LEHRSTUHL

FÜR SIMULATION

This page describes how to develop team goals, quality and performance criteria. At the end of the semester you will discuss your achievements based on these criteria.

Team Goals

Team goals are a useful tool for project work.

• They enhance the sense of identity of each team member
• They enhance the identification of the team members with the team itself
• They help to clarify the roles and ambitions of the team members
• They aid concentration of effort and help avoid time-wasting
• They enhance the sense of commitment to the project and the team

A team goal is a statement written and signed by all members of the team, which states

• what the team intends to achieve
• why they intend to achieve it
• how they intend to achieve it
• what each member will contribute

Example:

Team goal

We are the team "Simulation Hotshots". Our team goal is to successfully complete the Simulation Project together. Our individual goals are to gain experience in teamwork and applying simulation in a practical context, to help each other and to enhance each other's experience of working together in our project team.

Our project goal is to complete each milestone completely and punctually, utilising both and our creativity and simulation knowledge, leading to a final result which is both accurate and useful.

Each team member is committed to his/her role and is prepared to accept responsibility for the work that it requires to be completed successfully. To this end, each member knows that he/she can rely on the others for assistance. In addition, each team member is committed to attending all meethings, participating in team organisation and assisting the other team members when they ask for it.

Date: April 2nd, 2003

signed

Lilly Limelight, Project Leader

Peter Petrinet, Conceptual Model

Bill Goats, Chief Software Architect

Susan Stopwatch, Data Collection and Analysis

Gabriela Getitright, Experimental Design

Thomas Truthful, Validation and Quality Control

Individual Performance

One important aspect of successful teamwork is that all team members agree on what they expect from each other. Failure to reach agreement on this before the project starts may lead to difficulties later.

Some examples of performance criteria are:

• Is open and forthcoming in discussions
• Is democratic (i.e. willingly accepts team decisions)
• Is punctual for team meetings
• Is reliable in finishing assigned work
• Is creative and full of ideas
• Communicates clearly
• Contributes significantly to the project
• Takes the initiative when appropriate
• Is cooperative
• Is prepared to spend the time necessary to complete his/her tasks
• Is prepared to take responsibility
• ...

For milestone #1, your will be asked to agree on and submit a set of performance criteria for the project. Try to think of the kinds of behaviour that you think would be necessary for a team member to contribute successfully to your project.

Consider both...

• general criteria which apply to all team members
• specific criteria for each role, in particular for the team leader

Project Quality

Here, quality refers to the results of the simulation project itself. Criteria could include:

• Accuracy of results
• Usefulness of results
• Success of validation
• Number of parameters studied
• Number of man hours needed
• Subjective impression of team's ability to work together
• Compactness of conceptual model
• Modularity of simulation program
• ...

Decide in your team what criteria you will use to assess the quality of your results.