OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Enabling Optimal Performance in a Virtual Project Environment By

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

About the Author Goodluck Enimakpokpo is an international project management veteran. As a scholar-practitioner, he has spent the last recent 10 years in the international scene practising, consulting and training. Contact Goodluck through this email goodluckomole@gmail.com

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Abstract Project management in a virtual platform is gaining wider acceptance globally. The various merits with the traditional collocated project structure where project teams are collocated for face to face collaboration are no longer relevant in todays business environment. However, project teams working in distributed locations are usually faced with many challenges which include: communication technology, time difference, cultural diversity, language barriers, and labour laws among others. This paper examines some of the critical enabling factors for optimal performance in a virtual project team configuration. Essentially, this paper establish the fact that for virtual team structure to yield the optimal benefits, project stakeholders should establish some necessary high performance ambience for the virtual team to work robust communication channels/style, excellent project leadership and honesty/trust.

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

1. Motivation Most multinational IT organizations are increasingly adopting virtual project team management. Virtual project team management is an arrangement whereby project team members in a specific project are distributed across different locations. Virtual team structure is different from the traditional arrangement where project team members are collocated, and can predominantly collaborate through formal and informal face-to-face style. In most of the cases, virtual team uses emails, work pace, telephone, video conferencing, fax, instant messaging, lotus, chat rooms, etc as communication and collaboration tools (Kimball, 1997)

Project teams in virtual structure is often challenged by differences in time, space, culture, language, technology, laws, business ethics, etc. (Lipnack, Jessica & Stamps, 1997). However, whether collocated or distributed, project teams must be able to seamlessly collaborate and adequately share project information. Project vision, mission and strategy must be shared and understood by individual team member, including, roles and responsibilities (Garry & Sheila, 2006). However, the impact of multiple time zones and geographical space differences have been identified as one major impediment to operational efficiency of virtual teams (Grenier, Raymond and George, 1995) 2. Research Problem As the world continues to ride through globalization process, the importance of virtual project team structure as a necessary platform to spooling diverse and specialized knowledge and skills across the globe will continue to receive the attention of scholars and practitioners. Strangely, failure rate for traditional IT projects, with collocated project team, has remained significantly high, in the range of 68% (Chaos Report, 2009). Some of the factors identified

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

to be responsible for this high failure rate include: poor planning, lack of management support, poor visibility of project benefits, leadership failure, and communication break-down, unsupportive policies, scope ambiguity, etc. When compared, though the collocated team have these constraints as well to manage, the virtual teams are generally more affected by these militating factors besides the challenges of time, space and socialcultural influences (Dougherty 1992; Carpendale & Chandler, 1996). This literature, therefore, seek to investigate best practices in terms of tools and techniques in managing and aligning distributed project teams for optimal performance and project success. 3. Background As it were, current global business competitiveness will continue to establish strong business justification for a globalized project team structure. This is so because virtual team structure is relatively easier and quicker to set up which ultimately decreases response time to clients. In addition, organizations harness on this kind of arrangement to spool expertise across as a way to cut travelling cost and time as well as other associated overheads (Trautsch, 2003, p 1). In the same vein, employees in such organizations also benefit immensely in that they are able to easily acquire new knowledge and share best practices to enable them stay update with trends. Overall, modern companies establish virtual staff structure to spread their operations, expand business presence, and build robust organization assets by outsourcing subject experts in different locations around the globe.

However, there are fundamental barriers associated with virtual team management and performance. These barriers lie with the ability of the project team to initiate and sustain optimal performance throughout the project life cycle; these barriers include multiple time zones, social-cultural influences, communication technologies, leadership issues, and more which are capable of crippling effective project delivery if not properly managed.
Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP 2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

As the world continue to close up, advances in technology are enabling a variety of sharing tools for many IT companies to continue to embrace virtual project team management. Virtual teams use computer-aided technology to achieve communications and collaborations require for effective performance. Essentially, what it means is that successful organizations that operate in a virtual platform must make considerable amount of investment on IT infrastructure and security systems. That way, the team members can enhance their effectiveness and project performance through robust sharing process, reduce response time, improve decision-making during process, facility and travelling cost reduction, etc (Duarte and Snyder 2001, 4).

