An investigation into project team dynamics and the utilization of virtual environments

The construction industry offers its services to customers. Change in the industry has been significantly driven by large client organisations demanding a better service from construction industry participants. A key factor in the achievement of successful project outcomes is the nature of the relationship between members of project teams, including clients, which need to be established as early as possible in a project’s life cycle. This paper focuses on the initial phase of a research scoping study which aims to investigate, by reviewing and analysing relevant literature, project team dynamics from the standpoint of “people and process” issues. The impact on the growth of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) on teams is discussed, specifically in terms of how its implementation affects project teams, and the individuals within them. The research method involves a literature review which identifies key factors relevant to project and virtual team environments. The outcome of the literature review is the identification of a model of work design to be tested in the next stage of the scoping study. The paper concludes that although, not unexpectedly, project management and virtual team literature share many common themes, a greater understanding of how new, and different, knowledge and skills are required by teams to work in virtual environments is critical.