Map
Framework

Input-process-outcome team model

The question it answers

When a team underperforms, what should a team leader or manager check in its inputs (members, team, organisation) and in how members work together?

Origin
Mathieu et al., 2008; Ilgen et al., 2005
Diagram type
Process by phase
Level of analysis
Team
Topics
Change management
Clay steps with a looping glass arrow, icon for change management

Diagram

Input-process-outcome team model

  1. Inputs
  2. MembersIndividual characteristics, such as competencies and personality.
  3. TeamTask structure and the influence of leaders outside the team.
  4. Organisation and contextOrganisational design features and environmental complexity.
  5. Processes
  6. Team processesHow members interact to accomplish the task; they show how inputs are turned into outcomes.
  7. Emergent statesAdded by the IMO model: cognitive, motivational or affective states of the team, such as potency, psychological safety and collective affect.
  8. Outcomes
  9. PerformanceQuality and quantity of the team's work.
  10. Members' reactionsSatisfaction, commitment and the viability of the team.

When to use it, and when not to

Use it when

Mathieu et al. (2008) observe that IPO and its derivatives suit teams with a given set of members, a clearly defined boundary, a set period of time and a quantifiable output or service. Modern organisational designs call that fit into question.

Pitfalls

Pitfall

Reading the model as a one-way line. Ilgen et al. (2005) give three limits of IPO: many mediators are not processes but emergent cognitive or affective states; it implies a single linear cycle, whereas outcomes such as performance later act as inputs; and links between the variable groups may be nonlinear or conditional. They propose IMOI (input, mediator, output, input).

Sources

References

Listed A–Z by author surname, Harvard style. A source with a DOI links to https://doi.org/…; one without links to its page or says plainly that it has no DOI.

  1. Ilgen, D.R. et al. (2005) ‘Teams in organizations: from input-process-output models to IMOI models’, Annual Review of Psychology, 56, pp. 517–543.doi:10.1146/annurev.psych.56.091103.070250Source page
  2. Mathieu, J. et al. (2008) ‘Team effectiveness 1997-2007: a review of recent advancements and a glimpse into the future’, Journal of Management, 34(3), pp. 410–476.doi:10.1177/0149206308316061Source page