Page 358 - Global Project Management Handbook

MANAGING GLOBAL PROJECTS 17-15

During work hours, all the employees and project team members are required to log
onto the instant messaging system that sits on top of the corporate directory. By making
every one connected online within the company, this creates a working environment in
which everyone is one keystroke away from everyone else. In addition, individuals are
required to update their personal profile in the corporate directory to include their latest
experience and skill development. Sitting on top of this huge directory and corporate
profile is a knowledge portal that allows individuals to configure their personal
on-demand workplace. All the projects are gradually consolidated into a few key port-
folio management systems under the project center. Based on the personal profiles in
the corporate directory, human resources can be allocated and reallocated dynamically
as in a talent grid.
Online learning and on-demand services have become the way of life. Skill transfer
and new-technology adaptation happen in the background with e-mail notification or
broadcasting messages through the corporate online community. Besides routine use of
the online system for training and knowledge sharing, individuals also can conduct
instant polls or participate in forums. There are so many community broadcasting chan-
nels for different types of activities in the company that on one occasion when someone
accidentally used a wrong messaging system and asked, “Ajoy, when are you going
home?” instantaneously, there were tens of responses asking, “Who is Ajoy?” Even
more surprisingly, there were more than half dozen Ajoys worldwide, replying, “I am
not going home yet.” It is so real and so powerful that the collaborative knowledge
framework has become a corporate core competence to compete in the global market.
However, everything that happened on the collaborative knowledge framework has
left footprints, logs, and records that will be tracked and measured for quality and pro-
ductivity improvement. Privacy protection and access security to this shared infra-
structure need to conform with the code of conduct within the corporation.

The Future: Leading to the Next Industrial Revolution

The interests of global project management have grown from building and maintain-
ing a project management system to new areas as process overhaul, life-cycle refine-
ment, virtual team building, and leadership skill development. It is a good sign to see
such awareness and change from a corporate “big brother” approach to a focus on the
project team and its individuals. As I have seen, a new set of corporate values includ-

ing customer and service focus, creativity and innovation, and personal trustworthi-
ness and responsibility such as integrity, accountability, commitment, adaptability,
flexibility, and team spirit has been reemphasized for the success of global projects.
This has become a trend toward the next industrial revolution triggered by the chal-
lenges of global project management. In the future, the collaborative knowledge
framework will be adopted to create more results in an even shorter time frame to ben-
efit more people in the originations and global villages. I am very glad to see that it is
still our responsibility and under our own control to manage the work/life balance for
ourselves. Our fitness, emotional stability, and attitude will determine the final suc-
cess of a global project and the future world.

CONCLUSION

A global project will be highly market-driven with technology leadership through global
sourcing. It will require a guided process and a configurable working environment to
support the project life cycle. Most of the existing global projects do have a defined