Development Team Leaders Research Articles

Incorporating software security: using developer workshops to engage product managers

Evidence from data breach reports shows that many competent software development teams still do not implement secure, privacy-preserving software, even though techniques to do so are now well-known. A major factor causing this is simply a lack of priority and resources for security, as decided by product managers. So, how can we help developers and product managers to work together to achieve appropriate decisions on security and privacy issues? This paper explores using structured workshops to support teams of developers in engaging product managers with software security and privacy, even in the absence of security professionals. The research used the Design Based Research methodology. This paper describes and justifies our workshop design and implementation, and describes our thematic coding of both participant interviews and workshop discussions to quantify and explore the workshops’ effectiveness. Based on trials in eight organizations, involving 88 developers, we found the workshops effective in helping development teams to identify, promote, and prioritize security issues with product managers. Comparisons between organizations suggested that such workshops are most effective with groups with limited security expertise, and when led by the development team leaders. We also found workshop participants needed minimal guidance to identify security threats, and a wide range of ways to promote possible security improvements. Empowering developers and product managers in this way offers a powerful grassroots approach to improve software security worldwide.

Integrating supplier innovation in the fuzzy front end: based on an analysis of the task environment

PurposeIntegrating supplier innovation is considered an effective strategy to reduce uncertainty at the fuzzy front end (FFE). However, the large number of supplier innovation resources and the task environment forces buying firms to precisely identify more valuable or interesting innovation resources for integration. The impact of the interaction between supplier innovation and task environment on FFE performance needs to be further explored. Therefore, this paper aims to propose a contingency framework to examine the relationship between supplier innovation (technology-push and market-pull) and buying firm’s FFE performance in different task environments, with the aim of clarifying which supplier innovation resources should be integrated to create high FFE performance in the face of an uncertain task environment.Design/methodology/approachSurvey data from new product development team leaders in Chinese high-tech firms were collected and analyzed. Furthermore, using multiple regression analysis, the relationship among supplier innovation, task environment and FFE performance was examined.FindingsThe results show that although both technology-push and market-pull supplier innovation can improve FFE performance, there are significant differences between the influences of these two types of supplier innovation in the face of different task environments.Practical implicationsPractical guidelines are provided for buyer managers on how to effectively identify the “best” supplier innovation resources to improving the effectiveness and efficiency of supplier involvement in the FFE.Originality/valueThis paper deepens the knowledge of identifying supplier innovation resources in the FFE and enriches the research on supplier-enable FFE innovation.

Key considerations and risk management best practice for placenta-derived cell therapy raw materials

Ruth Goldberg joined Pluristem in 2009 and currently serves as Compliance and Methods Validation Manager. Ruth has over 14 years of experience in the biotech industry in several leadership positions. She is skilled in Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Quality Assurance, Quality System, CMC, and Pharmaceutical Industry; a strong education professional with PhD in Cell Biology and Immunology, Technion.Lior Raviv joined Pluristem in 2011 and currently serves as Vice President of Operations & Development. Prior to that Mr Raviv served as Process development engineer and Projects manager and Product development Team leader at Pluristem. Prior to joining Pluristem and during the years 2010–2011, Mr Raviv held the position of R&D Analytical Researcher at Teva Pharmaceutical Industries. Mr. Raviv holds a M.Med.Sec in pharmacology from the Ben Gurion University and a BSc, in Biotechnology engineering from the Ben Gurion University.

Agile Methodology for Product Development A Conceptual Study

Agile is a software development life cycle (SDLC) methodology that is based on smarter and faster operating principles and techniques. The paper aims to review the agile processes, principles, characteristics, and frameworks for the continuous development of the product while controlling the integration, scope, schedule, cost, quality, resources, risk, procurement, and stakeholder management. Traditional product development methods are not much efficient to adjust the rapid changes of the requirements and provide quality products to the stakeholders. Using agile frameworks, the software development team, customers, and team leaders work more closely to produce high-quality products responding to the changes rapidly. This paper will also present the background analysis of the agile manifesto and will serve as a guide to indicate the characteristics and framework of Agile which places customer satisfaction at the highest priority. Additionally, it will focus on the advantages and disadvantages of the agile projects for faster and frequent delivery of the development.

Adverse Effects of Leader Family-to-Work Conflict on Team Innovation

Drawing from resource drain theory, this article intends to investigate how and when leader family-to-work conflict (FWC) influences team innovation. We conduct two studies to test our model. In Study 1, we collect cross-sectional data from 107 research and development (R&D) team leaders from an electronic information company in China. In Study 2, we collect multisource and time-lagged data from 112 R&D team leaders and 371 members of a biopharmaceutical firm in China. Our research findings showed that leader FWC negatively affects team innovation via leader creative process engagement. Leader perceived organizational support (POS) alleviates the negative effect of leader FWC on leader creative process engagement. Leader POS also weakens the negative effect of leader FWC on team innovation via leader creative process engagement. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these results for team innovation, FWC, and POS.

