Managing Virtual Teams

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.

Contents: Part

I: Building and Managing a Virtual Team    

Chapter 1: Understanding Team Dynamics in a Virtual Environment     

Chapter 2: Setting Up a Virtual Team    

Chapter 3: Evaluating Your Needs    

Chapter 4: Communicating with the Team     

Chapter 5: Project Planning and Tracking    

Chapter 6: Collaborating and Troubleshooting    

Chapter 7: Conducting Reviews    

Chapter 8: Managing Risk and Change    

Chapter 9: Evaluating Project Success  

Part II: Evaluating the Tools    

Chapter 10: Comparing Features, Tools, and More ...    

Chapter 11: Installation, Customization, and Security    

Chapter 12: Collaborative Software Suits    

Chapter 13: Meeting and Communication Tools    

Chapter 14: Information Broadcasting Tools    

Chapter 15: Information Sharing Tools    

Chapter 16: Information Gathering Tools    

Chapter 17: Wikis    

Chapter 18: RSS Feeds and Other "Push" Technologies   Appendix A: It's a Wiki Wacky World Appendix B: Glossary

Index

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.