Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams [Hardcover]

Parviz F. Rad (Author), Ginger Levin (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Most books on this subject are limited to a specific industry or market segment. This is an in-depth guide for managing a virtual project team in any industry. The book describes how to build high-performance virtual project teams; shows how to reduce the cost of virtual teams to ensure desired results and includes tools and techniques for assessing the maturity of project teams. It illustrates how to decrease time to market for new products, increase corporate profits and much more.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: J. Ross Publishing, Inc. (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1932159037
• ISBN-13: 978-1932159035
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #687,936 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good introduction to managing virtual teams and the difference versus co-located teams, April 17, 2006

By	Emmy B. Gengler (Fremont, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Hardcover)

The authors put together a maturity model for virtual teams. It provides at least a way to measure the team and its performance against a base, so it is a good starting point. The model seems to be a take off on the Capability Maturity Model (CMM) used to assess software development procedures and processes, for example a virtual team is defined as being at level 5 when they are involved in continuous improvement or having repeatable processes, similar to obtaining CMM 5. With interest I noted that in order for a team to reach level 3, the project manager cannot also manage a co-located team, or a team located in the same place where he/she is working. I believe this means that if he/she manages a group that is located in Texas and another group located in Ukraine it is okay as long as he/she lives in California; not in Texas or Ukraine. Why this is necessary in order to be at level 3 is not clear to me. To have 30 persons all working in different locations and not have the project manager at least located with some of the team members is not likely to occur in a software development situation.

Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams is a good introduction to project management and provides a good base for examining the differences between the two types of teams. The authors' state that they wish to provide project management professionals with a book to prepare them for the dissimilarities between traditional and virtual project teams, while highlighting what remains unchanged when one moves from a traditional to a virtual project. Since they spend a lot of time talking about the traditional project team development, they probably hit that objective. They developed a good base, in the form of a chart, of how some of the typical project management procedures change when moving from a traditional team to a virtual team. The assessment tools discussed are also excellent for any type of a team, and having the documents available for download works out well to make the tools useable and easier to pass around amongst a team.

Overall though, more discussion on how to handle the differences between traditional and virtual teams, and backing these areas up with examples and case studies would have strengthened the book. Additionally, two questions which specifically relate to software development situations, kept running through my mind as I was reading this book: How do the virtual team policies and procedures described in the book, change for an outsourced versus an insourced (i.e. all members of the team work for the same company) team? Secondly, how do virtual team policies and procedures change when a virtual team consists of multiple co-located groups? Perhaps subjects for a new book.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Insights for Any Virtual Team, August 20, 2003

By	Craig L. Howe "The Pointed Pundit" (Darien, CT United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Hardcover)

By definition the focus of a project team is the deliverables. It does not matter if the team is collocated or dispersed. That means the focus on cost, risk, change and scope management remains the same.

If the team is dispersed, the authors content, the people side of the effort assumes a different cast. Processes and procedures that deal with client satisfaction, vendor satisfaction and team morale become more complex.

The authors provide a five-step model to assess the maturity of the team. They describe various methods to motivate different personality types to achieve the best project results.

Reliance on virtual teams is growing. If you are attempting to lead one, this book is a must. Its insights, worksheets and assessment tools will save you time, money and aggravation.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Overview of Mature Project Teams, January 28, 2008

By	Scott Styles (Darien, IL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams (Hardcover)

Though dry, this book provides an excellent overview of how virtual project teams mature. It helped me to identify problem patterns in the processes at my employer, as well as to suggest ways in which the issues may be resolved over time.

The authors also provide a section on worker motivation that I found very useful. In addition to improving how I relate to my peers, the model aided in introspection on my personal working patterns.

Overall this book was well worth my time and I highly recommend it.