IT Tools that Support Team Process - Term Paper Example

IT tools that support team process In order for team work to be most effective, there must be good communication between team members so that that the team process is efficient and productive. The use of IT tools can facilitate this process and ensure that communication levels between team members as well as the speed of passage of information between them is improved and enhanced. Three separate IT tools are discussed below. The first is the use of continuous process improvement tools through the use of language data analysis tools such as affinity, relations and hierarchy diagrams. The second is the RFP (Request for Proposal) technical response and the third is the facilitator flip chart. All these three tools can also be used with biometric identification programs, in order to facilitate and enhance this people identification process. The application of each of these three tools is discussed below: Continuous process improvement tools: Continuous process improvement tools can be used in order to ensure lean production to promote efficiency in operations (www.allbusiness.com). When teams work together to achieve the objective of problem solving, they work with seven basic tools such as Pareto charts, trend analysis graphs, histograms, scatter plots and check sheets. All of these IT statistical tools are useful in working towards the development of quality. They are used successfully in manufacturing processes, but they can also be used to facilitate team work when they are used as management and planning tools. When continuous process improvement tools are to be used to improve team processes, it would be preferable to use data analysis tools that function on the basis of analysis of language and relationships rather than purely statistical data. Such tools can be effective in coordinating the work of those working on the periphery of the business process and integrating their efforts into the efforts of the business centres. Such tools could include affinity and relations diagrams, as well as hierarchy diagrams. Data analysis charts in this instance would use matrices and tables in order to display the value and priority of the language and relational data (www.allbusiness.com). The diagrams are useful in shedding light on the patterns of flow of communication within the firm, the organizational hierarchies and in setting up precedence diagrams which are useful in quality function deployment. Data analysis using such tools as affinity and hierarchy diagrams may also be applicable for biometric identification purposes. The use of data analysis tools that are able to show the value and the priority of language and relational data can be of great value in improving the flow of communications between elements of the organizational hierarchy that are on the periphery, with the central command or database centre . Biometric identification systems often require individuals and teams at different locations to effectively coordinate their work. Identification information on individuals collected through the use of various methods such as voice recognition, finger printing, etc may be collected at peripheral outlets and may need to be coordinated through comparison with data available on a centralized database. This may be the case for example, with person identification data collected through biometric methods at visa issuing centres, in order to ascertain whether or not an individual applying for a visa has a prior history of having fraudulently applied for a visa. By using continuous process improvement tools such as the ones mentioned above, it becomes possible to coordinate information collected at a peripheral location with the centralized database in order to map patterns of earlier communication pertaining to the individual as well as personal data and information related to the individual. Request for Proposal technical response: Another one of the IT tools that could be applied in biometric identification is the RFP (Request for Proposal) technical response team, which is designed exclusively for those providers of solutions who work within the public sector. The biometric identification system of retinal scans are used to a significant extent by public service Government agencies in identification of people for issuing passports and visas for example, but it is also used in conjunction with other systems such as fingerprinting, voice recognition, facial recognition and signature verification. This requires an aggregation of the information from different sources in order to arrive at a composite picture of a person’s identity. Within organizations, there may be different identification systems used as well, all of which when taken together provide an integrated picture of the identity of the individual. The new RFP tool aids in this process by simplifying the processes that are involved so that there is overall savings in time, money and resources. For instance, the software provides an extensive search and query functionality and also makes changes and amendments at the push of a button (www.news.thomasnet.com). When used in conjunction with a people identification system, it would help in speeding up the process of comparison of fingerprints with those of millions of others in the database to pick out those individuals who may have a prior criminal record or may otherwise be unauthorized or illegal. In the context of public sector databases, this aspect becomes very important because such databases can often be very large and searches could involve a considerable amount of time, effort and cost, especially in the case of Government databases. The use of the RFP tool would be of considerable help in simplifying the search process when working through very large databases and producing savings in time, money and resources. The RFP response tool is currently used within organizations as a means of aggregating information as well as expediting business processes. It enables an organization to produce a more comprehensive and winning proposal when responding to a