It is of no secret that the technological constant developments have affected many aspects of human lives within the last decades.
Managing people in a co-located team differ than a distributed team; the traditional co-located teams require depth understanding for the dynamics of human and social grouping, while dealing with virtual teams has created additional difficulties for management.
In the distributed teams, the spirit of collaboration is harder to be achieved, and the interaction between team members becomes less visible, which definitely would affect achieving the organization objective and the managerial process effectiveness.
Virtual collaboration enables distributed expertise to focus on shared problems with a necessary interfacing through technology.
Quality of interaction is critical for establishing the framework for successful collaboration on any team, virtual or not; however, the usual hurdles of any group of people coming together to tackle difficult problems is exacerbated in virtual groups by having to rely on technology.
For this reason, virtual collaboration should be planned for and supported by the development of specific interaction skills and the technological proficiency that will help ensure project success.
There continues to be a need to understand how technology changes the nature of work and collaboration.
Because of Geographical distance, the biggest challenge that faced the project / program manager is managing a virtual team.
In the following papers, I will shine the light on some tools, techniques, and useful Idea to managing virtual projects.
It’s clear how Incumbent banks are met with unprecedented market forces. Fintech and neobanks—new financial players that offer more and more exciting financial products—are eating up banking market shares. Meanwhile, the growing use of alternative payments such as PayPal, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and so on points to the fact that customers are finding traditional banks inconvenient and untrustworthy. At the same time, people are walking away from physical branches; instead preferring mobile banking for ease and convenience, according to a recent report by Backbase. On top of that, the government continues to encourage Digital Banking, made apparent by the government’s recent directives. These factors may sound like twists and turns that took traditional banks by surprise, yet they point to the refusal to change and innovate in the face of digital disruption. Now that change becomes a matter of life and death for banks, there’s an evident need for a shift in mindset and principle called Design Thinking. This paper looks over the relevance and application of Design Thinking in the banking sector. You will also get to explore how some current banks are applying this method. The promise of Design Thinking for banks proves beyond doubt. Now let’s dive in.
Cross-department Kanban Systems - 3 dimensions of scaling #llkd15Andy Carmichael
Describes Clearvision's journey of adopting Kanban, not just in the software development team but in Marketing and other departments. Uses 3 dimensions of scaling - Width (before and after); Height (different sizes, timescales, decision-making); Depth (interdependent services at the same level)
The feature you're trying to develop, the new ground you're trying to break or the technology you're wrangling with... these things are challenging enough.
To think that additional time and effort needs to be spent managing the very people you're serving feels like a huge waste of resource.
If feels like a burden.
In this talk, delivered at Manchester's first CRAP event (Conversion Rate, Analytics and Product) on 4th December 2018, Chris discussed how collaborative workshops, gamestorming and design thinking methods can achieve buy-in to reduce the burden of stakeholder management.
It’s clear how Incumbent banks are met with unprecedented market forces. Fintech and neobanks—new financial players that offer more and more exciting financial products—are eating up banking market shares. Meanwhile, the growing use of alternative payments such as PayPal, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, and so on points to the fact that customers are finding traditional banks inconvenient and untrustworthy. At the same time, people are walking away from physical branches; instead preferring mobile banking for ease and convenience, according to a recent report by Backbase. On top of that, the government continues to encourage Digital Banking, made apparent by the government’s recent directives. These factors may sound like twists and turns that took traditional banks by surprise, yet they point to the refusal to change and innovate in the face of digital disruption. Now that change becomes a matter of life and death for banks, there’s an evident need for a shift in mindset and principle called Design Thinking. This paper looks over the relevance and application of Design Thinking in the banking sector. You will also get to explore how some current banks are applying this method. The promise of Design Thinking for banks proves beyond doubt. Now let’s dive in.
Cross-department Kanban Systems - 3 dimensions of scaling #llkd15Andy Carmichael
Describes Clearvision's journey of adopting Kanban, not just in the software development team but in Marketing and other departments. Uses 3 dimensions of scaling - Width (before and after); Height (different sizes, timescales, decision-making); Depth (interdependent services at the same level)
The feature you're trying to develop, the new ground you're trying to break or the technology you're wrangling with... these things are challenging enough.
To think that additional time and effort needs to be spent managing the very people you're serving feels like a huge waste of resource.
If feels like a burden.
In this talk, delivered at Manchester's first CRAP event (Conversion Rate, Analytics and Product) on 4th December 2018, Chris discussed how collaborative workshops, gamestorming and design thinking methods can achieve buy-in to reduce the burden of stakeholder management.
Agile software development has proven to be more successful than traditional methods. However there are many Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP). It is difficult to make a right choice.
