Integrating Teamwork into Information Systems Courses.

Teams are becoming increasingly important as an organizational form, particularly in information systems (IS) development. In response to this trend, a number of educators, including IS educators, include team components as part of their course curriculum. For example, many systems analysis and design courses include a team project component. It may not be enough, however, to simply have a team project. It may be necessary to integrate instruction in teamwork skills into IS courses. This paper discusses the importance of teams and delineates the knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) necessary for effective teamwork. In addition, the paper provides an example of how instruction in these KSAs can be integrated into IS courses. Finally, it presents the early findings of a research program which examines the effectiveness of the proposed approach. A handout on effective self-managed teams is appended. (Author/AEF)