business query. This would also be of value in people identification systems, specifically in terms of savings in time and money that could be achieved by using these tools. According to strategic program manager of TIG, an IT solutions provider, “the public sector is a fiercely competitive market with no room for errors nor missed opportunities”. As a result, it becomes even more important to ensure that the use of IT tools facilitates savings in terms of time and costs. Using the RFP tool helps in expediting business processes and quickly aggregating information through the use of various features, which would be useful in carrying out the identification process quickly and efficiently, especially because changes and amendments can be quickly and easily made. In the case of organizations, whether private or public, where threats to security are posed, it becomes all the more important to quickly and efficiently identify individuals would could pose such a threat, and also to amend the existing databases with the necessary updated information, so that such threats can also be averted in the future. Facilitator Flip chart: Team tools are also useful in dealing with what Pacanowsky refers to as wicked problems (www.ihm.org.uk). These are the sort of problems that come with built in complexities that make them doubly difficult and therefore call for solutions that require thinking out of the box. The important element in this context is defining the question and the techniques that work together in promoting a spirit of enquiry include question brainstorming, colour questioning and TQR or Thinker-Questioner-Reflector, which is also known as paired reasoning. This helps team members to work together collectively to arrive at solution to problems. The use of IT tools facilitates dealing with wicked problems. One method is through the development of a shared display arrangement through a facilitator flip chart (www.ihm.org.uk). This is a particularly useful device at team meetings, when it provides a means for all members to remain up to date with where the organization is heading. The facilitator flip chart helps to focus the attention of team members on a particular issue that is being discussed by the members at a meeting and thereby provides an online application that helps team members to work together with better coordination. The flip chart can serve as a tool for team memory but is likely to function best when the team is working from a spirit of enquiry. It is necessary for team members to adopt a brainstorming and paired reasoning approach in developing solutions to complex problems that require thinking out of the box. By using tools such as the flip facilitator chart, it enables all individuals at different points, or all team members at a meeting to be on the same page in so far as their approach to a problem is concerned. Flip facilitator charts provide team members with a summary or concise picture of where a particular problem is, and provides a means by which the attention of team members can be focused and directed towards the same problem, so that they can all put their minds together in developing solutions to the problem by thinking outside the box. The facilitator flip chart creates a shared display that all team members can work on at the same time while also communicating with each other as they go through a brainstorming process. The flip chart working in isolation however, may not be adequate to solve a problem because group memory can tend to become a scattered collection of utterances, proposals and utterances rather than a comprehensive and well integrated plan. This objective can be achieved only when the team is working from a spirit of enquiry. When a similar spirit of enquiry is applied with the use of flip facilitator charts in biometric systems, it may be of value in arriving at solutions to complex or thorny problems pertaining to pinpointing the identity of individuals that may not present an easy solution. This may be especially useful for example, in the case of identification of individuals who are suspected of being terrorists. It becomes crucial to establish the identity of these individuals as quickly as possible and also to ascertain the necessary steps that must be taken in order to address the problems created through such identifications to prevent any attacks. In such a context, flip facilitator charts would enable individuals at different points on the globe to coordinate their available biometric information to achieve the desired purpose. Conclusions: In general biometric systems are a means of identification of individuals, especially from the perspective of determining whether or not they are properly authorized to access information within an organization, or in the case of Government organizations, to determine whether individuals are illegal and therefore to be restricted. Such identifications require team work in coordination of information and in arriving at solutions to complex problems. Using some of the IT tools mentioned above can help to ensure that this information is available on an expedited basis. It can also help to ensure that the information is effectively sorted and identification information from different sources are combined together to effectively pinpoint and identify an individual to determine whether or not he or she is illegal or has necessary authorizations. The use of IT team processing tools not only enables better coordination among different members of a team, it also ensures that such identification processes are carried with great savings in time and costs. References: “Business Development Tool expedites RFP Process”, (August 29, 2006), http://news.thomasnet.com/fullstory/490262; Componation, Paul J, 2000. “Identification of effective problem solving tools to support continuous process improvement”, Engineering Management Journal, (March 1), http://www.allbusiness.com/professional-scientific/architectural-engineering/1122122-1.html; “Team tools for wicked problems”, www.ihm.org.uk/_files/documents/99/Teamtoolsforwickedproblems.pdf; Read More