1. Forming a Winning Programming Team
Dr. Sallie Henry
Computer Science Department
Virginia Tech

2. Necessary Conditions for a Winning Team
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

3. Step 1 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

4. Step 2 Selections of team(s) Choose at least 6 people Based on
Who wins the local
Which problems are tackled first
Year in school (freshman are great)

5. Step 3 Schedule at least 4 mini-practices Each 2 hours
Have 2 problems for each session
Put people in teams of 3 (1 machine)

6. Step 4 Form teams based on the following
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)

7. Step 5 Have one 5 hour practice each week
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

8. Step 5 (con’t)
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

9. Step 6
Give homework
Have EACH team member write a solution to each practice problem
Collect each problem and source listing in a binder

10. Step 7 The next day Have one hour session
Discuss how to solve the problems
Discuss the problem selection process
Have members share ideas

11. Step 8
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

12. Step 9
WIN THE REGION

13. Step 10 Practices after Christmas Each week, one 5 hour practice
The JV teams must attend
Use prior finals problems
Homework continues and the binders are getting bigger

14. Step 11 Trip to Library Find formula books, algorithm books, etc.
Assign readings for each student
Have the team understand the KNOW the information in the books

15. Step 12 Get team ready for finals
Buy the team “shirts” with school name on it so that they can look like a TEAM during finals.

16. Step 13 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

17. Step 14
Recruit MONEY
To by food (breakfast, lunch and/or dinner) during practices
Buy necessary books for the finals
Buy “team shirts”
Pay for the NICE dinner

18. Step 15 How to get money Department Local ACM
Organizations who hire your students

19. QUESTIONS

20. Software Development Teams Evaluation
Sallie Henry
Virginia Tech

21. Keirsey scale profiles
Study I E N S F T P J
General 25 75 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

22. Software Engineering Team Models
Individual Programmer – Mills
Chief Programmer – Mills
Surgical Team – Brooks
Egoless Team - Weinberg
Extreme Programming - Beck

23. Belbin’s Team Roles History
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)

24. Belbin’s Team Roles Role Typical Features Positive Qualities
Allowable Weakness
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.
Shaper
Highly-strung, outgoing, dynamic.
Drive and readiness to challenge inertia, ineffectiveness, complacency or self-deception.
Proneness to provocation, irritation and impatience.
Plant
Individualistic, serious-minded, unorthodox.
Genius, imagination, intellect, knowledge.
Up in the clouds, inclined to disregard practical details or protocol.
Monitor-Evaluator
Sober, unemotional, prudent.
Judgment discretion, hard-headedness.
Lacks inspiration or the ability to motivate others.

25. Belbin’s Team Roles Role Typical Features Positive Qualities
Allowable Weakness
Resource
Investigator
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.
Company Worker
Conservative, dutiful, predictable.
Organizing ability, practical common sense, hard working, self-discipline.
Lack of flexibility, unresponsiveness to unproven ideas.
Team Worker
Socially oriented, rather mild, sensitive.
An ability to respond to people and to situations, and to promote team spirit.
Indecisiveness at moments of crisis.
Completer- Finisher
Painstaking, orderly, conscientious, anxious.
A capacity for follow-through. Perfectionism.
A tendency to worry about small things. A reluctance to “let go”.

26. Belbin’s Team Roles 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.
blah

27. The “Self-Perception Inventory” (SPI)
Appeared first in Belbin’s 1981 Book
Criticisms
Computer Science Validity
Defenses
Positive Field Results
Confirmed Construct Validity
Significant Experimental Results
Use in Industry

28. Previous Results Shaper / Leadership Plant Monitor – Evaluator
One is better than two or none.
Plant
Presence is better than absence
Monitor – Evaluator
No conclusive results
flawed experiment ?

29. The Company Worker The implementer
Theory suggests that this role may affect success
But this premise was not backed up experimentally

30. Theoretic mapping of MBTI to Belbin
Belbin Role
Keirsey CH
EXXX ME
IXTX SH CW
XXXX PL TW RI
EXXX* CF
IXXX*