Solent University - QA: Group Technology Project - Teamwork Report

This report delves into the critical role of teamwork within the context of Information Technology projects, emphasizing its significance in both academic and professional settings. It explores various teamwork theories, including Agile, Waterfall, and Scrum methodologies, highlighting their respective advantages and limitations. The report examines current collaborative methods, such as the use of project management software like Slack and GitHub, and assesses their impact on team productivity and communication. Furthermore, it addresses potential issues encountered when working in teams, such as skill gaps and the need for effective meeting management. By analyzing these aspects, the report provides a comprehensive overview of teamwork dynamics and strategies for successful project outcomes, supported by relevant references from academic journals and online resources.

Working in a Team
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TABLE OF CONTENT
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
MAIN BODY..................................................................................................................................3
Importance of team within the academic and work environment................................................3
Team work theories.....................................................................................................................3
Current methods of team working...............................................................................................5
Can software and app support collaborations..............................................................................5
Issues encountered when working in team..................................................................................6
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................6
REFERENCES................................................................................................................................1
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INTRODUCTION
Information Technology project is the particular design based project which are being developed
with the proper utilization of research and knowledge, through which the particular project is
being developed as per requirements. IT project are being developed on an individual bases or
within team, this is done because of high work complexity which is often being associated within
the IT projects. Agile and waterfall methodology are often being used within the IT projects, in
which Agile methodology provide an ability to make appropriate changes in the ongoing project
in an non-linear method (Soukup and et.al, 2018). Whereas waterfall methodology tend to work
in an linear approach and because of which if changes have to be made within one stage then,
whole project is being affected. Different methodologies are being chosen as per the
requirements, this can be seen in the fact that agile provide advantage to change but is very
complex than compared to waterfall.
MAIN BODY
Importance of team within the academic and work environment
Pros and cons of teamwork- Team working often has to be implemented within the academic
career for the achievement of an desired target. Following are the advantages and disadvantages
of team working.
Advantage- High work productivity is being achieved and also the overall time consumption for
the project development is also being reduced, while the overall quality is also being improved.
The team work is effective because by having different team members it can be concluded that
the team is having different point of view for the project development (Almeida, 2017).
Disadvantage- If proper team working collaboration is not being implemented, then in that case
the final quality of the project will be affected. Also since roles are being divided among
members because of which changes can be made on an individual bases apart for strategy.
However, scheduled team meetings have to organized by which total work collaboration can be
established by which desired work productivity can be accomplished.
Team work theories
There are various Software development methodologies which are often being used in terms of
performing team work, following are the different approaches.
Agile, team work theory tend to showcase that team has to be developed such that each
team member is having an expertise in their respective field. Through which the final achieved
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target can mark all the quality standards, but also the team has to be remain constant and
members are not being shifted to other team because it would affect work productivity.
Waterfall is the traditional linear approach to project development in which steps are
being developed to evaluate the progress and actions are done accordingly. Waterfall is often
being used because of its simplicity; however this is not often being used in the present time
because changes cannot be made on the previous stage due to which it faces limitations in terms
of utilization.
Scrum teamwork is the collection of individuals which are working together on an singly project
for the achievement of the desired project, through which overall high work productivity can be
accomplished (Dima and Maassen, 2018). In this approach all the members are having an
expertise in their respective target and due to which the final developed product is being
resourced with high work productivity.
Kolb’s learning cycles-
Concrete Experience- This is the initial stage in which learning is being achieved with the
experience and due to which future performance is being improved. This is an effective approach
because overall performance in terms of academic and professional performance is being
evaluated.
Reflective Observation- Once the activity is being performed then arises this stage in which the
overall performance is being evaluated. This happens due to the fact that overall experience is
being analysed in context to the goal achievement capability.
Figure 1: Kolb's learning reflection
Source: Sean, 2017
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Abstract Conceptualisation- This is the approach in which personal reflection is being analysed
and with that overall performance gap is being identified by the individual which is not being
able to work as per the requirements.
Active Experimentation- This is the final stage at which developed strategy is being evaluated,
such that overall work productivity is being accomplished. Also with that effectiveness of the
strategy is also being analysed and then actions are being made to improve future performance.
