Team Performance (Domain IV) contains the focus areas & quick notes on this topic which will help you to pass the PMI-ACP® exam offered by PMI. Domain IV Team Performance accounts for 16% of all questions in the Exam (i.e. ~19 questions among 120 Exam questions). Below is a collection of the key knowledge addressed in Team Performance and the tasks related to the domain (Create an environment of trust, learning, collaboration, and conflict resolution that promotes team self-organization enhances relationships among team members, and cultivates a culture of high performance)
Focus Areas for Team Performance
Team Formation Stages
- Forming – This is the stage where the team members come together, mostly focused on themselves, their roles, responsibilities, and goals rather than that of the team.
- Storming – This is the stage where the team members begin to work on the projects, bring about their individualities, voice their opinions, and at times, attempt to dominate.
- Norming – During this stage, the supervisor could intervene, set ground rules and emphasize what professional behavior should be like.
- Performing – This is the highest (‘nirvana’) stage where teams are motivated to achieve the goals of the project.
- Mourning or Adjourning – This is the stage where the project is over and team members get released.
Shu-Ha-Ri Model
- The starting point is Shu, which means learn & follow the rule.
- The next level is Ha, which means detach & break the rule.
- The final level of mastery is Ri, which means transcend & be the rule.
Dreyfus Model
- Novice – at this skill level, the team members have a very shallow understanding and need very close supervision.
- Advanced beginner – at this skill level, the understanding of the steps involved is such that they can apply the same steps in a similar context.
- Competent – at this skill level the team members have attained a good understanding of the steps involved and are able to complete their tasks properly without supervision.
- Proficient – at this skill level, team members have gathered sufficient practice, experience, and a deep understanding of the subject.
- Expert – this is the highest skill level. With lots of knowledge amassed, the team members achieve excellence and go beyond existing interpretations, rules, and guidelines.
Situational Leadership Model
- Telling style – During stage 1, the agile leader is working with a team having low competence and less experience.
- Selling style – During stage 2, the team members are still a novice, inexperienced, and unable to take responsibility, but they are enthusiastic and willing to work.
- Participating style – During stage 3, the team members are experienced and have the required skills, but lack the confidence to get the job done all on their own.
- Delegating style – During the highest stage 4, the team members are mature enough, empowered, and capable of handling a task confidently without the intervention of the leader.
High-Performing Teams
- Takes accountability and ownership
- Demonstrates commitment consistently
- Cross-functional
- Generates positivity in the team environment
- Adaptive to change
- Trust-worthy
- Self-organized
- Open, clear, and transparent communication
- Focused on the customer’s needs
- Empowered to make decisions as individuals or through group consensus
- Has an eye for removing non-value-added activities
- Values diversity and builds strong team bonds
- Works at a pace that is consistent and sustainable
- Regularly inspects and adapts processes and practices
- Takes pride in achievements
Information radiator – a communication tool to physically displays key information about the current project status to the Agile team/stakeholders in the work area in the most visible and efficient manner, e.g. Kanban boards
Motivational Theories
- Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – five levels of personal needs, from the fundamental at level 1 to the ultimate need at level 5
- Physiological
- Security
- Social
- Esteem
- Self Actualization
- Herzberg’s Hygiene Theory
- Satisfaction (motivators): such as recognition, achievement or personal growth
- These are key factors to make team members motivated
- Salary is not an effective motivator
- Dissatisfaction (demotivators): such as bad working conditions, unfairness, etc.
- Hygiene factors are factors that must be present to avoid dissatisfaction but do not provide satisfaction, also called KITA factors e.g. Company policies, supervision, relationship with supervisor and peers, work conditions, salary, status, job security
- Satisfaction (motivators): such as recognition, achievement or personal growth
- Expectancy Theory
- An individual will decide to behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be
- For a person to be motivated, efforts/performance/outcome must be matched – will only work hard for achievable goals
- Key Elements of Expectancy Theory
- Expectancy (extra work will be rewarded)
- Instrumentality (good results will be rewarded)
- Valence (the individual’s expected reward)
- An individual will decide to behave or act in a certain way because they are motivated to select a specific behavior over other behaviors due to what they expect the result of that selected behavior will be
Emotional Intelligence
- Self-awareness
- Emotional resilience
- Motivation
- Interpersonal sensitivity
- Influence
- Intuitiveness
- Conscientiousness
Communication among Team: Release planning meetings, Iteration planning meetings, Daily stand-up meetings, Iteration reviews & Retrospectives meetings.
Osmotic Communication: The most efficient and effective method of conveying information to and within a development team is face-to-face conversation. Team members in a co-located space can overhear conversations/discussions of other members. The team members will be able to extract useful parts from the conversations or join in if necessary.
Systems Thinking: While planning for value-driven delivery, the holistic picture helps team members to think of the system as a whole, its complex assembly of closely integrated components and how each component interfaces with each other as one unit.
BART Analysis of Team: Identify problems and effectiveness of processes in agile teams. The acronym BART stands for boundary, authority, role, and task.
Contract Types in Agile Projects
- Fixed Price, but with Provision for Change in Scope in Future Iterations
- Contract with Premature Closure Clause
- Fixed Fee and Not-to-Exceed Clauses
- Fixed Price per Story Point
- Multi-Stage Contracts
- Target Cost Contract
- Contract Extension and Payment Based on Delivery and Acceptance
Functions of an Agile PMO: Agile transformation, Agile adoption, and training, Agile coaching, Agile governance and center of excellence, Resource management, Vendor management, Reporting, Audits, compliance & Continuous improvement.
