Behaviour in Teams: Proposing and Building

Abstract

Description of activity

The learning outcomes for this activity are that by the end of this activity you will be able to:

Before you begin this activity, you will need to have:

Need somethign about A-E behavingours and bringing in/shutting out.

Estimated time to complete: 30 minutes

Introduction

Some parts of the design process are suited to allocating tasks to individuals, while others benefit from collaboration in a team setting. The generation of ideas (also known as ideation) is one of those tasks effectively delivered through collective contributions from the team. There is particular value when a diverse team can bring a wide range of views, opinions, and backgrounds.

However, working together has the potential to generate conflict within a team. Individual team members may hold the view that their opinions are more important than those of others. This can result in innovative solutions not being identified, ideas progressing based on the confidence of individuals rather than on the merits of the proposal, and members of the team feeling disenfranchised.

To avoid this scenario, design teams can follow methodologies that minimize biases and ensure the most appropriate decisions are made. The methodology presented here uses the concepts of “Proposing” and “Building.” The information presented here is based on the outcomes of The Behaviour in Teams (BiT) Project conducted at the University of Sheffield. More information can be found here.

Proposing and Building

“Proposing” and “Building” are behaviours individuals exhibit during meetings where teams need to generate actionable ideas or solutions to problems. Proposing is the action of putting your own idea forward to the team and Building is the development, adaptation or improvement of someone else's idea.

Proposing

Proposing is the process of individuals communicating their ideas and suggestions to the wider team. The ideas they put forward should be actionable solutions to the design problem under consideration. For example, the idea of “let's create a customer feedback portal” is an actionable design solution. On the other hand, “let's make the product really user-friendly” is not actionable, as it is not clear what actions would be needed to achieve that outcome.

When making idea suggestions to the team, proposers should consider how these are presented. When suggesting ideas to add to the brainstorming list, aim to make them clear, specific, and feasible. To frame your input as a definite, actionable proposal, consider starting with:

If you want the team to debate your ideas, then a softer approach, such as “we could” or “we might want to,” may be more appropriate.

Building

Building is the action of enhancing, developing, improving, or building upon an idea presented by another person.

During meetings, building can be more difficult than proposing, as it involves listening to and understanding the ideas of others, then fitting your suggestion to the proposal. Although it is hard, it is a valuable part of the process and worth practicing.

A building suggestion must be actionable. Saying "that's a great idea" shows support rather than building, because it isn't actionable.

If you find the process of building challenging, one method you can employ is to identify the shortcomings of a proposal. Ideally, this should be done silently by yourself to avoid being overly critical and creating a negative atmosphere within the team meeting. If you feel that the presented ideas are perfect, there is nothing to build upon for improvement. However, if you believe the proposal is insufficient in some way, this provides a basis for building. Rather than commenting on the shortcomings of the proposal, suggest methods to address them. For example, you may consider a proposal too expensive. Building on this idea could involve suggesting that the product be marketed as a luxury item or showing how users might find value in the aspects of the proposal that make it costly.

Why proposing and building behaviour matters

In order for every individual to feel collective ownership of the ideas generated by a team, discussions should involve a balance of proposing and building. However, without an understanding of these two types of behavior and a conscious effort to engage in both during discussions, most people will tend to propose more than build.

For example, consider a group of four people, each independently proposing one idea without building on others. During concept selection, one idea will be the winner, leaving three other team members feeling like they lost. These divisive outcomes may reduce the team's commitment, especially if some members remain convinced their own proposal was the best.

A high level of proposing in a team can sometimes mean that ideas are being used competitively, while a high level of building usually means that ideas are being used collaboratively.

Neither proposing nor building is more important than the other. To solve problems, ideas are required, and without proposing, there are no ideas to build upon. However, without a conscious effort to ensure building is included in the process, there is a natural tendency for individuals to focus only on proposing.

Teams using high levels of building achieve increased team success and better results. High levels of building behavior can produce better results because it has been shown to generate ideas that are more creative, exciting, and useful, and participants feel more committed to the decisions made.

A process for Brainstorming

One technique for a group discussion to generate a range of ideas or solutions to problems is called “brainstorming” or “ideation.” There are many different approaches to brainstorming. Presented here is a two-step process to ensure equal opportunities for both proposal and building during brainstorming sessions. The first step is exclusively proposing, and the second step is exclusively building.

Step 1: Proposing.
Generate as many proposals as possible within the allotted time. These should be as numerous and varied as possible, including those that are extravagant or impractical. All team members should refrain from being critical or commenting on others' ideas. It is important to not build on any of the ideas proposed—this will occur in the next step. If a team member thinks of a way to build on one of the proposals, they can silently note it for future use.

The output of step 1 should be a list of design ideas. Before moving on to step two, it may be helpful to organize the ideas. Are any of them duplicates, or can they be categorized into groups?

Step 2: Building.
For each of the ideas proposed in step one, the team should develop each further by adding new elements, combining ideas, enhancing, expanding, or adapting.

Following step two, you may want to consider selecting the best options to take forward. During the next stage of the design cycle, Selecting the Final Design, the ideas will be objectively evaluated to determine the best. If there are many ideas developed from the brainstorming, this could be a cumbersome and time-consuming process. At this stage, ideas that are demonstrably impractical or unsuitable can be eliminated.

Video tutorial

In the video below, Professor Neil Rackham leads a teaching session for groups of students to understand and practice using the Behaviours in Teamworking (BIT) project.