Do you want to know the differences between Scrum and Lean? Perhaps you struggle with your existing Scrum implementation and looking for a better methodology. So did I. I spent many hours looking for continuous improvement beyond Retrospectives and Sprint Reviews. And I found my answer in applying Lean Principles.
This session will help you to increase your understanding of Lean and Scrum. It will also give you some practical examples of implementing Lean in Scrum teams.
How Cryptocurrencies Work was given by Mr Samrand Haji, a Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Enthusiast. He focused on how Crypto systems work and how they are decentralized to develop the security side of the Blockchain system. How to create a personal account for different e-currencies, how the mining process generates new coins and transactions, and the future of cryptocurrencies in the region was also discussed.
How Cryptocurrencies work. The workshop covers the followings:
• What is Cryptocurrency and blockchain?
• Different types of common Cryptocurrency
• How do mining and the whole process work?
• Investing in cryptocurrency
• Future of cryptocurrency in Kurdistan and Iraq
I gave a talk on the role of Design Thinking to leaders in the financial industry. The focus was on user centric thinking to innovate financial products and digital services. (all case material is removed)
Scrum vs Kanban | What are the differences between Scrum and Kanban | EdurekaEdureka!
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/GLFuzBiy18o
** Certified Scrum Master Training: https://www.edureka.co/certified-scrum-master-certification-training **
This Edureka PPT on "Scrum vs Kanban" tell you about both of the said AGILE-based Frameworks. You will get an overview of the principles and practices of Scrum and Kanban and how they are similar to and different from each other.
What is Scrum?
What is Kanban?
How are they similar?
How are they different?
Scrum vs Kanban
Which one should you choose?
Follow us to never miss an update in the future.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/edurekaIN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edureka_learning/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edurekaIN/
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Castbox: https://castbox.fm/networks/505?country=in
Introduction to Kanban for Knowledge Work: Kanban is emerging in Software Development and IT Operations as a method of improving transparency, predictability, and value. Learn how to get started with Kanban. See how Kanban can help you achieve the benefits of Pull, Value-Focus, and Capability-Improvement. Find out if Kanban is right for you.
Project Management is a well defined concept found in many guidebooks and Bodies of Knowledge. Putting these guides and BOK’s to work for the benefit of the enterprise is the role of Project Governance
From project to product mindset and onwards to product platform architecturesJorn Bettin
Is it possible to stay innovative and economically manage many hundreds or even thousands of products or product variants?
Organisations interested in benefiting from a product line and product platform approach must adopt values and organisational principles that encourage the development of deep domain expertise. This includes a deep understanding of the forces that continuously change the environment of the product line. These forces can then be harnessed as part of the architectural foundation for the product line.
The pervasive digitisation of services and the desire to create and operate platforms that can support large digital service ecosystems that include many organisations, have put the spotlight on design principles for product lines, product platforms, and related organisational structures.
These slides relate to a talk at ProductTank Auckland (https://www.meetup.com/ProductTank-Auckland/events/252496542/). The video recording is available at https://twitter.com/pmauckland/status/1021272934416109568.
Kanban 101 workshop by John Goodsen and Michael Sahota.
This covers everything you will need to know to play Russell Healy's Kanban Game: visualizing the work, metrics, and creating explicit policies.
Slides are available on request. Please email me.
Understand how command & control release plans create false hopes and low quality products because there is no team buy-in.
Learn how to develop vision and use your your vision to drive the release plan workshop. Use patterns to validate your release.
Lastly you must learn from your release plan and improve the next release (inspect & adapt).
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, and discusses how to build the capability to execute virtual projects effectively, including those currently thought too small to be viable.
Agile software development has proven to be more successful than traditional methods. However there are many Agile methodologies (Scrum, Kanban, Lean, XP). It is difficult to make a right choice.
Do you want to know the differences between Scrum and Lean? Perhaps you struggle with your existing Scrum implementation and looking for a better methodology. So did I. I spent many hours looking for continuous improvement beyond Retrospectives and Sprint Reviews. And I found my answer in applying Lean Principles.
This session will help you to increase your understanding of Lean and Scrum. It will also give you some practical examples of implementing Lean in Scrum teams.
How Cryptocurrencies Work was given by Mr Samrand Haji, a Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Enthusiast. He focused on how Crypto systems work and how they are decentralized to develop the security side of the Blockchain system. How to create a personal account for different e-currencies, how the mining process generates new coins and transactions, and the future of cryptocurrencies in the region was also discussed.
How Cryptocurrencies work. The workshop covers the followings:
• What is Cryptocurrency and blockchain?
