Systemic-Thinking-Questions

Questions used for survey and interview

Pilot Interview

1. How would you amend or modify the following description of systems thinking if you were part of a software development team?

“The ability to understand technical interdependencies in a system, the ability to understand social & psychological interdependencies in a system, the ability to think about feedback dynamics in a system, and the ability to understand multi-level enterprise dynamics.”

2. Have you ever been a part of a group that you would characterize as having systems thinking qualities? What actions were taken to encourage team systems thinking within this team?

3. What psychological and sociological systemic factors are present in the creation and application of systemic thinking (as defined by you) to the software development team?

4. What function does the physical environment of the team have in systemic thinking?

5. Do you have a high-performing team that thinks and acts in a systemic manner?

6. How did the team come up with these systemic characteristics?

7. Do any of the team members exhibit features of systems thinking? Is individual systems thinking a need for a software team's productivity?

Individual Interview

1. What is the function of your team inside the company? within the parameters of the regular procedure? within the context of the entire system being developed?
2. How helpful are artifacts such as process maps and organizational charts in determining what needs to be done and who should be involved?
3. What are your thoughts on the typical procedure? What are the advantages and disadvantages of using it? Why do you have a standard technical process in place at your company?
4. To what degree does the team modify or adjust the standardized procedure at the organizational level? To what extent may the team select its own creative process, tools, and methodologies?
5. Participating in problem-space knowledge and reflection discourse are well-known methods for managing complexity and enhancing system design. What is your team's process for discussing new ideas? Is it true that your team does a thorough analysis of the design issue before recommending specific concepts for the assessment?
6. What are the contributions of your coworkers to the overall design? What are they focusing on right now? What previous design expertise does the team have is important in the current venture?
7. How do your informal social contacts assist you in completing tasks? Kindly contrast the importance of social relationships with the use of organizational designations and formal channels of communication.
8. Is the team's communication more formal or informal? Could you please offer an example?
   • Formal coordination is top-down, articulated, documented management.
   • Informal coordination is more spontaneous, bottom-up coordination.

It makes use of team members' information of where skills and assets are located within the firm, as well as team members' awareness of each other's responsibilities, to anticipate and address the needs of team members.

9. What is the team's plan for the future? What is the average time it takes for open action items to be delivered? This is not a measure of how far into the future the teams are actively thinking on a daily basis; rather, it is a measure of how far into the future the teams are actively thinking on a daily basis.
10. How do you define systems thinking?
11. What are some of the ways your team uses systems thinking? Do you consider your group to be a strong systems thinking group? On a scale of 1 to 10, rank your team's knowledge of systemic thinking.
12. What are the common issues in software development that could benefit from the application of psychological and sociological systemic factors?
13. What software development fields could be improved by understanding psychological and sociological aspects?
14. What software engineering roles need to understand psychological and sociological aspects?
15. What psychological and sociological systemic factors could be applied to software development?

Survey Questionaire

Background: This survey is in support of research exploring the role of organizational culture (software firm) in the existence and development of team-level systems thinking.

1. (1,2,3) Demography
2. In what field is your degree? (example: Computer Science, Physics etc.)
3. How long have you been with this team? this company? the software industry?
4. On how many similar projects have you worked in the past?
5. On how many different teams (projects) do you currently contribute as a member?
6. With what fraction of your current team members have you previously worked?
   • No one
   • Everyone
7. With which THREE (3)of the following team roles do you personally identify on this team?
   • Creative, unorthodox problem solver
   • Good communicator finds team new opportunities, well-connected
   • Coordinator clarifies team goals, facilitates decision making
   • Performs well under pressure, tenacity to overcome obstacles, dynamic
   • Strategic individual, carefully weighs options, good judgment
   • Team player, diplomatic, builds consensus, avoids team friction
   • Reliable, disciplined, gets things done, conservative, practical
   • Detail-oriented, focused on completion, time/schedule conscious
   • Specialist, narrow focus, technical focus
8. In each of the following four statement pairs, please circle the statement with which you most identify.

Statement 1	Statement 2
I form new ideas through discussion with others and relate well to people and things.	I form new ideas through internal monologue and relate well to concepts and abstract ideas.
I am interested in concrete ideas and prefer to interact with my surroundings.	I am imaginative and enjoy exploring future possibilities and gaining new insights.
I make decisions based on objective analysis and logic.	I make decisions based on my values, what feels right.
I plan far into the future, preferring to have life planned and orderly.	I am spontaneous, flexible with my plans, and don’t want to miss anything.

