Virtual Working in Project Teams.

Research by

Dr Rick Forester, Dr Katherine Bloomfield, Dr Rehema Msulwa, and Professor Michael Lewis.

A collaboration between Cranfield, Hull and Bath Universities

 This paper posits that there are substantive differences in the suitability of virtual work depending on the work type, e.g. whether it is transactional-based or creative and knowledge based in nature. The principal goal of this paper is to demonstrate that projects have a unique opportunity to mitigate the shortcomings of undertaking creative virtual work and maximise the opportunities afforded by it. Unlike business-as-usual operational work, project work progresses between distinct stages (Initiation, Planning, Implementation, Close-out), each of which are characterised by distinctly different working requirements. By superimposing the conceptual dialogue embedded within the academic literature onto the distinct project lifecycle stages that are implemented in practice by project practitioners, this paper contributes actionable insights to project professionals, and illuminates a contemporary research agenda for virtual work in projects.

Project completion has been forecast for October - November 2020.