4. Project and Project Management Definitions A project is defined as, a temporary endeavour undertaken to produce a unique product or services (PMBOK, 2004). Project is a temporary endeavour because it has beginning (initiation) and an end (close out); it is unique because no two projects are ever the same no matter the resemblance difference always exist either in features, constraints, environment, culture, personality, etc. According to the Project Management Institute Standard, project management is the application of skills, knowledge, tools and techniques to meet the need of stakeholders for a project; it involves five fundamental sequential processes as shown in figure 1 below. The process include: Initiation, Planning, Execution, Monitoring and Control and Close out (PMBOK, 2004).

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

Figure 1. Project management Processes The Initiation is the phase where management on considering the priority and viability of the project grants the approval for the project to commence. It is at this stage the project manager is identified and chattered. The Planning phase is the most critical aspect. It deals with the planning of the whole aspects of the project which include -scope, integration, communication, human resources, quality, risk, schedule, budget, and procurement management processes of the project. Project plan document is the output of the phase.

The execution, monitoring and control are the phases which involve the actual implementation of the project using the project plan document. As the execution progresses, monitoring and control mechanisms are enforced to ensure that the progress happens within the approved baseline of cost, time, scope and quality. The project closes out phase is always the last part when the project is delivered, tested, handed over and signed off by the owner. It is the final stage when the project team gets dissolved; learning points are taken, shared and archived.

5. Project Teams - Collocated versus Virtual Team A project team means a group of people working together within a predefined boundary to achieve specific objective(s) within the constraints of time, scope and cost. Generally, a project team may be collocated, virtual or mixed. Collocated if the team are in the same physical location geographically - this provide opportunities for face-to-face regular interactions between members. On the other hand, the virtual or distributed team is that where the team members are geographically separated by time by time and space. In fact, virtual project teams can further be viewed a project team structure with dispersed team

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

members, systems, knowledge, workplaces with decision-making authority (McMahon 2001, p.4). That means in a virtual team arrangement, members transverse distance, time, cultures, technologies and organizational boundaries to collaborate in order to achieve the project set objective(s).

In most cases, the virtual team members never meet face to face during the lifespan of the project; under the virtual platform, team members rely on electronic systems such as emails, work pace, chat rooms, telephone, video conferencing, fax, instant messaging, etc for interaction and exchange of information. (Dougherty 1992; Carpendale & Chandler 1996).

There are different categories of virtual teams. In their book Mastering Virtual Teams, Duarte and Snyder defined seven configurations of virtual project team as summarized in Table 1 below (Duarte and Snyder 2001, p.4) Table 1 Different Type of Virtual Project Teams (Adapted from Duarte and Snyder 2001) Types of Team Description This team is fluid-no fixed membership; it has clear scope Project or Product and deliverables and the team has authority to make development decisions on the course of the project. This team is fluid- no fixed membership with unclear scope Network of work Work team has fixed membership with clear scope. Members usually support short term projects, develop process Parallel improvement recommendations Work team has fixed membership with clear scope. Members work or production support routine activities usually in a functional domain Team has fixed membership. It works regularly and Management responsible for cooperate projects This are adhoc team that deals with deals with emergency Action situations as they arise This team has fixed membership. It primarily supports active Services customers and network operations
Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP 2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

However, irrespective of the configurations of the team, virtual teams go through the same process and challenge to get work done. As noted by Duarte and Snyder, what these teams have in common with all teams is that team members must communicate and collaborate to get work done and/or to produce a product. Virtual teams, unlike traditional ones, however, must accomplish this by working across distance, time, and/or organizational boundaries and by using technology to facilitate communication and collaboration, (p.5).

6.

Performance in Virtual Project Environment

Whether collocated or virtual, team performance is fundamental to project success. All project teams must go through same phases and processes to deliver the projects; though most project lifecycle are same, the team will go through similar project management processes to achieve the set goals. That means project team go through similar challenges in managing the various issues of the project. What is fundamentally different is the methodologies apply in managing these challenges. While the collocated team will rely on formal and face-to-face verbal/non-verbal interactive styles, the complexity of challenge with the virtual team increased in that it relies solely on formal, technology-aided communication to exchange information across multiple time zones, distances and cultures.