• Different types of common Cryptocurrency
• How do mining and the whole process work?
• Investing in cryptocurrency
• Future of cryptocurrency in Kurdistan and Iraq
I gave a talk on the role of Design Thinking to leaders in the financial industry. The focus was on user centric thinking to innovate financial products and digital services. (all case material is removed)
Scrum vs Kanban | What are the differences between Scrum and Kanban | EdurekaEdureka!
YouTube Link: https://youtu.be/GLFuzBiy18o
** Certified Scrum Master Training: https://www.edureka.co/certified-scrum-master-certification-training **
This Edureka PPT on "Scrum vs Kanban" tell you about both of the said AGILE-based Frameworks. You will get an overview of the principles and practices of Scrum and Kanban and how they are similar to and different from each other.
What is Scrum?
What is Kanban?
How are they similar?
How are they different?
Scrum vs Kanban
Which one should you choose?
Follow us to never miss an update in the future.
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/edurekaIN
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/edureka_learning/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/edurekaIN/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/edurekain
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/edureka
Castbox: https://castbox.fm/networks/505?country=in
Introduction to Kanban for Knowledge Work: Kanban is emerging in Software Development and IT Operations as a method of improving transparency, predictability, and value. Learn how to get started with Kanban. See how Kanban can help you achieve the benefits of Pull, Value-Focus, and Capability-Improvement. Find out if Kanban is right for you.
Project Management is a well defined concept found in many guidebooks and Bodies of Knowledge. Putting these guides and BOK’s to work for the benefit of the enterprise is the role of Project Governance
From project to product mindset and onwards to product platform architecturesJorn Bettin
Is it possible to stay innovative and economically manage many hundreds or even thousands of products or product variants?
Organisations interested in benefiting from a product line and product platform approach must adopt values and organisational principles that encourage the development of deep domain expertise. This includes a deep understanding of the forces that continuously change the environment of the product line. These forces can then be harnessed as part of the architectural foundation for the product line.
The pervasive digitisation of services and the desire to create and operate platforms that can support large digital service ecosystems that include many organisations, have put the spotlight on design principles for product lines, product platforms, and related organisational structures.
These slides relate to a talk at ProductTank Auckland (https://www.meetup.com/ProductTank-Auckland/events/252496542/). The video recording is available at https://twitter.com/pmauckland/status/1021272934416109568.
Kanban 101 workshop by John Goodsen and Michael Sahota.
This covers everything you will need to know to play Russell Healy's Kanban Game: visualizing the work, metrics, and creating explicit policies.
Slides are available on request. Please email me.
Understand how command & control release plans create false hopes and low quality products because there is no team buy-in.
Learn how to develop vision and use your your vision to drive the release plan workshop. Use patterns to validate your release.
Lastly you must learn from your release plan and improve the next release (inspect & adapt).
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, and discusses how to build the capability to execute virtual projects effectively, including those currently thought too small to be viable.
Final Project Implementing Data Masking the Coca-Co.docxtjane3
Final Project: Implementing Data Masking the Coca-Cola Company
DeVry Keller Graduate School of Management
MIS
540
Dr. Evan Escobedo
June 23, 2019
Running head: FINAL PROJECT: IMPLEMENTING DATA MASKING THE 1
FINAL PROJECT: IMPLEMENTING DATA MASKING THE 2
Table of Contents
Executive summary3
Introduction4
Project plan5
Project sponsor5
Steering committee5
Project manager5
Project team members6
Skills required by the project manager6
Reasons that could lead to project failure6
Planned work that might be outsourced7
Coca-Cola Company organizational background7
Business problems for Coca-Cola Company8
Overview of technology solution category9
Alternative solutions and recommendations10
Blancco Drive Eraser10
Technical specifications for Blancco Drive Eraser11
WipeDrive12
When to use WipeDrive12
Performance Measurement plan13
Organizational Impact of the solution14
Summary15
References17
Final Project: Implementing Data Masking the Coca-Cola Company
Executive summary
This paper elaborates on data masking as one of the techniques used by corporations to protect their data from access by malicious entities. The technique is described as attempts to obfuscate the data by applying a series of encryption processes so that one cannot easily decrypt the data unless they have special pass codes enabling them to do so. This process will be implemented by The Coca-Cola Company to prevent data insecurity that is a challenge in the online world we are living in.
