Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams

To successfully handle the functions of the virtual project management team, many traditional project management procedures and techniques need to be modified and new procedures developed. Preparing project managers for the dissimilarities of virtual project teams while highlighting those features that stay the same, Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams provides the necessary procedures and techniques that will make any project a success.

Rad and Levin introduce the five-level IDEAL model as a tool for assessing the maturity of virtual teams. They describe how to motivate different types of people on virtual team assignments to achieve optimal results. In addition, the authors address issues such as professional integrity, individual growth, and effective communications. Most books on this subject are limited to a specific industry or market segment. Achieving Project Management Success Using Virtual Teams gives you an in-depth guide for managing a virtual project team that can be applied to any industry.

KEY FEATURES

• Provides modified procedures and guidelines for virtual project teams that bring their performance and productivity to the levels that clients have come to expect from traditional teams
• Includes tools and techniques for assessing the maturity of project teams
• Illustrates how to decrease time to market for new products and increase corporate profits
• Shows how to reduce the cost of virtual teams and ensure desired results
• Discusses the advantages and disadvantages of virtual project teams and explores the pitfalls and how to avoid them
• Describes how to build high-performance virtual teams and develop strategies for success in the virtual team environment

About the Authors

Parviz F. Rad is a Distinguished Service Professor and Director of Project Management Program at Stevens Institute of Technology. He holds an M.Sc. Degree from Ohio State University and Ph.D. from Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In his over 30 years of professional experience he has served in governmental, industrial, and academic capacities. Dr. Rad has participated in project management activities and in development and enhancement of quantitative tools in project management in a multitude of disciplines including software development, construction, and pharmaceutical research. He has authored and coauthored over 50 publications in the areas of engineering and project management. Dr. Rad has been recognized as a Professional Civil Engineer, Certified Cost Engineer, and as a Project Management Professional. He is the editor of the Project Management Journal.

Ginger Levin is an Independent Consultant in Project Management with over 25 years of professional experience in the public and private sectors. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Master of Science and Project Management program at the University of Wisconsin-Platteville. She earned her B.B.A. from Wake Forest University and her M.S.A. and D.P.A. from The George Washington University, and where she also received the outstanding dissertation award. For the past seven years, Dr. Levin has been active in the design and development of capability maturity levels at the organizational and personal levels, has supported Project Management Offices, and has developed numerous educational programs in project management. Prior to her work in consulting, she held positions of increasing responsibility with federal government.