Page #109 (Collaborating as a Team)

Chapter 19

Communication is a critical component of effective project management. Establishing an effective two-way information flow can prevent problems from occurring. A good communication plan for your project addresses all the essential aspects of keeping information flowing and describes the methods envisioned for enabling that flow. Microsoft Project 2002 has powerful features for collaboration within a project team and an enterprise.

Suppose you are beginning a project that brings a completely new product to market. Based on your experience and the nature of this project, you know there will be an even greater need than usual for team members to collaborate. As the project progresses, there will be new ideas, methods, and resources required. To keep all these unpredictable changes from bringing a halt to everything else, you'll need to have constant contact with the team members. Team members will also need continual communication among themselves. This kind of project will require intensive collaboration, and Microsoft Project 2002 can enable that in multiple ways.

The means of collaboration you choose will depend on many factors, including the availability of specific computer applications to team members, the network set up in your enterprise, and the comfort level of team members with certain tools. Sometimes a less sophisticated application can be more effective because it enables you to get everyone up to speed with a minimal learning curve.

Collaborating with your project team by using Microsoft Project can be done in a variety of ways, but these are the three primary methods:

• E-mail system
• Microsoft Project Web Access with Microsoft Project Server
• Integration of project information, such as issues lists or Gantt Charts, with an intranet site using a digital dashboard, such as SharePoint Team Services

Each of these Microsoft Project-enabled team collaboration methods has its advantages. In general, e-mail systems are the easiest to understand and Microsoft Project Web Access is the most powerful.