To make sure that the implementation works, there must be a proper working project plan. The project plan outlines the various stakeholders for the project including; the project steering committee, project sponsor, project leader, and others with their roles clearly stated. There are qualities that must be possessed by the project manager for them to lead a successful project from beginning to end within the cost and time frame. A successful implementation of the data masking project by The Coca-Cola Company will help them in improving their decision making. Additionally, the implemented solution will lead to new business innovations. This is because, when the company’s information will be utterly protected, it will not be used by competing companies or other malicious individuals for their own gains (Dhar et al., 2005). As a result, The Coca-Cola Company will be able to use their private data for market analysis and hence come up with innovative ideas that have not been discovered by competitors in the market. This shows that data masking will indeed go a long way in ensuring The Coca-Cola Company gets greater advantage in the long run as far as competitiveness in the market is concerned.
Introduction
The purpose of this report is to show how our selected technology will be implemented effectively in our selected company so that it guarantees maximum success and becomes an effective tool for data security. As we already know, our selected company is The.
In this research & guide on "How to effectively apply digital project management to organisational innovation culture", I will be sharing the best findings how to manage a team of creative professionals within an innovation organization. Highlighting the skills needed for effective digital project management, the types of organization project management for digital innovation culture & the phases & processes when implementing Digital Project management for innovation culture.
Interaction Room - Creating Space for Developments (Software Projects)adesso Turkey
The Interaction Room serves several purposes:
1) The focus on mission-critical aspects
2) Identification and elimination of risks associated with intuitive visualization methods at an early stage
3) Improving teamwork and the establishment of joint project responsibility between the IT and specialist departments.
The Interaction Room makes the relationships between processes, data and the application environment transparent and creates the basis for efficient decision-making processes. It is a method which steers the interest of those involved in the project’s progress and contributes to ensuring that all participants continuously work on the vision of the software that is being developed. The Interaction Room is not a theoretical concept but has proven itself in the business environment, as can be seen in successful projects in which the Interaction Room has already been used effectively.
In this blog, we'll explore the exciting world of hiring remote developers and why accountability is key. We'll debunk misconceptions, such as thinking remote work is less productive. Get ready to uncover the secrets to successful remote collaborations! We'll discuss setting clear expectations, using project management tools, and defining measurable milestones. Plus, we'll share tips on building trust and rapport. So, if you're ready to hire developers and make remote work work for you, let's dive in!
For more information visit our blog https://thebigblogs.com/ensure-accountability-with-remote-developers/
How To Maximize Productivity Using Project Management Software_.pdfJay Das
Project management software is a transformative tool that can propel your team towards unparalleled levels of productivity. By centralizing collaboration, streamlining communication, and providing real-time insights, these platforms empower teams to tackle projects with precision and efficiency.
All about project communications management.
project communication management process
communication planning
information distribution
performance reporting
administrative closure
improving project communication
Proactive steps to ensure the success of the next ERP project.
The main goal of this presentation is to provide learned lessons and project recommendations
by assessing the failure of Avon order managementsystem project from an IT projectmanagement perspective
Organizations can establish a consistent method for determining if projects are having an adverse impact on the IT portfolio, are failing and need to be shut down.
Specific criteria and data to be collected and analyzed may include the following:
The main goal of this presentation is to draw the roadmap of the methodology of implementing the Knowledge Management at the HCL’s prospective customersTaking advantage of longexperience and HCL developed KM tools .
While the main processes of knowledge management is a challenge in the organizations, it must be some technical tools to help organization to enhance their service and create competitive advantage.
In the following papers, I will explore some tools and social Medias that influence the Knowledge Management in the organizations.
Effectiveness of knowledge management depends on how knowledge management process are aligned with an organizations infrastructure and processes that supports the achievement of organizations goals. To understand and represent relationships a simple list of elements and process is scanty, we need a holistic framework where all are integrated into a dynamic framework. The proposed framework is particularly focused on dividing the identified organizational building blocks into their constituent elements along both time and content dimensions to define characteristics of these elements, and it also define the relationships between the organizations to form a social ecology in which people effectively create share and use knowledge in business management. In this way, the developed framework can assist management to understand the true nature of the relationship that exist between an organization and knowledge management process, and exploit them for an organizations success.
The Alexandria Hospital is a small public hospital found in the Midwestern part of Singapore. The hospital that was established as a British Military Hospital in 1938 and after serving for thirty-three years was handed to the Singapore government by the British administration and renamed to Alexandria Hospital.
The hospital has undertaken many initiatives to upgrade its major facilities to serve the patients better. It began rethink how to enhance patient services via the exploitation of technology.
The decision was to implement the Clinical Digital Dashboard (CDD) and the Clinical Connection Suite (CCS).
Although they were pressured from the Health Minister challenge to form a health care center that provides continuous focus on patients, But the main objectives of implementing these system were to include all patient's issues in one database to improve the hospital operation and delivering a seamless, safe, and patient centric health care...
