Managing Virtual Teams: Getting the Most From Wikis, Blogs, & Other Collaborative Tools

Description

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.

Part 1: Building and Managing a Virtual Team
Chapter 1: Understanding Tesm 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 2: Evaluating the Tools
Chapter 10: Comparing Features, Tools, and More
Chapter 11: Installation, Customization, and Security
Chapter 12: Collaborative Software Suites
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