Virtual Project Management: Software Solutions for Today and the Future explores the technical management issues involved in the revolutionary new way of building complex software intensive systems faster and cheaper by employing the power of distributed operations. The book examines the implementation issues that cut deep inside present day collocated engineering organizations and recommends practical and affordable actions to aid organizations seeking increased productivity through distributed operations. The demand for integrated solutions constructed from a combination of existing and newly developed software increases daily. Many organizations find themselves with shortages of the critical skills necessary to compete in many of these newly created markets. Employing virtual collaborative development provides a dramatic increase in a company's opportunities to successfully compete. Virtual collaboration provides a broader skill and product knowledge base coupled with a deeper pool of personnel to potentially employ. It removes two of the major barriers - company affiliation and physical location. Virtual Project Management: Software Solutions for Today and the Future focuses on critical characteristics underlying how work actually gets done in traditional collocated engineering environments. It examines the changes taking place on virtual projects through a series of anecdotes based on real project experiences. The book provides an 8 step practical and affordable plan that can be used as a framework in either setting up and executing a new virtual project, or in instituting improvements to a project that has drifted off course. Others have lived through the pain of learning lessons the hard way. You don't need to follow their path. The insights and solutions offered by Paul McMahon answer the questions virtual project leaders will be asking well into the 21st century.

Successfully Launch and Operate a Virtual Project Management Office New technology and global businesses and organizations are making virtual project management offices (VPMOs) more important and more prevalent than ever. Successfully operating a VPMO requires project managers to employ additional skills and address different challenges from those necessary to operate a traditional PMO. For example, the virtual project manager must have effective soft skills to build trust among a dispersed team and to select the best forms of communication. He or she must also ensure compliance with the unique policies, procedures, and laws relevant to maintaining a VPMO. This book offers best practices for successful virtual projects and the most effective ways to create and implement a PMO in a virtual environment. It's a valuable resource for companies considering a VPMO and those already operating one. You'll find: - Proven implementation plans - Guidance for building a business case - Laws and ethics governing VPMOs - Tips and advice from experts Plus! Dozens of practical tools to use in launching a VPMO or improving an existing project management office.

Corporate location is no longer a constraint when pursuing business opportunities in support of strategic goals. Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams presents success factors for a virtual project team and illustrates an approach for assessing the performance of the team. It contains evaluation tools for team members, describing how best to manage and motivate different people on virtual team assignments to achieve optimal results.

The second decade of the 21st century brought unprecedented challenges to traditional workplaces forcing the advance of working from home (telework) due to a global virus pandemic. Individuals with little or no background or training in e-leadership, virtual project management, or virtual team management suddenly found themselves in the environment of virtual work. Leading Virtual Project Teams, Second Edition addresses the challenges that today’s virtual project management environment poses to traditional methods of leadership and communication. Leadership for successful virtual team management is different from traditional, collocated project team management. Being familiar with appropriate e-leadership styles for virtual project teams and the transition toward new leadership styles, communication techniques for virtual project teams, and e-leadership competencies is an important part of managing projects and human resources in successful organizations today. The second edition also examines: Virtual meeting techniques Inclusive language Managing virtual relationships Why virtual work is now more important The work-at-home environment By recognizing how virtual teams are different from traditional teams, those managing virtual projects may be able to offer benefits to their organization by providing positive, successful leadership and exceptional communications, resulting in better project deliverables and products. This book provides an approach that explores all facets of e-leadership—from how traditional leadership theories and models can be applied by 21st century leaders to providing methods by which the virtual project manager can enhance virtual project communications to meet the needs of our modern global business world. It features project management checklists and templates and includes business cases, best practices, and tools and techniques for virtual project management communications.

In a 1945 speech, Winston Churchill stated, "We are shaping the world faster than we can change ourselves, and we are applying to the present the habits of the past." Was Churchill predicting the future of project management? Have we changed how we communicate and lead projects? Have leadership and management theories and models evolved to keep pac

Globalization and increased outsourcing have redefined project management. The complex dynamics involved in today's long-distance projects require a new skill set and knowledge base unlike anything needed before. Here, leading project management expert Marcus Goncalves presents a complete guide to implementing the virtual project management office (ePMO). Leveraging his information technology expertise and PM experience, Goncalves offers cutting-edge techniques for managing projects across borders, working with colleagues and clients from different cultures, and utilizing the necessary telecommunication/Internet technologies ePM managers and their virtual teams and remote PM offices must have. Implementing the Virtual Project Management Office complies with the Project Management Institute's Project Management Body of Knowledge (PMBOK) guidelines and extends them to ePMO. After analyzing the benefits of ePM versus conventional project management, Goncalves presents an in-depth discussion of ePM practices, scenarios, and challenges, aided by real-world examples and insightful case studies. Providing a full focus on the management and execution of virtual projects, Goncalves demonstrates the time- and cost-saving advantages, showing how to begin realizing those advantages immediately. He gives you: Guidelines for building virtual project teams Step-by-step best practices for keeping an eProject on course Techniques for measuring project performance and earned value eTools for controlling project quality Ways to integrate speed, change, and innovation for ePM success A customer-driven approach to ePM Goncalves provides comprehensive information on developing a state-of-the-art virtual project management office, from the necessary structure and environment to the technology. He also defines what concurrent ePM is and the need for change management during the process. The bonus CD features sample policies, forms, budgets, checklists, and software (including the award winning Mindmanager, from Mindjet) to assist in your ePMO implementation.

Clear, proven solutions for virtual project management challenges Projects Without Boundaries offers project managers a clear framework for bringing both project management practices and project team leadership principles to the virtual space. Written by a team of authors with years of experience managing nationally and internationally distributed teams, this book provides a suite of best practices, checklists, and actionable strategies for managing a project and building a high-performing team in a virtual and multicultural environment. Real-world examples illustrate the application of the concepts discussed, and the Virtual Project Readiness Assessment facilitates both team evaluation and transformation planning for virtual project management improvement. Each chapter focuses on the critical challenges encountered while managing virtual projects and details proven solutions that improve a virtual organization, boost project performance, and facilitate positive outcomes. Globalization and technological advances have merged to create dynamic, productive teams that work together from around the globe; this opportunity can bring great difficulty for project managers, who must negotiate hurdles that do not exist on traditional projects. This book provides ready-made solutions specific to distributed and multicultural teams, to help you achieve the full potential of the global talent pool. Overcome common challenges of virtual projects with distributed teams Navigate complex team dynamics to ensure effective collaboration Work seamlessly across borders, time zones, and cultures Determine optimal virtual communication and collaboration tools Apply traditional project management practices in a virtual setting A team fails or thrives on the strength of its management. Fitting the group's needs, expectations, personalities, and skills into a cohesive whole is seldom simple — and distance adds an additional layer of complexity. Projects Without Boundaries provides expert guidance on keeping it together, with proven practices, tools, and virtual team leadership strategies.