GFS Crane from GreenField Software provides a complete range of DCIM capabilities: data center modeling, facilities and IT infrastructure monitoring, provisioning, capacity planning, asset management, energy efficiency and sustainability reporting.
GFS Crane is an ERP for Data Centers, allocating and optimizing key resources – power, space, cooling and networks.
The software from India-based GreenField Software helps data centers control capital costs, reduce operating expenses, and mitigate the risks of data center failures.
Green IT should be a big part of any enterprise sustainability strategy with a strong focus on reducing energy usage.
Business leaders look for ways to reduce costs by minimizing energy usage, carbon emissions and waste. Technology can play a big part in providing the solutions.
IT Projects are typically complex undertakings where requirements, and their gathering from often multiple stakeholders, can often be difficult. The practice of Quality Management during the course of IT Projects should, in theory, lead to better governance and overall outcomes. This paper explores four individual IT Projects and details the methods of qualification gathering, stakeholder engagement and overall Quality Management employed. Following this is a review of the common themes found in each project and a discussion on their application from a Quality Management perspective.
The content:
The Challenge Today IN Oil & Gas Industry.
Supply Chain link in the oil and gas industry
Oil & Gas business process issues.
Factors that erodes customer and shareholder value
The suggested solutions
Conclusion
References
A prototype of adopting the Internet Of Things (IoT) in Dairy Farms.
This prototype was prepared to practicing in PROTOTYPE CHALLENGE of course " TOUCH IOT WITH SAP LEONARDO"
The Idea and prototype prepared by:
Monzer Osama
IoT@MonzerOsama.com
05/07/2017
The overview about some challenges in construction industry.
How to Improve project outcomes using Microsoft Project Online
How to enable team involvement and Boost collaboration.
How to make smarter decisions using the Business intelligent tools.
The main goal of this presentation is to study three large information systems projects that failed over the last five years and identify the reasons of failure and derive the challenges and recommendations for IS strategists.
The main goal of this presentation is to delivering recommendations on Infosys’s IS strategy,
Considering the Design Thinking as a Strategy for Innovation within Infosys.
Specific ServPoints should be tailored for restaurants in all food service segments. Your ServPoints should be the centerpiece of brand delivery training (guest service) and align with your brand position and marketing initiatives, especially in high-labor-cost conditions.
408-784-7371
Foodservice Consulting + Design
Artificial intelligence (AI) offers new opportunities to radically reinvent the way we do business. This study explores how CEOs and top decision makers around the world are responding to the transformative potential of AI.
The Team Member and Guest Experience - Lead and Take Care of your restaurant team. They are the people closest to and delivering Hospitality to your paying Guests!
Make the call, and we can assist you.
408-784-7371
Foodservice Consulting + Design
The case study discusses the potential of drone delivery and the challenges that need to be addressed before it becomes widespread.
Key takeaways:
Drone delivery is in its early stages: Amazon's trial in the UK demonstrates the potential for faster deliveries, but it's still limited by regulations and technology.
Regulations are a major hurdle: Safety concerns around drone collisions with airplanes and people have led to restrictions on flight height and location.
Other challenges exist: Who will use drone delivery the most? Is it cost-effective compared to traditional delivery trucks?
Discussion questions:
Managerial challenges: Integrating drones requires planning for new infrastructure, training staff, and navigating regulations. There are also marketing and recruitment considerations specific to this technology.
External forces vary by country: Regulations, consumer acceptance, and infrastructure all differ between countries.
Demographics matter: Younger generations might be more receptive to drone delivery, while older populations might have concerns.
Stakeholders for Amazon: Customers, regulators, aviation authorities, and competitors are all stakeholders. Regulators likely hold the greatest influence as they determine the feasibility of drone delivery.
Senior Project and Engineering Leader Jim Smith.pdfJim Smith
I am a Project and Engineering Leader with extensive experience as a Business Operations Leader, Technical Project Manager, Engineering Manager and Operations Experience for Domestic and International companies such as Electrolux, Carrier, and Deutz. I have developed new products using Stage Gate development/MS Project/JIRA, for the pro-duction of Medical Equipment, Large Commercial Refrigeration Systems, Appliances, HVAC, and Diesel engines.
My experience includes:
Managed customized engineered refrigeration system projects with high voltage power panels from quote to ship, coordinating actions between electrical engineering, mechanical design and application engineering, purchasing, production, test, quality assurance and field installation. Managed projects $25k to $1M per project; 4-8 per month. (Hussmann refrigeration)
Successfully developed the $15-20M yearly corporate capital strategy for manufacturing, with the Executive Team and key stakeholders. Created project scope and specifications, business case, ROI, managed project plans with key personnel for nine consumer product manufacturing and distribution sites; to support the company’s strategic sales plan.
