Kim B. Clark & Steven C. Wheelwright
Organizing and Leading
“Heavyweight” Development Teams
California Management Review (1992), 34(3), pp. 9-28
Reimo Jahn 49001876
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. Four Types of Development Team Structures
3. The Heavyweight Team Structure
3.1
Structure & Management
3.2
Pros and Cons
3.3
Potential
3.4
Example: Motorola’s Bandit team
4. Summary
5. Discussion Topics
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Heavyweight Development Teams
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
1. Introduction
For effective product or process development a company
needs to coordinate and integrate specialized capabilities
successfully.
Especially challenging for large firms with separate and highly
specialized functions, many employees with diverse skill
levels and working styles.
Paper presents one promising team structure, heavyweight
teams, and discusses its potentials and pitfalls in organizing
and managing product or process development.
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
2. Four Types of Development Team Structures
A. Functional Team Structure
Function
Manager
ENG
MFG
MKG
Working
Level
team
• team members grouped by
discipline
leaders
• subfunction managers
• senior functional managers
characteristics
• coordination of ideas
• cross-functional issues discussed
in occasional meetings
• responsibility passed from one
function to another
• managers w/responsibility & authority • separated, subdivided activities
• learning effects
• individual performance hard to evaluate
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Heavyweight Development Teams
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
2. Four Types of Development Team Structures
team
• members remain in functions
• designated representatives (L)
leaders
• lightweight project manager
• junior/mid-level
• little influence, inexperienced
characteristics
• project as broadening experience
• key resource or cadre decisions
by senior mgmt
• PM: schedules, time plans etc.
B. Lightweight Team Structure
FM
ENG
FM
MFG
FM
MKG
Liaison
Project
Manager
Area of PM Influence
• PM overlooks coordination/integration • only few differences to functional teams
• improved communication
• low acceptance of lightweight PM
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
2. Four Types of Development Team Structures
C. Heavyweight Team Structure
FM
FM
FM
MFG
MKG
L
L
L
Market
ENG
PM
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team
• cross-functional but physically colocated
• core team and other members
leaders
• primary influence/supervision
• usually senior managers
• highly engaged “champions”
• influence mainly thru core team
characteristics
• PM has direct responsibility and
authority
• cross-functional focus and consideration of market needs
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
2. Four Types of Development Team Structures
• concentration on project success
• birthplace of unique ideas/breakthrus
D. Autonomous Team Structure
FM
ENG
FM
MFG
MKG
L
L
PM
• rethink instead of utilize existing assets
• high risks, hard to change at half-way
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FM
Heavyweight Development Teams
Market
team
• cross-functional team members
• separated from original functions
leaders
• heavyweight PM with full control
and evaluation authority
characteristics
• “clean sheets”, no former rules
• fully responsible for outcome
L
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3. Heavyweight Team Structure
• fundamentally new way of organizing for traditionally
organized companies
• promising but underrepresented form of team structure
• poses major challenges for project management
• implementing demands fundamental changes in the
organization
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.1 Managing Heavyweight Teams
Project Charter
• captures clear mission with measurable objectives
• set by senior management, members accept it by joining team
• e.g.: “The product is to be ramped by Dec. 2014 at a minimum of 20% gross margin.”
Contract Book
• defines a detailed plan to achieve the goals declared in Charter
• re: working plan, resources required, result outline, evaluation
• made by team itself, takes a week to few months
Staffing
• cross-functional core team of dedicated employees, co-located
• core team’s task: coordinate & integrate all functions’ work
• additionally: frequently joining team members
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.1 Managing Heavyweight Teams
Project Leadership
• PM leads, manages, evaluates, receives reports from team
• PM champions project, instead of being just neutral/facilitating
• PM has earned right to lead with skills, experience, status etc.