Effectiveness of the women’s development team leaders in delivering nutrition education on pulse sprouting in Southern Ethiopia

Effectively implemented nutrition education can provide participants with the knowledge and skills to make healthy food choices in the context of their lifestyles and economic resources. In Ethiopia, the government equips health extension workers (HEWs) to provide nutrition education to communities by enabling HEWs to transfer knowledge to women’s development team leaders (WDTLs) who in turn share the knowledge with the one-to-five network leaders (1-5NWL) and members. The objective of this study was to examine the effectiveness of WDTLs in delivering nutrition education to women as the intervention group (IG). This was compared to having trained HEWs educate women directly (the positive control group, PCG), and having women receive no specific education (negative control group, NCG). A cluster randomized trial design was used. Three kebeles (villages of 5000 people) were purposively selected from which the WDTLs were randomly selected and their respective 1-5NWL and members were participants. Nutrition education to teach pulse sprouting was provided every other week for 6 months to intervention and positive control groups. Focus group discussions and demonstrations were held to reinforce knowledge and skills. Knowledge, attitude and practice (KAP) of the women were evaluated pre and post-intervention. At baseline all three groups had similar low scores in KAP. After the education intervention, knowledge improved in IG compared to PCG (p=0.009), and both were greater than NCG (p=0.001). Attitude in IG improved more in PCG (p=0.008) and both increased compared to NCG (p=0.001). Practices improved, similarly, in IG and PCG (p=0.084) after intervention, and both were better than NCG (p=0.001). From this study, we conclude that nutrition education delivered through WDTLs, as is intended in communities in Ethiopia having HEWs, was more effective than delivery by HEWs alone. Nutrition education on pulse sprouting has the potential to bring positive changes on KAP of rural women who depend on this processing skill to provide nutritious foods for their families.

Evaluating the Situation of Environmental Culture’s Reproduction in Rural Areas (Case Study: A Pilot of Carbon Sequestration Project in Jazmourian)

Evaluating the Situation of Environmental Culture’s Reproduction in Rural Areas (Case Study: A Pilot of Carbon Sequestration Project in Jazmourian)

Alignment between social and technical capability in software development teams

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to highlight the importance of alignment at the team level. Because teams are important in software development projects, the paper focuses on studying the influence of alignment between the social and technical capabilities on software development team performance. Drawing on socio‐technical theory and software product development literature, the paper aims to identify social and technical capabilities for software development teams.Design/methodology/approachEmpirical data from 192 software development teams were analyzed. The profile deviation approach was used to calculate alignment.FindingsThe findings suggest that misalignment between capabilities negatively impacts product and process performance.Research limitations/implicationsThe study provides an intellectually coherent view in studying software development team performance. The study contributes to the literature by assessing alignment needs at the team level.Practical implicationsThe study provides a holistic view for studying team capabilities and guides software development team leaders and managers to consider both the social and technical aspects in assessing team performance.Originality/valueAlignment or misalignment is mostly studied in the literature from a macro level/organizational perspective. There exists a gap in the literature for studying alignment at more granular levels such as between various business sub‐units or within teams. The study addresses the gap by studying alignment within teams.

The influence of market orientation on new product success

PurposeThis research seeks to investigate key determinants of new product success (NPS) from the perspective of new product development (NPD) team leaders in the electronics industry in China. A model is proposed investigating the interplay among elements of market orientation and the moderating effects of customer and competitor orientations on the relationship between R&D‐Marketing cooperation and NPS.Design/methodology/approachData were collected from 217 respondents to an online questionnaire that had been sent to 3,000 potential participants randomly selected from electronics firms across China. Regression analysis was used to analyse the data.FindingsResults from the research support the hypotheses that NPS is driven by R&D‐Marketing cooperation, customer and competitor orientations. Also, the association between R&D‐Marketing cooperation and NPS is moderated by customer and competitor orientations.Practical implicationsThis research confirms the positive role that R&D‐Marketing cooperation plays in NPS and the moderating effects of customer and competitor orientations on the association between R&D‐Marketing cooperation and NPS. The findings are of relevance to management practitioners as developing successful new products has become an ever more pressing issue in the wake of rising labour cost and increasing market competition.Originality/valuePrevious NPD literature has focused primarily on NPD activities in Western and developed countries. This research fills the research gap by identifying the empirical links between R&D‐Marketing cooperation and NPS. It is the first to examine the moderating effects of customer and competitor orientations in the relationship between R&D‐Marketing cooperation and NPS of electronics firms in China.

