When preparing specifications by grouping similar activities into functional areas, staff should be grouped into what?

• A. Project-oriented teams
• B. Cross-functional teams
• C. Specialist pods
• D. Matrix groups

Answer: (B)

Organizing staff into cross-functional teams aligns with grouping activities into functional areas because it brings together people from different disciplines who share the function’s goals. This mix ensures the team can address all aspects of the function—design, operation, maintenance, safety, and lifecycle considerations—within a single unit, leading to more integrated and feasible specifications. Communication improves, handoffs are reduced, and ownership is clearer, since the team collaborates across the necessary skills to define requirements and validate interfaces.

Project-oriented teams tend to be temporary and focused on a single project, which can fragment ongoing functional work. Specialist pods concentrate narrowly on particular expertise and can create silos within a function. Matrix groups introduce dual authority, which can blur accountability and complicate decision-making.