Formation of a minimum viable IT project team using the genetic algorithm

Abstract

The object of research is the process of forming an IT project team, in which the development technology is based on the technology of creating a minimum viable product (MVP) and design thinking (DT) technology. Such IT projects usually have a high content of innovation and require a special management technique, as well as a special approach to the properties of the project team. The application of design thinking technology will require project team members to master the property of empathy for the customer's problems. Empathy is a property of the human representational system and cannot be acquired through education or training. If it exists, then this property can be developed thanks to special training. Therefore, there is a problem regarding the formation of the IT project team. The manager who is responsible for forming the team needs to make a decision to choose between the availability of technical competencies of the applicants, the ability to work in a team, and the presence of empathy. In addition to the outlined requirements for applicants, such a team must be self-managed and self-organized. This also adds a whole series of requirements to applicants for the IT project team. Usually, applicants possessing all the necessary properties in full do not exist. Therefore, the manager (expert) will need to make decisions about compromises in meeting all the project's requirements. In addition, the need for labor resources will change during the project life cycle (PLC). It is for this purpose that it is proposed to use a genetic algorithm (GA), which will allow finding a local extremum that will be optimal under the current conditions of the project to solve a multi-criteria problem. This will reduce the subjective component in the process of making project decisions, which in turn will increase the probability of successful completion of IT projects in conditions of uncertainty and dynamic changes. The proposed method of forming an IT project team can be applied in practice in the form of information technology, to which in the form of a template it will be necessary to enter information about project requirements and the competency map of applicants. As a result, the GA will propose a decision regarding the quantitative and competent composition of the project team.