ACRONYMS
GFP Green Fluorescent
Protein: a gene used
as an actuator in
synthetic biology,
analogous to an LED
in a digital circuit
ATP
Adenosine
triphosphate: a
chemical that exists
within living cells
to facilitate energy
transfer. The human
body contains on
average 250 grams
of ATP
“OF” I T The discipline of
“pure” information
technology, which
is focused on the
improvement of IT
itself
“BY” I T In contrast to “Of”
IT, “By” IT concerns
interdisciplinary
applications
of information
technology
SVM
Support Vector
Machine: a
machine learning
methodology for
classifying data
into two categories,
based on a round of
supervised training
SEJI TS Selective Embedded
Just-In-Time
Specialization:
an infrastructure
for automatically
applying parallel
computing
frameworks relevant
to a given piece of
code
“Conflict should
not be viewed as
a negative thing;
it is simply the
expression of
disagreement. How
that disagreement
is dealt with
determines if the
team moves forward
or backward.”
n Buy-in: team members have a com-
mon goal
n Tolerance for disagreement: team
members deal creatively with con-
flict
n Comfort: team members trust and
enjoy working with the other team
members
n Shared leadership: leadership moves
from one member to another de-
pending on needs
n Diversity: team recognizes, re-
spects and appreciates their differ-
ences
n Reality checks: team self-assessment
provides for constant improvement
n Consensus-seeking: team strives for
the support of all team members.
If one or more of these indicators
are missing, the team will struggle to
perform at peak performance.
TEAM SUPPORT
If teams are to function well indefinitely, they must be supported by the organization of which they are a part. The
main areas of support include training,
performance evaluation and feedback,
compensating and rewarding, and recognizing team performance [ 8].
Team members must have proper
training for the tsk at hand. In ad-
dition, they need to have training in
valuing complementary traits, how to
develop cross-functional skills, and
self-direction. Simply put, we can’t ex-
pect someone to perform well if they
do not know what they are doing, or
how to do it. To further this training,
team members need to receive per-
formance evaluation and feedback. If
we provide constructive criticism and
honest praise, the team members will
be able to learn from their mistakes
and successes. This feedback loop and
close interaction between team mem-
bers and managers is important in
agile development. Agile development
provides for constructive feedback on
team progress, as well as appropriate
recognition for team successes.
TEAMWORK FOUNDATIONS
Patrick Lencioni identifies five common dysfunctions of a team [ 6], the
elimination of which should lead to a
highly functional team.
The foundation of every team is
trust. Without trust, none of the other
building blocks have a place to rest.
Conflict resolution is built on trust. If
team members trust one another, they
will be able to deal constructively with
the inevitable conflicts that will arise.
Out of team conflict, will arise commitment. Because team members are
comfortable working with one another, they are willing, after discussion, to
buy-in to team decisions.
Team members are held accountable for their commitments. This
brings us to the pinnacle of the team
foundations: results. If team members
are held accountable for their commitments, the results will follow.
AGILE EXAMPLES
Real-world consultants and trainers
in the world of agile software development make use of these teamwork and
interaction models every day.
Jim York, a trainer and consultant,
suggests that the skill set that Drew
Carey and the ensemble cast of Whose
Line Is It Anyway? is representative of
what is needed to master agile software
development [ 4]. “Somebody sets the
stage on that show, and then a bunch
of performers get up and you have no
idea what’s going to happen.” York uses
improvisational-style training in his
seminars to help developers to learn to