The absence of this face-to-face, non-verbal body language communication channel in the virtual environment further challenges the ability of the virtual team to perform optimally. This aspect has generated considerable research interest among scholars and practitioners. For instance, Birdwhistell indicated that about 65% of messages are communicated through non-verbal means (Birdwhistell, 1970, 1), but others like Fromkin and Rodman placed the percentage of information communicated through non-verbal to be 90% (Fromkin & Rodman 1983, 1). That means enormous amount of information are lost anytime virtual team members
Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP 2011

OPTIMAL PERFORMANCE IN A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT

try to share information through electronically-enhanced communication channel. Ultimately, virtual team performance can be grave hindered by this issue. On this, McMahon writes think about the information at today is conveyed through unplanned meetings in hallways, at lunch, casually in cubicles, and over the tops of cubicles. (McMahon 2001, p.27). Virtual Project Team Towards an Optimal Performance.

6.1

As discussed above, many complex issues challenge the performance and ability of virtual project team to be able to successfully deliver projects. Therefore, it is essential for the internal project stakeholders-performing organizations, sponsors and the virtual team members to be able to accurately identify, analyse and appropriately respond to these challenges in order to perform and derive optimal benefit from the various advantages of virtual team platform. Here, we have researched and identified some of the essential enabling factors that can optimize performance in a virtual team structure. These key enabling factors can be summarized in three folds: Robust Leadership, Excellent Communication

Channels/Style, Honesty and Trust illustrated in figure 2 below.

Figure 2. Three Cardinal Enablers for a Performing Virtual Project Team

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

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6.1.1 Robust Communication Channels and Styles.

Virtual team members are distributed and dispersed across different locations, time zones and cultures. Members rely on electronically-aided channels for information sharing. It means the probability for interpretive errors is high due to different cultures and language barriers (Dougherty, 1992; Carpendale & Chandler, 1996). For instance, a telecoms engineering virtual team consisting of Chinese and Europeans supporting themselves from different remote locations might experience serious misunderstanding between themselves through voices calls (Shachaf, 2008, p.6). Therefore, for seamless performance, the project leadership and team members must participate in identifying and analyzing the various information requirements and the best mode/channels of communication and collaborations. This must be done at the outset of the project. Also, as part of effective communication mechanism, project manager must ensure that regular weekly project review meetings are held at rotated time zones to suite different members via video conferences, voice conference calls, and the like (Gartner research, 2002). Informal uses of project chat rooms should be encouraged between members to enhance intimacy as the project progress.

6.1.2 Excellent Leadership

Project managers must demonstrate excellent leadership skills in managing virtual teams across different distant locations. Project responsibilities must be defined and assigned to avoid possible overlapping or duplication of effort. The project organization structure must clearly show each member in the position box. Every team members must participate in critical decision making process in the project. For instance, in risk management planning, brainstorming approach is best recommended especially in virtual environment. With Good leadership, every member will feel that sense of ownership and belonging in the project
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structure. Conflicts between team members should be resolved promptly before it escalates. If possible, members should be encouraged to put their digital photographs besides their web profile. A robust leadership will adopt 360 degree feedback in the team.

6.1.3 Honesty and Trust Members honesty and trust are two interwoven elements that are central to virtual project team project performance and success. Therefore, it is important for each member to maintain impeccable honesty in the conduct of their duties. Members should uphold strong ethical ambience and sound professional judgement as they relate with other team members and third parties in the virtual structure. On the other hand, the project leadership must trust and rely on the professional judgment of teams.

In summary, the role of Honesty and Trust in virtual project environment cannot be underscored. In their paper, Trust-building for a virtual team, IBM Consulting Services capture it this way, Establishing trust among members of a virtual team is a prerequisite for being able to work as a team. Coworkers can help build trusting relationships in several ways: clearly communicating the value each brings to the team, demonstrating commitment to meet team expectations and being thorough enough to catch and fix the problems that will inevitably pop up from time to time (IBM, 2004, p.1).

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

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7. Conclusion and Future Research This paper focused on the factors for enabling optimal performance in virtual project environment. In conclusion, what is apparent in our investigation is that the globalization will continue in an increase wave using the virtual structure strategy (Hayes, 2003, p.1). Therefore, in order to guarantee effective and efficient delivery performance in such virtual arrangement, key stakeholders should ensure that excellent communication channels/style, robust leadership, plus the right ambience for honesty/trust are well established within the virtual operations.

Still, there are many areas on the subject of virtual team management that should continue to attract the research interest of scholars and practitioners. Some of these aspects include: Art of effective virtual team formation; performance measurement in virtual project environment; project governance in virtual team structure; impact of organizational transition from collocated to virtual project team management among others.

Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011

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2011

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Goodluck Enimakpokpo, PMP

2011