Collaborative research between academia and industry using a large clinical trial database: a case study in Alzheimer's disease

BackgroundLarge clinical trials databases, developed over the course of a comprehensive clinical trial programme, represent an invaluable resource for clinical researchers. Data mining projects sponsored by industry that use these databases, however, are often not viewed favourably in the academic medical community because of concerns that commercial, rather than scientific, goals are the primary purpose of such endeavours. Thus, there are few examples of sustained collaboration between leading academic clinical researchers and industry professionals in a large-scale data mining project. We present here a successful example of this type of collaboration in the field of dementia.MethodsThe Donepezil Data Repository comprised 18 randomised, controlled trials conducted between 1991 and 2005. The project team at Pfizer determined that the data mining process should be guided by a diverse group of leading Alzheimer's disease clinical researchers called the "Expert Working Group." After development of a list of potential faculty members, invitations were extended and a group of seven members was assembled. The Working Group met regularly with Eisai/Pfizer clinicians and statisticians to discuss the data, identify issues that were currently of interest in the academic and clinical communities that might lend themselves to investigation using these data, and note gaps in understanding or knowledge of Alzheimer's disease that these data could address. Leadership was provided by the Pfizer Clinical Development team leader; Working Group members rotated responsibility for being lead and co-lead for each investigation and resultant publication.ResultsSix manuscripts, each published in a leading subspecialty journal, resulted from the group's work. Another project resulted in poster presentations at international congresses and two were cancelled due to resource constraints.ConclusionsThe experience represents a particular approach to optimising the value of data mining of large clinical trial databases for the combined purpose of furthering clinical research and improving patient care. Fruitful collaboration between industry and academia was fostered while the donepezil data repository was used to advance clinical and scientific knowledge. The Expert Working Group approach warrants consideration as a blueprint for conducting similar research ventures in the future.

Microfilm Serial Backfiles: Are They Still Cost Effective?

For the past thirty years libraries have made serials backfile decisions based on an understanding that microfilm is a more cost effective format than bound print journals. Yet with the rising cost of microfilm, is this still the case? In spring 2002, the collection development team leader at the Florida Gulf Coast University Library compared the costs of microfilm and bound print serial backfiles, and also how those two mediums compared with costs of a stable electronic backfile collection. The author presented the results in a poster session at the 17th annual conference of the North American Serials Interest Group in Williamsburg, Virginia, June 20–23, 2002, and then recalculated all statistics prior to publication in this article. Serials Review 2003; 29:282–286.

Microfilm Serial Backfiles

For the past thirty years libraries have made serials backfile decisions based on an understanding that microfilm is a more cost effective format than bound print journals. Yet with the rising cost of microfilm, is this still the case? In spring 2002, the collection development team leader at the Florida Gulf Coast University Library compared the costs of microfilm and bound print serial backfiles, and also how those two mediums compared with costs of a stable electronic backfile collection. The author presented the results in a poster session at the 17th annual conference of the North American Serials Interest Group in Williamsburg, Virginia, June 20–23, 2002, and then recalculated all statistics prior to publication in this article. Serials Review 2003; 29:282–286.

Needs and Outcomes in an Executive Development Program

The processes and outcomes associated with an executive assessment program for development were evaluated in a field setting. Data concerning the activities of 104 executive-level managers were drawn from three sources: program participants, development team leaders, and professional assessors. Factors affecting program processes and outcomes were grouped into two classes, personal and situational. Development activity and outcomes showed positive relationships to several personal factors, especially motivation, self-efficacy, and preference for intrinsic incentives. Development activity also showed positive relationships to situational factors, especially interpersonal support. Additional analyses examined how rater perspective affected measures of development and how different operationalizations of development might alter conclusions. Implications for promoting the success of an executive assessment and development program were discussed.

Communication patterns of new product development team leaders

Communication patterns of new product development team leaders

Successful new product team leaders

This article examines differences between more and less effective new product development team leaders. We found that successful leaders understood and accepted project goals, perceived more autonomy in managing their projects, and perceived more senior management support for their projects. Moreover, successful leaders learned significantly different lessons from their projects than their less successful colleagues. A discussion of the results, along with several implications for new product development, is presented.

Communications patterns of new product development team leaders

A study of the communication patterns of two types of new-product development (NPD) team leaders, operating and innovating, is reported. Specific attention is given to differences in the leaders' communication with team members and with external groups. The results indicate that the communication patterns of NPD team leaders depend on the type of team and the informational demands of the project. This can help NPD team leaders focus on communicating about issues specific to their task and communicating with specific groups who can help the team achieve its goals. It is shown that degree of success differentiates the communication patterns of team leaders, particularly within operating types of teams. >