • Strategy • Estimates • Schedule COMMU- NICATION Regular updates • Weekly mtgs • Reports • Coordination JELLED TEAM TSPi builds the foundation for team success

TSPi supports the jelling process by walking teams through a launch procedure that addresses the conditions required for jelled teams. Let's examine each of the four pillars:

1. Goals

As teams begin to jell, they first define and accept a set of common goals. TSPi helps members accept team goals by having all team members participate in defining them.

Initial Goals

Because goal setting is difficult for new teams, TSPi defines an initial set of:

  • Team goals (quality, schedule, process)
  • Team-member role goals
  • Reference: Chapters 11-15 for role specifications
Goal Refinement

For subsequent TSPi cycles:

  • Teams review initial goals
  • Adjust based on experience
  • Refine for improved effectiveness

2. Roles

Immediately after goals, the next issue is responsibilities. How can teams get all members to assume responsibility for their parts of the job?

The Five TSPi Roles
Team Leader

Overall coordination and external communication

Development Manager

Technical work coordination

Planning Manager

Schedule and resource planning

Quality/Process Manager

Quality standards and process adherence

Support Manager

Tools, infrastructure, and support

Critical Requirement

TSPi roles and responsibilities must be distributed among all engineers and not handled by only one or two of them. Only then will all team members feel comfortable acting on problems and issues without being told.

Why Roles Matter

Without clearly identified responsibilities, teams face several challenges:

  • Taking time to understand everything that must be done
  • Deciding who should do each task
  • Determining when and how to do tasks
  • Uncertainty about whether someone else is already handling a task
  • Reluctance to take on tasks that might be assigned to someone else

Solution: When roles are explicitly defined and assigned, these responsibility concerns are largely resolved.

3. Plans

After the team agrees on its goals and roles, it next agrees on a strategy for achieving these goals.

TSPi Planning Process
  1. Divide into Cycles: Decide how to divide the total job into parts for various development cycles
  2. Define Cycle Content: Define the functional content of each cycle and its expected size
  3. Integration Strategy: Determine ways to integrate and test pieces to produce the finished product
  4. Document Process: Decide on and document the process to use for the work
  5. Size Estimation: Estimate the sizes of products for each cycle
  6. Time Estimation: Estimate the time to produce each product
  7. Work Order: Determine the order of work
  8. Assignment: Identify the people who will do each step

Result: When finished, the team has the development plan.

From Strategy to Detailed Plan
STRATEGY LEVEL High-level approach: cycles, integration, testing DETAILED PLAN • Size estimates • Time estimates • Task sequences • Assignments • Milestones PROCESS • Scripts to follow • Standards to use • Quality checks • Review procedures • Measurements

4. Communication

The most common team problem is poor communication among members. When team members do not know the status of one another's work, they cannot coordinate effectively.

Internal Communication
Among Team Members
  • Weekly Team Meetings: Regular meetings solve most communication problems
  • Defined Roles: Provide foundation for rapid understanding
  • Common Language: Shared processes, plans, and measurements enable crisp communication

Holding weekly meetings usually solves the communication problem.

External Communication
With Instructor/Management
  • Weekly Reports: Team leader makes summary reports to instructor
  • Show Progress: Report accomplishments, not just problems
  • Request Help: Enable instructor to see when help is needed
  • Build Trust: Demonstrate steady, orderly progress

Reports help instructors know when and how to help teams.

Common Communication Problem

Teams often communicate with management only when they are in trouble. This creates two problems:

  1. Managers/instructors see only problems and not successes, putting the team in a poor light
  2. The team cannot take advantage of instructor/manager knowledge and experience for known solutions
TSPi Solution

Weekly summary reports based on team members' weekly assessments show:

  • What the team has accomplished
  • What members plan for the next week
  • Where the team is having trouble
  • When help is needed

Bonus: These reports also provide useful material for team final reports.

Summary

How Teams Develop
  • Teams don't just appear—they develop over time
  • Development can happen by luck or through deliberate process
  • Teams start with diverse goals and converge on common objectives
  • Convergence happens through iterative identification and resolution of issues
  • Conflict and disagreement are natural parts of the convergence process
  • Teams simultaneously converge on product understanding and process
How TSPi Builds Teams
  • Goals: All members participate in defining team and personal goals
  • Roles: Five defined roles ensure distributed responsibilities
  • Plans: Strategy and detailed planning provide clear roadmap
  • Communication: Weekly internal meetings and external reports
  • TSPi launch process guides teams through proven team-building steps
  • Structured approach accelerates jelling and increases effectiveness

"Most small groups can become effective teams by focusing on the basic techniques of team development. These techniques help teams to build the understandings and relationships they need to work together and to support one another."

— Chapter 2, Section 2.6

Key Takeaways
  • Natural Development: Teams naturally progress through stages of confusion to clarity, but this can be slow and unpredictable
  • Deliberate Building: TSPi provides a structured approach that accelerates team formation through proven techniques
  • Four Pillars: Goals, Roles, Plans, and Communication form the foundation of effective teams
  • Launch Process: TSPi's launch procedure systematically addresses all conditions required for jelled teams
  • Continuous Improvement: Teams refine goals and processes in subsequent cycles based on experience
  • Conflict is Normal: Disagreement and confusion are healthy parts of convergence, not signs of failure
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