Over 15 years of experience managing and developing cost improvement projects with key Stakeholders, site Manufacturing Engineers, Mechanical Engineers, Maintenance, and facility support personnel to optimize pro-duction operations, safety, EHS, and new product development. (BioLab, Deutz, Caire)
Experience working as a Technical Manager developing new products with chemical engineers and packaging engineers to enhance and reduce the cost of retail products. I have led the activities of multiple engineering groups with diverse backgrounds.
Great experience managing the product development of products which utilize complex electrical controls, high voltage power panels, product testing, and commissioning.
Created project scope, business case, ROI for multiple capital projects to support electrotechnical assembly and CPG goods. Identified project cost, risk, success criteria, and performed equipment qualifications. (Carrier, Electrolux, Biolab, Price, Hussmann)
Created detailed projects plans using MS Project, Gant charts in excel, and updated new product development in Jira for stakeholders and project team members including critical path.
Great knowledge of ISO9001, NFPA, OSHA regulations.
User level knowledge of MRP/SAP, MS Project, Powerpoint, Visio, Mastercontrol, JIRA, Power BI and Tableau.
I appreciate your consideration, and look forward to discussing this role with you, and how I can lead your company’s growth and profitability. I can be contacted via LinkedIn via phone or E Mail.
Jim Smith
678-993-7195
jimsmith30024@gmail.com
1. ANAG THE DIGITAL FIRM
April 18, 2014
By: Monzer AL-Shaikh Warak
Under supervision of Prof. Mamata Bhandar
FINAL INTEGRATION PROJECT
IS Project Management
2. 1
VirtualProjectManagement|4/18/2014
Contents
Introduction ………………………………..………………….…………………………. 2
Virtual Vs collected Project teams ………………………….……………….………….. 3
Enhance communication and coordination among virtual project team members …. 4
Problems & Suggestions in virtual project management……..……………………….. 4
Selecting Appropriate Technologies for Team Interactions ……………….………….. 9
Analysis of Other related technique that may use in Virtual Project Management .. 10
Other Ideas may be useful to managing a Virtual Projects ………………..………... 10
Conclusion …………………………………………………..………….………….……. 11
References.…………………………………..………………………………….……….. 12
3. 2
VirtualProjectManagement|4/18/2014
Virtual Project Management
Introduction
It is of no secret that the technological constant developments have affected many
aspects of human lives within the last decades.
Managing people in a co-located team differ than a distributed team; the traditional
co-located teams require depth understanding for the dynamics of human and social
grouping, while dealing with virtual teams has created additional difficulties for
management.
In the distributed teams, the spirit of collaboration is harder to be achieved, and the
interaction between team members becomes less visible, which definitely would
affect achieving the organization objective and the managerial process effectiveness.
Virtual collaboration enables distributed expertise to focus on shared problems with
a necessary interfacing through technology.
Quality of interaction is critical for establishing the framework for successful
collaboration on any team, virtual or not; however, the usual hurdles of any group of
people coming together to tackle difficult problems is exacerbated in virtual groups
by having to rely on technology.
For this reason, virtual collaboration should be planned for and supported by the
development of specific interaction skills and the technological proficiency that will
help ensure project success.
There continues to be a need to understand how technology changes the nature of
work and collaboration.
Because of Geographical distance, the biggest challenge that faced the project /
program manager is managing a virtual team.
In the following papers, I will shine the light on some tools, techniques, and useful
Idea to managing virtual projects.
4. 3
VirtualProjectManagement|4/18/2014
Virtual Vs collected Project teams
Both virtual and collected teams should follow the known managerial process of
implementing projects, such as planning and monitoring & controlling. In addition,
both projects have clear objectives that should be achieved in accordance to the
organization strategy and vision.
The main difference between managing the traditional projects and the virtual ones
is about the human resource allocation.
The two types of teams have the same intent to achieve the project goals and
deliverables, but each one use a unique tools and collaborative approach.
In the virtual environments, the focus needs to be more on how to make actions and
take decisions, as the communication process cannot be smooth as in the traditional
projects especially when working in different geographical regions and/or across
different time zones.
In contrast to the face-to-face communication, the virtual communication adds more
and more constrains on the project manager role and his/her team leaders.
One of the most important challenges may face the virtual team management is to
ensure that every one participate to the best they can offer, with virtual projects
success will not come from the tight managerial.
With the virtual based projects the projects interfaces should be self-directed rather
than relay on external control or supervision, each project manager should be a
facilitator more than being a director.