• way more active and enthusiastic than lightweight leader
Roles of the Project Leader
1. Direct Market Interpreter
2. Multilingual Translator
3. Direct Engineering Manager
4. Program Manager
5. Concept Infuser
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3.1 Managing Heavyweight Teams
Roles of the Project Leader
Direct market
interpreter
First hand information, dealer visits, auto shows, has own marketing
budget, market study team, direct contact and discussions with customers
Multilingual
translator
Fluency in language of customers, engineers, marketers, stylists; translator
between customer experience/requirements and engineering
specifications
“Direct”
engineering
manager
Direct contact, orchestra conductor, evangelist of conceptual integrity and
coordinator of component development; direct eye-to-eye discussions
with working level engineers; shows up in drafting room, looks over
engineers’ shoulders
Program
manager
“in motion”
Out of the office, not too many meetings, not too much paperwork, faceto-face communication, conflict resolution manager
Concept
infuser
Concept guardian, confronts conflicts, not only reacts but implements
own philosophy, ultimate decision maker, coordination of details and
creation of harmony
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.1 Managing Heavyweight Teams
The Executive Sponsor
• senior management seeks to secure both team guidance and
team empowerment at the same time
• executive sponsor mentors team & communicates with mgmt
• team and sponsor agree on list of areas where team is free to
decide independently from mgmt ( “clarify boundaries”)
Team Member Responsibility
• team members have responsibility for their own function and
cross-functional team effort
• “functional hat “ ↔ “team hat”
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.1 Managing Heavyweight Teams
„Functional Hat“
Ensuring functional expertise on the
project
„Team Hat“
Sharing responsibility for team results
Representing the functional prospective on Establishing reporting and other
the project
organizational relationships
Ensuring that sub-objectives are met that
depend on their function
Reconstituting tasks and content
Ensuring that functional issues are raised
pro-actively within the team
Participation in monitoring and improving
team performance
Sharing responsibility for ensuring effective
team processes
Examining issues from an executive point of
view
Understanding, recognizing and challenging
the project‘s boundaries
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.2 Pros and Cons
Heavyweight teams tend to have…
• focus on product/process • cross-functional perspective
• Broad set of skills available • commitment/esprit de corps
• awareness of customer needs
• set a clear mission
Heavyweight teams may…
• clash with functions
• agitate senior mgmt
• make other employees
feel like “second class”
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• not excel in all components
• be too generalist
• want even more power
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.3 Potential
Improvement of…
communication
team identity
problem-solving ability
creativity & innovativeness
Increase of…
development efficiency
development speed
market fit
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.4 Motorola’s Bandit team
• Motorola’s high sales Bravo pager line faces low-price competition
from Japanese manufacturers in 1980s.
• In order to stay competitive Motorola realized that they had to
change the way they produce completely.
• Motorola’s Communication Department was given a charter to
develop an automated, profitable, on-shore production operation.
• Heavyweight development team is set
up in June 1986 with an 18 months
deadline.
• Project was called Bandit, because
they were up to take ideas from
anywhere possible.
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.4 Motorola’s Bandit team
• The project’s core team consisted of eight members:
 five from Motorola’s main engineering functions (robotics,
Industrial and process engineering etc.)
 each one from accounting and HR
 one from HP, as representative of the software networking
vendor.
• Scott Shamlin, the project leader, was described as
hands-on manager, “crusader”, “renegade” and
“workaholic” who stimulates communication and
articulated the vision.
• Team was sponsored by a senior executive: early
supporter and champion, George Fisher.
Reimo Jahn
Heavyweight Development Teams
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Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
3.4 Motorola’s Bandit team
• The team started with a contract book, created a working plan and a
process blueprint afterwards.
• 18 months later…
1. Project was finished on contract book schedule.
2. Automated production was running with 5-sigma tolerance.
3. Cost objectives are met (lower direct costs and higher profit
margins).
4. Product reliability could be increased above standards.
5. Knowledge was successfully transferred to other internal
operations.
Reimo Jahn
Heavyweight Development Teams
12/02/2013
19
Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
감사합니다
20
Prof. Euiho Suh – ST: Advanced Technology Management
References
Wheelwright, Steven C. / Clark, Kim B. (1992), Organizing and leading “heavyweight” development teams“, California Management Review, 34(3), 9-28.
Reimo Jahn
Heavyweight Development Teams
12/02/2013