Abstract
The relevant literature on this topic comes from many areas, including studies of virtual teams as well as the body of knowledge in project management. In this article, we bring together disparate fields and provide an integrated view of virtual project management. We begin by defining key terms and concepts in the context of an overall framework and briefly describe relevant knowledge from current research. We then discuss key issues and future trends for research, and conclude with overall observations and implications.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Control: The process of monitoring and measuring project activities to anticipate and manage variances from plans and goals.
Virtual Project: A project in which team members are dispersed geographically and potentially on other dimensions, and are working together to accomplish a specific task under time and resource constraints.
Communication: The process through which people convey meaning to one another through the exchange of messages and information to carry out project activities.
Collaboration Technology: An integrated and flexible set of tools for structuring process, supporting task requirements, and communicating among project members.
Virtuality: The extent to which project members are dispersed geographically and on other dimensions and rely on information and communication technologies for carrying out team processes and achieving project goals.
Coordination: The mechanisms through which people, technology, and other resources are combined to carry out the activities required to attain project goals.
Task Effectiveness: A measure of successful attainment of a team’s goals with respect to the deliverable; one of three key dimensions of time-interaction-performance theory.
Team Well-Being: The relationship of the individual to the team; one of three key dimensions of time-interaction-performance theory.