Virtual Project Management

The unprecedented development and application of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in the last couple of decades has paved the way for innovative project management paradigms that can not only handle the inherent complexities of projects but can also tackle with uncertainties effectively. Virtual Project Management is one such innovative project management approach. Krill & Juell (1997) defines a virtual project as “a collaborative effort towards a specific goal or accomplishment which is based on ‘collective yet remote’ performance. ” Virtual Project Management is done by what are known as Virtual Teams.
In Virtual Project Management, virtual teams collaborate for a specified period of time to achieve specific goals set out by a project. A Virtual Team is defined as “a group of humans who have a common work objective. They could be part of a large company who are located in separate offices around the globe or a start up where everyone works at individual offices. What they have in common is that they are working on a project but may not be located in physical proximity and must find other ways to communicate, track progress and manage tasks without being able to physically meet regularly.
”(McInnis, 2001, pp-1). The Internet, the World Wide Web and the application of a host of ICT tools in the form of collaborative software, Voice over IP (VoIP), Desktop Video Conferencing, Group Decision Support Systems (GDSSs) and electronic commerce procurements and transactions provide the real cutting edge to Virtual Project Management. Web-based applications range from the simple e-mail and browser, through high-speed broadband access and Virtual Private Networks to Web-based applications and Web 2. 0 services such as blogs, RSS feeds and tags.