Forming a Winning
Programming Team
Dr. Sallie Henry
Computer Science Department
Virginia Tech
[email protected]
Necessary Conditions for a
Winning Team
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A dedicated coach (willing to spend at
least 10 hours a week)
Dedicated team members (even if they
won’t make the team THIS year)
Support from either the Department,
the local ACM or external source
Do NOT expect miracles the first year
Step 1
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Hold Local contest
Individuals are competing against each
other
Motivate the students to participate
(prizes, food, etc.)
4-6 problems (of different types)
3 hours
Step 2
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Selections of team(s)
Choose at least 6 people
Based on
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Who wins the local
Which problems are tackled first
Year in school (freshman are great)
Step 3
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Schedule at least 4 mini-practices
Each 2 hours
Have 2 problems for each session
Put people in teams of 3 (1 machine)
Step 4
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Form teams based on the following
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Strengths of team members (you don’t
want 3 people with the same background)
I like a Mathematics person and an
Engineer
Look at Personalities (see who can work
well with others)
Step 5
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Have one 5 hour practice each week
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Compete like a real competition’
Use last year’s regional problems
Feed the team during practice (get
someone to pay for food.
Have students estimate how long each
problem will take
Step 5 (con’t)
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Have another student on the team check
the results prior to a submission
Take away egos
Show them how bad their estimates are
Attendance is mandatory
Step 6
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Give homework
Have EACH team member write a
solution to each practice problem
Collect each problem and source listing
in a binder
Step 7
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The next day
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Have one hour session
Discuss how to solve the problems
Discuss the problem selection process
Have members share ideas
Step 8
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Enter at least 2 teams in the regional
contest (more if you can)
Make it clear which team is expected to
win (make one team the strongest)
The other teams are JV (in training for
next year’s contest)
Early bedtime the night before the
region
Step 9
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WIN THE REGION
Step 10
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Practices after Christmas
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Each week, one 5 hour practice
The JV teams must attend
Use prior finals problems
Homework continues and the binders are
getting bigger
Step 11
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Trip to Library
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Find formula books, algorithm books, etc.
Assign readings for each student
Have the team understand the KNOW the
information in the books
Step 12
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Get team ready for finals
Buy the team “shirts” with school name
on it so that they can look like a TEAM
during finals.
Step 13
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HAVE FUN
Meet people (your peers) from other
institutions
Look like a team!!
Take the team out for a nice dinner the
night before Finals.
Early bedtime
Step 14
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Recruit MONEY
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To by food (breakfast, lunch and/or dinner)
during practices
Buy necessary books for the finals
Buy “team shirts”
Pay for the NICE dinner
Step 15
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How to get money
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Department
Local ACM
Organizations who hire your students
QUESTIONS
Software Development
Teams Evaluation
Sallie Henry
Virginia Tech
[email protected]
Keirsey scale profiles
Study
General
I E N S F T P J
25 75 25 75 50 50 50 50
Lyons
67 33 54 46 19 81 34 66
Stevens study
60 40 44 56 38 62 26 74
Current study
64 36 35 65 39 61 28 72
Software Engineering Team
Models
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Individual Programmer – Mills
Chief Programmer – Mills
Surgical Team – Brooks
Egoless Team - Weinberg
Extreme Programming - Beck
Belbin’s Team Roles
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History
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Developed by Meredith Belbin in 1981 at
Henley, England after nine years of study
Designed to define and predict success of
management teams
Widely used in Europe
Applied successfully, but widely criticized.
Measured with the “Self Perception
Inventory” (SPI)
Belbin’s Team Roles
Role
Typical
Features
Positive Qualities
Chairman
Calm, self-confident,
controlled.
A capacity for treating and
welcoming all potential
contributors on their merits
and without prejudice. A strong
sense of objectives.
No more than ordinary
in terms of intellect or
creative ability.
Highly-strung,
outgoing, dynamic.
Drive and readiness to
challenge inertia,
ineffectiveness, complacency
or self-deception.
Proneness to
provocation, irritation
and impatience.
Individualistic,
serious-minded,
unorthodox.
Genius, imagination, intellect,
knowledge.
Up in the clouds,
inclined to disregard
practical details or
protocol.
Sober, unemotional,
prudent.
Judgment discretion, hardheadedness.
Lacks inspiration or the
ability to motivate
others.
Shaper
Plant
MonitorEvaluator
Allowable
Weakness
Belbin’s Team Roles
Role
Resource
Investigator
Company
Worker
Team
Worker
CompleterFinisher
Typical
Features
Positive Qualities
Allowable
Weakness
Extroverted,
enthusiastic,
curious,
communicative.
A capacity for contacting people
and exploring anything new. An
ability to respond to challenge.
Liable to lose interest
once the initial
fascination has
passed.
Conservative,
dutiful, predictable.
Organizing ability, practical
common sense, hard working,
self-discipline.
Lack of flexibility,
unresponsiveness to
unproven ideas.
Socially oriented,
rather mild,
sensitive.
An ability to respond to people
and to situations, and to promote
team spirit.
Indecisiveness at
moments of crisis.
Painstaking, orderly,
conscientious,
anxious.
A capacity for follow-through.
Perfectionism.
A tendency to worry
about small things. A
reluctance to “let go”.
Belbin’s Team Roles
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For each individual, there may be
multiple roles
Belbin: “Primary” and “Secondary” roles
If primary role is already filled, may
gravitate toward secondary role
“Strength” of roles.
The “Self-Perception Inventory” (SPI)
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Appeared first in Belbin’s 1981 Book
Criticisms
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Computer Science Validity
Defenses
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Positive Field Results
Confirmed Construct Validity
Significant Experimental Results
Use in Industry
Previous Results
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Shaper / Leadership
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Plant
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One is better than two or none.
Presence is better than absence
Monitor – Evaluator
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No conclusive results
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flawed experiment ?
The Company Worker
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The implementer
Theory suggests that this role may
affect success
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But this premise was not backed up
experimentally
Theoretic mapping of MBTI to
Belbin
Belbin
Role
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Belbin
Role
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