9. Has your team received any kind of training as a team?

• Yes
• No

If yes, which of the following topics did team training include? Was the training effective?

Training topic	included?	effectiveness?
Systemic thinking	yes/no	Low 1 2 3 4 5 high
Team Development	yes/no	Low 1 2 3 4 5 high
Technical Knowledge	yes/no	Low 1 2 3 4 5 high

10. Is your team collocated (same office space, building, campus)?
    • Yes
    • No If NO, please rate the impact on the team’s ability to communicate technical information.

• Negative
• No Impact
• Positive

11. What tools and space (real or virtual) does the team use to communicate and interact?
12. How do you most commonly interact with other team members?
13. Place an ‘X’ on the line between the two options to indicate the relative frequency of the two interaction styles. E.g. an ‘X’ placed in the middle would indicate both types of interactions occur with equal frequency.

• Do you interact one-on-one (face-to-face, telephone calls, IM) or in groups (team meeting, conference calls, WebX)?

1-on-1 || Groups

• Do you interact in person or virtually (telephone calls, email, WebX)?

In Person || Virtual

• Are your interactions real-time or delayed response (e.g. email)?

Synchronous || Asynchronous

14. Which of the following are most commonly used to communicate technical information within the team? (Choose Three)

• Verbal (written or spoken)
• Sketches
• Mathematical equations
• Part drawings
• Computer models (static)
• Scale models
• Computer models (dynamic)
• Prototyping

15. Please rate each of the following aspects of the team environment (1-Poor to 5-Excellent)

• Project management Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Access to resources Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Decision freedom Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Realistic schedule for deliverables Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Individual incentives and recognition Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Team incentives and recognition Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Interesting/challenging work Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Collaborative environment Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent
• Organizational interest in the mission of team Poor 1 2 3 4 5 Excellent

16. Is teamwork valued within your team?

Not Valued 1 2 3 4 5 Highly Valued

17. Is teamwork valued within your organization?

Not Valued 1 2 3 4 5 Highly Valued

18. Do rewards and incentives promote individual or team-level accomplishment?

Individual | | | Team

19. Does your organization have a standardized technical design process?

• Yes
• No

If YES, to what extent do you, as an individual, comply with the standard process?

Non-Compliance 1 2 3 4 5 Full Compliance

20. How relevant and easy to use is the standard process? The standard process is relevant and useful in this program.

Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Agree

21. The standard process is easy to use and understand.

Disagree 1 2 3 4 5 Agree

22. Did your team have the opportunity to tailor or modify the organization’s standard process to help better complete your tasks?

• Yes
• No

If YES, to what extent was the standard process modified?

Minor Modifications | | | Major Modifications

23. Are design decisions within the team more often made by an individual or team consensus?

Team consensus | | | Individual

Statement 1	Statement 2
If INDIVIDUAL decision making is more common, are most decisions made by..	If CONSENSUS decision making is more common, are decisions made…
A) the same individual	A) when the supporting information is presented and with little or no time for discussion or reflection
B) the team leader	B) after a period of reflection and discussion.
C) one of a rotating set of individuals	C) None

24. How aware are you of other team members’ design tasks?

Not Aware | | | Fully Aware

25. How aware are you of other team members’ relevant expertise and knowledge?

Not Aware | | | Fully Aware

26. Please rate your agreement with each of the following statements.(1-Strongly Disagree to 5-Strongly Agree)

• I respect other team members’ technical knowledge and expertise 1 2 3 4 5
• I trust other team members’ abilities to meet deadlines 1 2 3 4 5
• I trust other team members to deliver high-quality work products 1 2 3 4 5
• Team discussion stimulates the generation of good ideas 1 2 3 4 5
• The team environment is fair and egalitarian 1 2 3 4 5
• The team encourage critical questioning and analysis 1 2 3 4 5
• The team is accepting of new ideas 1 2 3 4 5
• The team has a clear and mutual goal 1 2 3 4 5
• The team understands its purpose within the overall systems design 1 2 3 4 5
• The team has a shared vision for meeting milestones and requirements 1 2 3 4 5

27. Systems thinking is one of many recognized engineering skills.

Given the following definition of engineering systems thinking…

Systems thinking is utilizing tools, models, processes, and different thinking styles to consider the componential, relational, contextual, and dynamic elements of the system of interest.

How do you rate your system's thinking ability? (On a scale of 1-7 with 7 representing strong systems thinking)

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Special Thanks to Michael Tang, Questionaries taken and modified from Collaborative Systemic Thinking, Caroline Marie Twomey Lamb

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