Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools (Wordware Applications Library) (Paperback)

~ Brenda Huettner (Author), (Author), Char James-Tanny (Author)
Key Phrases: collaborative software suites, team lifecycle, localization vendor, New York, Microsoft Word, San Francisco (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Virtual collaborative team environments face unique challenges because co-workers are not able to interact in person. Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most from Wikis, Blogs, and Other Collaborative Tools provides practical advice for managers of distributed teams who must design the internal systems and meet deadlines with a diverse team, and for team members who want to develop and maintain professional relationships. To address these needs, this book is divided into two parts. Part I discusses the basics of team and project management, including team dynamics, communication, and project evaluation, with particular emphasis on the unique challenges of virtual teams. Part II covers the types of tools currently available for collaboration, such as wikis, blogs, RSS feeds, and more, and describes the different feature sets of each, as well as their differences and similarities. As part of their collaborative effort, the authors used a wiki, which they have opened to give readers an opportunity to see an example of a real-life wiki at work and participate in a community with the authors and other readers.

About the Author

M. Katherine (Kit) Brown (Comgenesis, LLC) is an award-winning writer and consultant with 16 years of experience in the technical communication field as a consultant, writer, and manager. She provides consulting services and training to clients on documentation processes and strategies, internationalization, and other technical communication issues.

Brenda Huettner (P-N Designs, Inc.) has 20 years of experience working with management teams in technical communication. She has published six books for her own press and other commercial publishers, has written dozens of articles on various management topics, and has provided countless presentations at conferences worldwide.

Char James-Tanny (JTF Associates, Inc.) has 25 years of experience as a technical writer and is well known for her knowledge of online Help tools and concepts. The author of two books, she speaks frequently at meetings and conferences around the world on Help topics, cross-browser issues and web standards, and tool-specific functionality.

Product Details

• Paperback: 400 pages
• Publisher: Jones & Bartlett Publishers; 1 edition (February 25, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1598220284
• ISBN-13: 978-1598220285
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #368,858 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great for understanding the big picture, November 19, 2007

By	C. Klinger (Olney, MD United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

As an independent consultant working exclusively from home, all of my teams are virtual, even if they are located a few miles away. I bought this book not to enhance my relationships with those team members but rather to help me develop two training classes on this book's subtitle: "wikis, blogs, and other collaborative tools." While I pored over chapters 12-18 attempting to organize my own thoughts, I enjoyed the authors' writing style and found the depth appropriate for a high-level understanding of each topic. I am now reading the remaining chapters, sure that I will uncover a nugget or two that will help me in my daily work life.

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful... with a grain of salt., September 20, 2009

By	I. Matthes - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

This book has a lot of suggestions for effective team management over distances. The book itself was written as a distance collaboration using many of the same techniques and technologies written about. However, the book doesn't always give clear definitions. Some of the definitions are overly simplistic or of dubious origin. In my reading (this was a textbook for a class of mine) I found at least two uses of Wikipedia as a source for definitions. I find this not only sloppy, but lazy, and my biggest issue with the book. As a college student who is forbidden, by professors and by better judgment, to use Wikipedia as a source, the concept of learning things directly from Wikipedia makes me uneasy. Wikipedia has its uses (it is effectively used once to show where an updated listing of web-lingo can be found online), but not as a source.

If you are unfamiliar with different collaborative technologies (VoIP, VPN's, Version Control Systems, etc.) this is not the place to find specific information about them. The definitions are too vague. This book will give you examples of their usage in corporate circumstances. It will also give you suggestions for managing conflict over distances and avoiding issues when project members rarely meet face to face.

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Summary level information, August 2, 2008

By	Alan Gold (Boston, MA USA) - See all my reviews

I did not find this book useful. It seems to be geared for pointy haired manager types who have never heard of the Internet. There was very little information that was not either obvious, outdated or both.