DOE scientists test 'virtual teams'

Despite the many miles that separate them, Energy Department engineers, scientists, managers and contractors are collaborating daily on a complex project using what may become a model for teamwork in the new government workplace, according to a new report from the PricewaterhouseCoopers Endowment for the Business of Government.

The report, "Using Virtual Teams to Manage Complex Projects: A Case Study of the Radioactive Waste Management Project," examines how hundreds of virtual teams work together everyday to assess the suitability of a site at Yucca Mountain, Nev., to store nuclear waste. This depth of this virtual teaming experiment makes it a model for other agency managers to learn from, said report author Samuel M. DeMarie, a Iowa State University scholar.

DOE's team members told DeMarie that their work "would have been impossible without the ability to regularly connect with distant members." All members of project were given personal computers that were connected to a network through a common server. Lotus Notes software was used to coordinate communications over the network. Teleconferences were held weekly, on average, and videoconferences were held a few times a month.

Team members said they drew several lessons from the experiment:

• Hold face-to-face meetings. Technical jargon and e-mail slang can be barriers to effective communications, so occasional face-to-face meetings are still important to establish team protocols.
• Train teams on the new technologies they'll be using. DOE team members unfamiliar with online discussions or videoconferencing were reluctant to join in for fear of doing something wrong.
• Manage the virtual team workload. "Interviewees believed that supervisors must closely monitor the burden associated with multiple team assignments and fight the tendency to underestimate virtual team responsibilities if they hope to avoid burnout among employees," the report said.
• Keep the technology simple. Team members must have compatible technologies and technical support should be competent and readily available. Technical problems often "offset the advantages that the communications technologies afforded," the report said.

While many federal managers get bogged down in the technical details of managing virtual teams-such as getting the latest technology- investing in the "softer" side of team dynamics, such as training, communications protocols and face-to-face meetings, often yields better returns, DeMarie concluded.