This week we embrace conflict and celebrate adversity as we delve into Tuckman’s world of ‘storming’.
Think about your own experiences with conflict resolution and write a short paragraph about a time when you effectively resolved conflict (no more than 250 words). To help you structure your summary, and to ensure that others can gain insight from your experiences, consider using the 5W1Happroach listed below:
Who? During the final year of my undergraduate degree, we had to create and publish a retro game in a team of around twenty students. The team was split into four departments, each housing five students. I was the leader of the art department, and this conflict involved every department lead and a single member of the QA team. This member shall remain nameless.
What? From what I remember of the conflict, the QA member had shared a list of concerns and issues he had over the project (his notes were extremely passive-aggressive and border-lining on the personal side of things). Tensions were high enough already because we launched with a broken game. And once the team was aware of the QA report, the whole situation just exploded.
When? If I remember rightly, the issue occurred once we published the game and entered post-production. Our lecturer and studio head decided to arrange a conflict resolution meeting, which lasted about two hours.
Where? This conflict happened during my undergraduate degree at Solent university. I was the leader of the art department and also in charge of creating sound effects for a retro game.
Why? I'm not sure why it happened. The QA member had his way of doing things and quite often clashed with other personality types. In addition, I felt the team (including myself) was inexperienced in how a large studio should operate (go figure). For a lot of us, this was our first proper delve into group work. Lastly, production was not smooth sailing. We launched with a broken game and exceeded our 50kb restriction for our retro game.
How? Our lecturer gathered up everyone involved in the conflict and then sat us down (in front of the class) to essentially hash it out. Everyone was allowed time to speak, and we ended up resolving the conflict. It didn't help that peer review was right around the corner, but that's a story for another day!
The Five Dysfunctions of A Team
One of the most fascinating models of team effectiveness was developed by American author, Patrick Lencioni (2005).
Figure 1: Patrick Lencioni's Dysfunctional Teams Pyramid
According to Lencioni, every team has the potential to be dysfunctional. Therefore, it is significant that every team member is aware of the five levels and how they should progress. I find this concept interesting because every team is different and unique. For instance, you can have a variety of personality types, but to pinpoint five potential disruptions and have them be a constant is what I'm finding hard to grasp.
Effective Communication
Be respectful and kind.
Miscommunication can lead to hurt feelings, poor performance and lack of motivation.
Communication styles include, Myers-Briggs Type Indicator and Hartman Personality Profile.
Set the standards early and manage expectations.
Select the right tools for the job.
Maintain a POLC framework (Planning, Organizing, Leading, Controlling).
Dr Edward de Bono's Six Thinking Hats
Dr Edward de Bono created the Six Thinking Hats as a tool/exercise to facilitate parallel thinking and encourage all team members to try different perspectives as part of the decision-making process. With each perspective associated by a different coloured hat.
Ideation Techniques
This week I was limited to the amount of work I could do, being away from my computer. Therefore, I prioritised note-taking, sketching and research. From our last meeting on the 8th of June, the group is leaning more toward developing a mobile game.
Brainstorming
Figure 2: Brainstorming Ideas
To kick start the session, I devised a rough brainstorm, mainly outlining potential themes and focuses (figure 2). Although, the 'brainstorm' is more like a summary of the group's last meeting.
Crazy Eights (Six...?)
Figure 3: Crazy Eights (Six...?)
I did this technique for my last game jam, and it worked well that I decided to do it again, but writing on A5 had its limits. All of the ideas I sketched are mobile ideas (as you'll notice, words like 'Tap' and 'Swipe' are written on them). However, I do believe they can be converted to PC. I have also included a programming difficulty (bottom right corners) out of 10 (10 being the hardest) of what I would expect them to be.
Narrative decision-making game. As the King or Queen, it's your job to make the tough decisions. People approach you with questions and favours, and you have to appease them whilst maintaining stats like currency so that your kingdom doesn't fall into ruin. (Think, Yes, You're Grace).
Arena style game. Fight against Knights and make it to the top of the rankings to be crowned champion. Random knights and monsters each fight.
Four player card game. Cards have random descriptions on them (Think, Unstable Unicorns). It could be hard to program the AI. This idea requires more thought and research.
Dungeon crawler game. Randomly generated surroundings. Relatively straightforward.
Tilt your phone to catch the correct garbage! (Think Doodle Jump or the Basketball game on Messenger). Incorrect garbage results in minus points.
Swipe the character left or right to retrieve the correct item on a conveyor belt. The game speeds up the longer you play. Score based.
*Every idea involves a relatively basic level of customisation and can also feature unlockables.
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