Barriers and Pathways to Successful Collaboration

Anthony I. (Tony) WassermanCarnegie Mellon University- Silicon Valley

Keynote: OpenSym 2015San Francisco: 19 August 2015

Key Question:

What are the Factors and Conditions that make Teams Successful (or Not)?

Successful Collaboration: a Victory Celebration

Photo: Tony Wasserman

About the Winning Team

• 31 teams with less success than the champion– But some may be very happy with their team's results

• Varied individual contributions to overall team success• Possible to be a valuable contributor in limited role• Possible to be part of a successful team without contributing

– Substitutes ready to play as needed• No assurance that this team would be as successful again

– Luck, injuries, weather• Not all team members are visible

– Trainer, physician, nutritionist, drivers, specialty coaches• Management decides team membership and playing time

We don't often see suchcelebrations for software!

KDE Release Party – WooHoo!

Many Types of Teams

The Beatles

Four EqualMembers?

The Beatles

What about thewell-knownmanager?

The Beatles

What aboutthe famousproducer?

Is This the “Real” Beatles Team?

The Beatles withBrian Epstein andGeorge Martin

The “Real” Beatles Team also included

• Album cover photographer• Album design (Meet the Beatles and With the Beatles)• Contributors from Capitol and Parlophone labels• Fan club organizers and members• And many more after 1963...

Many people work in the background –

some visible, some not

Team Members in the Background (1)

Copyright © Getty ImagesMarvin Gaye and the Blossoms

Team Members in the Background (2)

Copyright © Christopher Polk/AMA2013/Getty Images for DCPAriana Grande

Can Team Members Be Easily Replaced?

• The Beatles replaced Pete Best• Stuart Sutcliffe voluntarily left the band• Some team members choose to leave a team• Some team members go on to greater individual recognition• Some team members are more easily replaced

– But frequent replacements may cause team stresses

How Do Changes Affect Teamwork?

Team Success and Failure

1994 World Cup shootout – Pagliuca blockPhoto Copyright © 1994, Tony Wasserman

Who is Successful in this Situation?

• Did the keeper succeed? (His team lost.) • Did the shooter fail? (His team won.)

Factors for Team Success/Failure

• Shared goals• Right place at right time (some luck)• Right mix of skills on the team• Superstar(s) on the team• Departure of disruptive person(s) – team chemistry• Cultural similarities and differences• Location: co-located or distributed• Funding and other external support

Back to Software

• Almost all of these concepts apply to software teams• Differences between community FOSS teams and

traditional commercial teams• But similarities outweigh differences

Community FOSS

• Dependent on volunteers• Project lead(s), committers, contributors, viewers• “Flat” organization• Types of contributors

―Coders―Documenters―Translators―Testers―Community managers

Collaboration Challenges in Community FOSS

• “Managing” volunteers Finding people with the needed technical skills Keeping key people actively involved Minimizing disruptions to team harmony Developing a technical decision-making process Developing a leadership style Setting project priorities Adjusting to staff transitions and forks

Commercial Software Product Teams

• Paid employees and contractors• Typically hierarchical organization• Product roadmap• Work with non-technical business units

Marketing, support, sales, finance, training

• Schedules• Budgets

Collaboration Challenges in CommercialProduct Development

• Recruiting, managing, and retaining staff• Reporting up and sideways• Improving team effectiveness

Handling disruptive people Adjusting to cultural differences Handling disruptive events Development processes and tools

• Setting feasible priorities and schedules

Disruptive EventsLarge and Small

• Management and organizational changes• Schedule changes• Counterproductive activities• Personal conflicts• Interviewing job candidates• Phone calls, message streams, and email

Elements of successful collaboration

• Agreement on goals and plans• Availability of needed technical skills• Team leadership and management• Resolving conflicts and disruptions• Accommodating team arrivals and departures• Celebrating key milestones• Recognizing individual contributions

Many things can go wrong...

• Absence of shared vision and focus• Lack of clarity on important details• Unforeseen technical complexities• Budget overruns (or an unrealistic budget)• Schedule problems• Key people leave• Conflicting individual goals• Logistical problems• Cultural, personal, political differences• Discrimination

It's a wonder that

projects ever succeed!

Pathways to Successful Collaboration

• Setting expectations for teamwork– Code of conduct– Termination of those who violate code

• Setting expectations for work– Regular and consistent reporting – beyond daily standups– Changed assignments for those who don't produce

• Setting realistic budgets and schedules– Early pushback against “death march” projects

• Encouraging collegiality– Informal meetings (in person if possible)– Getting to know one another– Management or third-party coaching on teamwork and leadership

Additional Resources

• Tom DeMarco and Tim Lister, Peopleware (3rd ed.), 2013• Jono Bacon, The Art of Community (2nd ed.), 2012• Paul Glen, Leading Geeks, 2003

Monument Valley – UtahCopyright © 2015, Tony Wasserman

Contact Info:Tony WassermanEmail: tonyw@sv.cmu.eduTwitter: @twasserman