Page 23 - Principles of Catalyst Development

4 Principles of Applied Reservoir Simulation

[Chapter 9.3; Jefferys and Berger, 1992] are essential to this process, as is an
understanding of how individuals can most effectively contribute to the modeling
effort.

1.2 Management of Simulation Studies

Ideally, specialists from different disciplines will work together as a team
to develop a meaningful reservoir model. Team development proceeds in well
known stages [Sears, 1994]:
+ Introductions: Getting to know each other
4 "Storming": Team members disagree over how to proceed
0 Members can lose sight of goals
4 "Norming": Members set standards for team productivity
4 "Performing": Team members understand
0 what each member can contribute
<> how the team works best
Proper management recognizes these stages and allows time for the team
building process to mature.
Modem simulation studies of major fields are performed by teams that
function as project teams in a matrix management organization. Matrix
management is synonymous here with Project Management and has two distinct
characteristics:
4 "Cross-functional organization with members from different work areas
who take on a project." [Staff-JPT, 1994]
+ "One employee is accountable to two or more superiors, which can
cause difficulties for managers and employees." [Staff-JPT, 1994]
To alleviate potential problems, the project team should be constituted such that:
+ Each member of the team is assigned a different task.
4 All members work toward the same goal.
Team members should have unique roles to avoid redundant functions. If the
responsibilities of two or more members of the team overlap considerably,
confusion may ensue with regard to areas of responsibility and, by implication,
of accountability. Each team member must be the key decision maker in a
particular discipline, otherwise disputes may not get resolved in the time avail-