CHALLENGES OF VIRTUAL TEAMS IN SYSTEMS ANALYSIS AND DESIGN

Virtual teams are quickly becoming an integral part of the business world adding functionality to group work as well as increasing competitive advantage. This study of virtual teams and the communication within helps enhance our knowledge and understanding of virtual teams providing insight into a participants' views as well as providing information that would be useful in virtual team management. Information presented in the study can be used to help management build successful teams and can be used as a learning tool for future virtual teams aiding in their success. Determinants for success may lie in the shared frame of reference of the virtual teams, the ability and willingness to work through cultural differences, the capability to recognize differing skill and interests and the ability to incorporate technology to span time and space.

The cases presented in this comparative study demonstrate that successful utilization of communication tools helps develop strong social connections among team members. In part, these social connections allow team to deliver quality products to their clients. Frequent communication can create strong social bonds and allow team-members to grow together. For some virtual teams, the lack of social glue can create project breakdown. Teams that lack a strong presence of both social communication and task-related communication have more difficulty successfully completing projects. Lack of social interaction can create obstacles that are difficult to overcome in addition to creating difficulties in collaborating on the technical requirements for the project.

Questions still remain regarding the understanding of virtual teams. How do managers evaluate virtual teams? How do project leaders instill the factors of success in teams? What factors of virtual teams contribute to team productivity? As technology advances, how are virtual teams affected? Does "rich" communications actually lead to more productive cohesive teams? As virtual teams become increasingly important for businesses and are studied in greater detail, we will hopefully begin to gain some insights regarding some of the above issues. The review questions present additional areas for consideration and analysis.