Advantages and disadvantages of methodologies
Advantage- The utilization of this reflection approach is highly beneficial because through this
step a proper evaluation of the approaches is being taken. This an effective approach because in
case of IT professional working process, the check list can be developed by which the chances of
error can be minimized.
Disadvantage- This is an effective approach but also at the same time there are several
complexities as well and this happens because continuous monitoring has to be performed. Also
with that
Current methods of team working
In the present time the work complexity has drastically being increased within the IT sector and
due to which it has to implement various different approaches. Through which it tend to ensure
that overall project is best inequality and also provide innovative approach to the customers as
well (Hamad and Al Fayoumi, 2018). Therefore because of which Agile approach is often being
implemented because it empower the individuals to make suitable changes within the developing
project. Through which it ensure that it is able to minimize the chances of having an error and
also due to which high work productivity is also being achieved.
Can software and app support collaborations
Project management software is often being used within the IT sector because through
this approach it tend to ensure that it is being able to track the daily progress. Through which
accurate monitoring can be implemented, also through which future working progress can be
made. This is also being effective because project monitoring allow members to identify the
progress of the members and this work synchronism is being achieved.
Slack, is an software which is often being utilized within the team and industry due to the
fact that it is being able to resource the team members about the overall progress which is being
made. Also with that I empower it to make appropriate changes such that high work productivity
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can be accomplished such that each member is able to implement appropriate changes within its
progress through which the desired target can be accomplished.
GITHUB, is an software based approach which is often being used by the corporations, this
provide basic products and services. Through which the user is being able to achieve the basic
information which is required for the product development (Pekkala, 2017). Also with that it
tend to provide information about the activities being performed by other team members, with
which overall work productivity is being increased.
Advantage and disadvantage
Advantage- The methodologies which are being utilized are highly productive and also provide
high level of benefits as well. This happens due to the fact that software is having documentation
of the progress being made and because of which future strategies can be developed accordingly.
Disadvantage- The primary disadvantage of utilization of software in an IT field for the product
development is due to the fact that high technical errors are often being seen and due to which
project evaluation is being affected (Olomi, DePrince and Gagnon, 2019).
Issues encountered when working in team
Team work may provide high work productivity, but also at the same time provide
limitations in terms of product development. This happens in several stages like team
development in which if the selected team members are not having appropriate skills which is
required for the product development. Therefore because of which selection of appropriate team
member is highly complicated task. Also with that high schedule team meetings have to be
organized through which the performance growth can be evaluated.
CONCLUSION
It is concluded that several issues have to be faced while working within the team in
academic and IT sector this happens because of the fact that individuals have to make bulky and
complex projects. Due to which high complexity has to be faced and also in order to reduce the
time consumption in the project development. Team are being developed and respective tasks are
being allotted to each individual, with this overall reliability of the project is increased and
desired target is being achieved in minimum expenditures.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Almeida, F., 2017. Challenges in migration from waterfall to agile environments. World Journal
of Computer Application and Technology. 5(3). pp.39-49.
Dima, A.M. and Maassen, M.A., 2018. From Waterfall to Agile software: Development models
in the IT sector, 2006 to 2018. Impacts on company management. Journal of
International Studies. 11(2). pp.315-326.
Hamad, R.M.H. and Al Fayoumi, M., 2018, November. Scalable agile transformation process
(SATP) to convert waterfall project management office into Agile project management
office. In 2018 International Arab Conference on Information Technology (ACIT) (pp.
1-8). IEEE.
Olomi, J.M., DePrince, A.P. and Gagnon, K.L., 2019. Institutional responses to campus sexual
assault: Examining the development and work of a multidisciplinary team. Journal of
Trauma & Dissociation. 20(3). pp.324-339.
Pekkala, A., 2017. Introducing Agile Work Culture to Waterfall-Based Software Development
Organization.
Soukup, T. and et.al, 2018. Successful strategies in implementing a multidisciplinary team
working in the care of patients with cancer: an overview and synthesis of the available
literature. Journal of multidisciplinary healthcare. 11. p.49.
Online
Sean, M.P., What are Kolb’s learning styles and do they mean?, 2017 [Online]. Available
through:< https://www.skillshub.com/what-are-kolbs-learning-styles/ >
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