Effectiveness of Self-selected Teams: A Systems Development Project Experience

The third year systems development group project forms an essential part of the Information Systems major at the University of Cape Town. The field of Information Technology / Information Systems requires the maintenance or development of large information systems which often involves complex tasks. As effective teams are at the core of high performance organizations exposure to teamwork is important in the preparation of students for the real world environment. To ensure high quality products and limit high failure rates of projects, teams should be carefully selected. This paper explores existing team selection approaches and discusses the mechanisms put in place in the systems development group project with the emphasis on self-selected teams as a sound base for team formation. It further reports on the incorporation of the criteria defining effectiveness and effective teams into the course to prepare individual members for the rigours of industry.