Week Four reading responses

Team formation is about creating one cohesive whole out of a couple of different fragments. People have to simultaneously deal with a couple of processes at the same time, getting to know each other, figuring out the structure and hierarchy of the group and what the framework of operation is going to be. It is important for the team to have a mission statement that clearly define what they are about and how the plan to achieve their goals and ambitions. It allows the team member to focus their energies and shills and attention toward one uniform purpose.

The organization of teams is essential to how the team will work and function and should be clearly spelt out from the onset. Having a clearly defined structure and allocation of tasks and duties will help to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in project delivery where everyone is assigned duties according to their areas of strength. When team formation goes well the members move from a group of individual to a team with one mission and a unified purpose.

Designers are always working in and with groups; project teams, studios, staff, committees and a host of others. The ultimate goal of the design team is to deliver a successful project to the client in a timely and satisfactory manner. I believe it’s in this that the design face unique challenges. Design teams struggle to develop successful products that meet or surpass the user/client’s needs, figure out what they want and how best to deliver it to them. Yet team member bring with them different values, perspectives and interests that cause them to see different things as important/urgent. Although the diversity of skills is key to developing the product, the different perspectives cause difficulties when the team is still deciding on what it is that users really need and what it is they should make. Sometimes the framework for what criterion meets the user requirements and how to achieve it becomes a point of contention. The design team has to come to agreement on what, who, when and where, and their failure to do that jeopardizes successful delivery of the project. Learning the art of negotiation is vital to a successful team project.