In the co-located projects, decisions often being taken by holding brainstorming
sessions or discussion groups, while the virtual team members lack such kind of
connection feeling and most spend additional time and efforts to bring attention to
the new news and enhance sustainability.
5. 4
VirtualProjectManagement|4/18/2014
Enhance communication and coordination among virtual project
team members
One of the most important challenges may face virtual team members is the differ in
cultures, different people from different backgrounds, they may speak different
languages and share various values
It's essential for project manager in virtual environments to avoid communication
gaps and overarch barrier , such activity should be during the offline periods
meaning out of the working sessions , for that purpose phone calls or Skype contact
could enhance the human interaction between the PM and the team members and the
team members themselves.
During the grouping, process of people there should be a consideration to the
different time zones and geographical locations.
Problems & Suggestions in virtual project management
A recent study has identified the following obstacles virtual teams may face some of
them summarized in the below figure:
6. 5
VirtualProjectManagement|4/18/2014
The human behavior can be influenced by a number of different factors, including
corporate culture, organizational processes and technological Infrastructure.
Therefore, it is important to analyze each of the challenges described, and decide the
proper tools that handle this challenge.
1. Language barriers
A language barrier exists where team members with different native
languages cooperate within a project.
Although proficiency in a common working language (e.g. English) helps to
reduce the problem, there will always be an increased potential for
miscommunication and conflicts.
The suggested mitigation strategy is to define a main, common working
language in which all processes, practices and intellectual capital
contributions need to be available, and at the same time to use a technical
solution collaboration that offer the project information in multi-Language.
2. Lack of face-to-face communications
face-to-face meetings help expedite the project flow and reduce risk,
especially in the early project phases, and help build trust, which, provides
benefits at all project stages.
The suggested mitigation strategy is to use Video conferencing; It is a
commonly used method of communication utilized by project teams.
Video conferencing is a two-way communication that allows two or more
parties to collaborate in real-time using audio and video.
It uses telecommunication technologies such as phone lines, cable lines, or
satellite transmission and hardware based technology such as TV, or high
definition cameras, Example of video conferencing solution Microsoft Lync
Skype, WebEx, ooVoo).
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3. Information redundancy
Information redundancy results from the usage of multiple channels of
communication, excess documentation and lack of effective (face-to-face)
communication in virtual teams.
The suggested mitigation strategy is to implementing an online knowledge
management solution that collect an organize the data such as Wiki. Wiki is a
collaborative website with content that can be edited by anyone who has
access to it. Wikis are comprised of a series of links that contain content on
various subject matter that may be added, edited, or deleted by users.
The greatest advantage of a wiki is the concept of its users being easily able to
contribute their knowledge and share it with others, which is invaluable
during any collaboration project.
4. Time
Time becomes a challenge when people are in different geographical
locations, in the worst case with very distant time zones, and need to have
some of their activities synchronized.
For that, the suggested mitigation strategy is to have an online collaboration
Project Management Solution to handle this issue such as Microsoft Project
Online (http://goo.gl/rvPe9 ) Or Project Manager (www.projectmanager.com).
5. Proper security
Communication with team members located in different locations or outside
contractors always bears the risk of confidential data being disclosed or
compromised, especially if this communication is conducted over insecure
channels, such as the Internet.
The suggested mitigation strategy is to define a secure standard for remote
collaboration with resources from outside the organization, and mandate the
use of an agreed security policy on all communications and assets regarding
the common project.
One component of Microsoft Project Online offer a secure communication
between all parties.
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6. Cultural differences
In virtual team the intangible information in communication is lost during
electronic meetings and phone calls or conferences. In additional, many
people feel uncomfortable when leading or working with teams where
members have different cultural backgrounds!
The suggested mitigation strategy is to educate the leaders, and all employees
involved in projects with virtual teams on the challenges and pitfalls of
cultural diversity, one technical solution could be used is Yammer.
Yammer is a private social network that helps employees collaborate across
departments, locations and business apps.
The uses of second life technology would also remove the boundaries of Cultural
differences.
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7. Conflict resolution
In a purely virtual team which has never met and had no chance to build up
trust, conflicts can gain in amplitude and endanger the whole project.
The suggested mitigation strategy is Include face-to-face meetings in
baselines, proper virtual resources
interlock, and cultural diversity
awareness.
One uses of MindMap software is to put
all the project members in the same
page and its offering the knowledge
sharing in Mind mapping style.
8. Trust
The lack of face to face interaction and the inconsistence communications
among virtual team members would be the reason behind the low level of
trust between virtual teams members, in order to build the team trust the PM
should uses effectively the
communication electronic alternatives.
Microsoft Lync is offering such
service securely.
