Page 350 - Global Project Management Handbook

MANAGING GLOBAL PROJECTS 17-7

on-demand services from the organizational knowledge portal. This module also cre-
ates a business context that consists of domain-specific resource links that provide
external resource linkages and information repositories that collect business-related
information to create a knowledge warehouse for reference.
3. Project center module. This serves as the command, control, communication, and col-
laboration center for projects and portfolio(s) of project(s).
4. Project workplace module. This is composed of a cluster of function-specific informa-
tion repositories, tools, and workbenches to support project-specific activities. This
module also provides records and data for project manager to generate reports from the
project center.
5. Connectivity map module. This connects the knowledge portal, project center, and proj-
ect workplace and modules into a configurable workplace protected by different levels
of access security, authorization, and authentication depending on the roles and respon-
sibilities in the project.
A project or a group of portfolio projects can be based on their missions and needs to
create a project management system using the proposed collaborative knowledge frame-
work. This framework is hardware-independent. The system can be built using Web ser-
vices along with other information integrators to exchange all the project-related data
among application systems through the organization’s information technology (IT)
infrastructure. Project team members and stakeholders can access the system through
Web browsers or rich client software for additional functions.

Collaboration Platform Module
Project communication can be presented in the form of a meeting, project report, or
some combination of both. Project meetings can be event-driven, informal, or formal.
The formal project meeting can be for information gathering, decision making, or
problem solving. Project reporting can be for review(s), status presentations, perfor-
mance evaluations, or analyses. The reporting methods can be online, offline, or
interactive. Depending on the nature of the activities, a project may require wired as
well as wireless connection. Both wired and/or wireless connectivity requires equip-
ment and services from service providers.

The typical collaboration platform supports e-mail, instant messaging, e-meetings,
and online community and Web casting functions across the organization. The project
team members can use e-meetings or Web conferencing facilities to update project
status, to solve problems, and to make decisions in real time. To facilitate online inter-
action, a project team will need to create information repositories and workbenches for
collaborating day-to-day planning, design, and implementation activities. To meet the
market challenges under global competition, a project needs to have the capability to
reconfigure the virtual workplace dynamically. For productivity improvement, the team
members also can customize their individual workplace by personalizing the organiza-
tion’s knowledge portal to include news, directories, smart search, market intelligence,
training, services, and other support functions.
All the collaborative features should be connected through the organizational net-
work. This collaboration platform should integrate with the knowledge portal, project
center, and project workplace to provide users with Internet (or just intranet) access
for general information and service requests, as well as for project-specific informa-
tion and activities. A simple scenario can be for a team member or a project manager
to schedule an e-meeting to conduct a conference call by voice and video through
Web conferencing services. Then the attendees will receive an e-mail notification or a