The process of procuring and building a greenhouse has given me some very concrete examples of some of the most important elements of a successful project. In part 1, I covered these elements: start with a good plan, build a …
My wife, Karen, and I recently relocated from the Silicon Valley to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state. The process of selling a home, finding a rental here, and moving all of our belongings, including a 250+ potted plant collection, …
On a closely related topic to my last post, I would like to relate a recent experience I had with a consumer product that illustrates one very important aspect of consumer products that is often not given enough importance in …
Time is money in products, too! Read More »
You have all heard the old saying, “Time is money”. Well, obviously, this one is very true. Especially in our modern, fast-paced world of rapid product development cycles and short time-to-market windows, every second lost in a product development cycle …
Time is money in product development Read More »
The design goal of many collaboration tools is to reproduce as closely as possible some aspect of the face-to-face meeting experience so that virtual project teams can be as productive as co-located teams. What I have found is that some …
Update on Whiteboard Tools for Virtual Teams Read More »
A well-performing virtual team makes effective use of a wide range of collaboration tools. After the various forms of communication discussed in my last post, any self-respecting virtual project team must have access to a decent desktop sharing tool. In …
Update on desktop sharing for virtual teams Read More »
As someone with a great deal of personal experience working in virtual teams and having managed a collaboration technologies research team for several years, I am very familiar with the obvious as well as subtle problems with the collaboration tools …
Update on Key Communications Technologies for Virtual Teams Read More »
The posts by Ed Gaeta this last week plus our most recent poll results reminded me of a mental image I developed years ago for why I enjoyed being a project manager so much. After many successful and rewarding years …
EE to PM: Why would I do that? Read More »
One of the more difficult team dynamics project managers must face from time-to-time is conflict. The ‘conflict’ can be project-related or interpersonal, but either way, strong feelings are often involved, making rational resolutions difficult. For virtual teams where face-to-face time …
Resolving Disagreements in Virtual Teams Read More »
In the first part of this series I talked about how future project leaders may select team members for their projects. In this installment, I will discuss the future of virtual team spaces, which include real-time tools that facilitate ‘in-person’ …
The Future of Virtual Project Teams, part 2 Read More »
I always enjoy imagining what the future will be like for all sorts of things: transportation, energy, architecture, space exploration, and the everyday chores of life. Perhaps it is my lifelong interest in science fiction, or perhaps I just want …
The Future of Virtual Project Teams Read More »
I’m sure you’ve all heard that old saying, “There are old pilots, and there are bold pilots, but there are no old, bold pilots.” That adage applies just as well to project managers where ‘bold’ equals ‘risk-taking’. I’m also sure you’ve …
Go Ahead, Be Bold! Read More »
Every project manager worthy of the title knows why effective teamwork is critical to project success. All members of great teams know their own roles, limitations and strengths, as well as those of everyone else on the team. They use …
Teambuilding for Virtual Teams Read More »
In my many years working virtually, I’ve come to realize that business relationships with virtual colleagues can be every bit as strong as those with colleagues in a traditional office setting. I’ve had many people tell me that face-to-face is …
How Good Are Virtual Team Relationships? Read More »
This may sound blasphemous to a professional project manager, but it is possible to over-plan. I have seen it happen countless times. It begins with a project manager with moderate analytical tendencies (e.g., an engineer) who has access to that …
Are you spending too much time planning? Read More »
Properly managed project documentation is critical for all types and sizes of projects. After all, the project documentation is the only real output from most projects. It is not the prototype that matters. It is the production documentation that includes …
Knowledge Management for Virtual (and non-virtual) Teams Read More »
One of the most useful things I have learned leading teams is that pictures are a very effective way to help people understand complex ideas. I am sure you have all heard that there are auditory learners and visual learners, …
Whiteboarding for Virtual Teams Read More »
If you are like most project managers, you wish you had a better real-time handle on the progress of your project so you could predict when you will finish or when a change is needed in order to stay on …
Project Progress Trend Analysis Read More »
In my many years in the technology industry, I’ve spent thousands of hours in meetings, most of them as boring as all get-out. During this time I’ve seen many interesting changes. I’ve seen meeting presentation technology evolve from flip charts …
Multi-Tasking in Project Meetings Read More »
In this final part of my series on communications in virtual teams, I will discuss the most important medium to evolve so far during the computer revolution: e-mail. Pretty much everyone has an e-mail address these days, and many of …
Communicating Effectively in Virtual Teams: Part 4 of 4 Read More »
