Specific Techniques 2: Group Session Approaches

This chapter begins with a case study of a multidisciplinary research and development project. An analysis of the progress of the project is presented. The analysis shows that, although the project began well with agreement on the process model to be adopted, the two main groups drifted apart. Two different requirements documents were produced, one from each group. Neither group developed any real understanding of the needs of the other group, and both groups attempted to take control of the development process. This resulted in eventual failure and abandonment of the project. The analysis explains how and why this happened. The main problem is identified as a lack of appropriate human communication mechanisms within the project.