Effective Virtual Projects

EffectiveVirtualProjects
The ability to execute virtual projects – projects where the team members seldom or never meet physically – is becoming an increasingly important capability for international organizations. This paper:

identifies five factors that determine the success or failure of virtual projects
discusses how to build the capability to execute virtual projects effectively, including those currently thought too small to be viable.

Nick Fryars, September 2009

Powerful factors driving virtual workinginclude globalization, economic crisis and climate change
Competition
Globalization
Cost reduction
VIRTUAL WORKING
Economic crisis
Travel reduction
CO2 reduction
Climate change
Photo: Tandberg;WebEx screenshot: Cisco Corporation
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No dominant model on the supply sideSignificant activity and competition has not yet led to coherent suites of technology to support virtual projects effectively
MAJOR ‘FAMILIES’simplified
Lots of market activity but:

Rapidly changing offerings & price levels
No truly coherent suites
Typically a rigid feature set in mid-market offerings

Videoconferencing
Project Information& Document Stores
Webconferencing
Common results:

Technology and work styles do not match
Expensive technology initiatives do not deliver on business case
Virtual projects fail

Microsoft Office suite(and clones)
Images: Tandberg; Citrix Online; Cisco; Adobe; Microsoft; Sourceforge
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The greatest potential is in smaller projectsThe dominance of traditional approaches to managing projects in large organizations creates an unnecessary ‘cost floor’ for global projects
Characteristics of Global Projects
Professionalization & formalization of Project Management
Cost floortypically €1.5M
Minimum NPVtypically €5M
Physical meetings  logistic complexity, long lead times
Physical meetings,e-mail communications
$€
High travel costs
Minimum project office size typically 4
Cost floortypically €600k
Minimum NPVtypically €2.5M
Virtualization can reduce project expenses drasticallyand thus lower the ‘floor’ at which global projects are viable
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So why isn’t everybody doing it?Recent experiences in several major organizations suggest thatfive factors can ‘make or break’ a virtual project
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Clear criteria that candidate projects must meetFiltering criteria distinguish those projects that are promisingcandidates from those that need a different approach
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Rigorously applied ‘rules of the game’Members of a distributed team have less in common thanmembers of a co-located team and thus need more steering
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Differentpressures
Framework for awareness of others’ position, including:

Details on context: e.g. organization, role, targets
See others as people: photo, video, personal stuff
Training on handling cultural differences

Differentpriorities
Misinterpretations
Culturalmismatches
Conflicts
Multiple different contexts
Reliable progress measurement & reporting:

Detail & overview
To all stakeholders
Monitored by Steering Group

Many stakeholders
Ease of ignoringcommitments
Explicit control of team‘rules of engagement’:

Make process explicit
Confirm decisions clearly
Monitor conformance& intervene proactively

Team developmentmay not be synchronizedacross locations

An adequate and stable toolsetThe toolset should provide good visualization/collaboration capabilities, plus structured information sharing, and above all be stable
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Mind map example from Biggerplate.com

Keep the toolset simple and stable
Don’t change a good design for a trivial new feature…
…and if you must make a change, tell everybody what, why and when

Constraint: limitations of communication via computer screen
Use tools that provide good support for on-line meetings & workshops
Issue – “yet another” environment for users
Tailor & structure a project environment to be intuitive and ‘idiot proof’: limit the number of functions to be learned
Screen shots: Microsoft ® SharePoint, Projectplace

Competences to operate and supportSuccessful deployment of virtual projects requires additionsto the corporate skill set
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Paths to successDemonstration projects ‘show the way’ by giving managers ofvirtual projects examples & practices to follow
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Any ambitious project managerwants to succeed…
…by providing lessons learned by others…
Demonstration projects can help provide a clear path to success…
…plus proven approaches and templates
…and not crash and burn

The above is a standard blueprint and assumes starting from scratch
Some organizations will already have some pieces in place, even if not reaping the benefit  tailoring will be required
Whatever the start point, building the capability is key to future success

An international organization that cannot master virtual projects is unlikely to survive long in tomorrow’s globalized, carbon-restricted and low cost world