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9. Project team knowledge and cross-team collaboration
The difficulty of sharing information in the virtual environments belongs to the
distributed nature of the team members, with the new technologies, such thing
should not make a challenge for project manager, it is easy to develop a suitable
tool for sharing the information, such as smart phones applications (like:
www.wunderlist.com) , emails, social private communities like Yammer, etc…
Selecting Appropriate Technologies for Team Interactions
Technology is to the virtual team as air is to the co-located team. For co-located
teams, air is the communication medium; for virtual teams, technology is the
communication medium. The tools used for communications are essential and
must be pure and clean and not cause coughing and sickness.
From my experience in Microsoft Project Online & Mindjet, they can fit and
solve all problems I have mentioned.
In addition; both solutions are integrated to each other and can perform an
excellent collaboration environment.
Microsoft Project Online integrated with Microsoft Office 365 that is contains an
extremely important and necessary software in project management such as
(Word, Excel, PowerPoint, outlook, SharePoint and Lync), which make this
solution is a completed toolkit for project virtual project and portfolio
management.
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Analysis of Other related technique that may use in Virtual
Project Management
Type of Tools Strengths Weakness Software example
Wikis
Great number of
participants share their
knowledge
Less control of quality of
content Wikipedia
Twiki
Publicly accessible
Intranets
Information is secure Time extensive to maintain Drupal
DynaPortal
SharePoint
Control of content of
information
Can be expensive to
maintain
Extranets
Information shared with
individuals outside an
organized
Can be expensive to
maintain
Time extensive to maintain
ShareFile
Google Docs
SharePoint
VOIP
Cost effective Lower quality of class Skype
Lync
AT&T VoIP
Security Concerns
Conference Call
Cost effective Loss of non-verbal cues Cisco WebEx
AccuConferenceExternal distractions
Video
Conferencing
Reduce traveling costs Technically difficult to set up Cisco
Telepresence
ooVoo
Can see non-verbal cues Can be expensive
Online Chat Tools
Cost effective Loss of non-verbal cues MSN
Messenger
Google Chat
WhatsUp
Project
Management
Software
Packages
Increased project
organization
Can be expensive Microsoft Project
Online
Base Camp
Collaborative
Project Pier
Other Ideas may be useful to managing a Virtual Projects
Here are five examples of how some virtual project managers have created informal
gathering spots:
Daily five-minute phone calls or video calls with each team member.
Thirty minutes a day is all it takes to have a five-minute phone call with six
team members. For larger teams, either every other day or connecting to key
contacts is suggested.
Creating a virtual water cooler.
By keeping an online open communication, such as chat room, open all the
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time for team members to just hang out. With declaring, "break times,"
"lunch," "game time," "check-in times," etc.
Holding a virtual office hours.
Be online, have open phone lines, and be available at regular times, daily or
weekly.
Creating project challenges and competitions.
The more relevant to the project the better, by making them educational,
interesting and fun.
Creating a proactive professional relationship with each team member.
This isn't saying to become best friends or even liking all the team members.
It's about understanding who they are, what their career is about, and how
they will be able to help with whatever project challenges may arise, now
and in the future.
Conclusion
Project managers utilize Virtual Project Management tools to compensate for not
having the ability to meet in a centralized location. These tools offer a medium for
virtual teams to communicate efficiently while being cost effective. In order for
virtual teams to communicate effectively, the teams must have a common set of
tools to work with throughout the project. To aid in the success of virtual teams,
all processes and procedures should be clearly defined and communicated to each
member as well as having all documents remain accessible to the team members at
all times. All tasks and deliverables must be explicitly documented, clearly defined
and thereafter, communicated to each team member. These actions should occur
during any team project, but are uniquely necessary for virtual project teams.
References
“The Handbook of High-Performance Virtual Teams A toolkit for collaborating across boundaries", chapter
four, By: John Wiley & Sons, Jossey-Bass, 2008
"Challenges of virtual project management in developing countries", By: S. Nauman, S. Iqbal, IEEE
Engineering Management Society, 2005.
“Implementing virtual teams: a guide to organizational and human factors”, By: Edwards, A. & Wilson, J.R.
(2004) Gower publishing limited.
“6 Best Practices for Managing Virtual Teams”, By: Star Dargin, Corporate Education Group, URL:
http://www.corpedgroup.com/resources/pm/6BestPracticesMVT.asp, Accessed at: 18/04/2014
“Virtual Project Management Tools and Techniques”, PM440, the Wiki URL:
http://pm440.pbworks.com/w/page/25397227/Virtual%20Project%20Management%20Tools%20and%20Tec
hniques Accessed at: 18/04/2014