Project Management in the Virtual Organisation

Carey Rabbitte, PMP

Senior Programme Director

carey.rabbitte@gmail.com

1

2. Contents

– Introduction

– The Environment:

– Benefits of a Virtual Organisation

– The Corporate Environment

– My Project Management Team

– A Typical Virtual Project: Application Data

– Another Virtual Project: Lebanon Office Move

– Constraints

– Tools and Techniques:

– Tools and Techniques

– Virtual Meetings

– Status Communication

– Escalation

– Collaboration Tools

3. Contents (Continued)

– Tools and Techniques (Continued):

– Video Conferencing

– Cultural Aspects

– Portfolio Prioritisation

– Questions and Answers

4. Introduction

– I will look at aspects of managing projects in large, multi-national, multi-cultural corporations, in the so

called “virtual organisation”.

– I will lay out the typical structure in such organisations, and give some examples of projects and the

project management scenario.

– I will then look at tools and techniques for operating in this type of environment.

5. Benefits of a Virtual Organisation

– Why do organisations go virtual?

– Cost saving: moving activity from high cost to low cost locations.

– Geographical growth: moving activities closer to the customer.

– Creating Centres of Excellence: consolidating technology development skills, or business

processing skills in a single location.

6. The Corporate Environment

– Multi-national

– Multi-cultural

– Remote managed

– Matrix managed

– Highly Specialised

– Off-shoring

7. My Project Management Team

– Covers technology infrastructure projects throughout Europe, Middle East and Africa.

– Portfolio managers: 2 in London, 1 in Warsaw.

– Project managers: 4 in London, 4 in Warsaw, 1 in Belfast, 1 in Cairo and 1 in Bahrain.

– Matrixed project managers in Moscow, Johannesburg, Istanbul and Karachi.

– Dependent on project management office based in Warsaw.

– … and my team is just 1 of 4 similar project management teams in my organisation in this region.

8. A Typical Virtual Project: Application Data

Centre Move

– Technology Infrastructure project manager in Warsaw.

– Application project manager in London.

– Developers in India.

– System administrators in Belfast.

– Information security administrators in Budapest.

– End users in Dublin.

– Budget control in New York.

– All reporting to different managers.

– Current system in London.

– New system in Frankfurt.

– … and myself in London trying to coordinate it all!

9. Another Virtual Project: Lebanon Office Move

– Technology infrastructure project manager in Cairo.

– End users in Beirut.

– Network engineers in London.

– Desktop support in Bahrain.

– Information security administrators in Budapest.

– Budget control in New York.

10. Constraints

– Budgets need approval by many different people at different levels.

– Travel restrictions.

– Matrix management: Most project team members report to a line manager in their functional area, but

have a matrix report into the project manager for the duration of the project.

– The project manager is typically managing 6-7 projects in parallel.

– The project team members are also contributing to several projects at the same time, not necessarily

with the same project manager on each project.

11. Tools And Techniques

– A good communication plan is vital!

– Weekly one on one calls.

– Daily short status calls, particularly when the project gets into the Implementation phase.

– Video conferencing.

– File sharing tools.

12. Virtual Meetings

– Send out the agenda in advance.

– Ensure project team members have access to most recent documentation: project status report,

risk/issue logs etc.

– Ensure people join on time.

– Conference call etiquette: team members should be trained on basic concepts such as staying on

mute unless speaking.

– Time management: Keep the meeting moving, allow time for all topics.

– Take difficult or protracted decisions off-line.

– Make sure action owners are clearly identified and are aware of their actions, and that target resolution

dates are understood.

– Send out minutes promptly after the meeting.

13. Status Communication

– Send to a large audience. Keep everyone informed.

– Suggestion: Short, plain text e-mail with next 2 or 3 milestones, and top 2 or 3 risks. Supplement by a

more detailed report containing full project plan, full risks/issue logs.

– Flag the status at the top of the communication (Red/Amber/Green).

– Send out on a regular basis: weekly for most projects, daily if a project is in Red or Amber status, or is

close to going live.

14. Escalation

– Escalate quickly.

– Keep the project sponsor/project board informed at all times.

– Highlight key issues – don't bury in detail.

– Hiding issues tends to lead to mistrust.

• Project Board

• Portfolio Manager

• Project Manager

– Content Management Systems (CMS): Sharepoint

– Use to host key documents, including project status reports, meeting minutes, risk logs etc.

– Open Access: Use the Principle of Least Restriction.

– Instant Messaging: Microsoft Communicator

– Useful for recorded communications.

– Written rather than spoken, may be easier for non-native speaker to follow.

– Enterprise Project Management (EPM) Systems: PlanView, Clarity PPM, Microsoft Project Server

– Key to maintaining project data in a standard format.

– Holds project plans, time booking, central risks/issue logs, financial data etc.

– Scalable when large number of projects are being managed.

15. Collaboration Tools

16. Video Conferencing

– Only really practical for meetings with two or three locations.

– Ideal for one on one meetings.

– Does not work well for project-wide status meetings, with people in 6 or 8 different countries.

17. Cultural Aspects

– Allow time on calls for language gaps.

– Speak slowly!

– Even native speakers have difficulties understanding each other – accents, vocabulary differ.

– Always follow up with written minutes.

– Hold one on one calls with individual project team members where necessary.

18. Portfolio Prioritisation

– The need to prioritise: For each customer, their project is top priority, but project team members may

have several projects.

– Should aim for a consistent, region-wide, organisation-wide method of prioritisation.

– Example:

– Legal/regulatory requirements – projects that must be completed to ensure the company follows

relevant legal or industry regulations

– Return on Investment – projects that provide a definite increase in revenue, or a definite

reduction in expense.

– “Nice To Have” - projects that may indirectly increase revenue, or decrease expense, by

improving productivity.

19. Questions and Answers

Thank You!