Distributed Teams

Contents 1 Overview 2 Importance 3 PMI-ACP Exam Outline Reference 4 Body 5 History 6 Current practice 7 See also 8 Sources & Reference 9 External Links

Overview

In today's global market place distributed teams are found in most companies subscribing to Agile methodologies and engaging in global activities or outsource to satisfy cost or resource requirements.

Importance

PMI-ACP Exam Outline Reference

Tools and Techniques > Communication

Body

Though team collocation is highly recommended in all Agile methodologies, working with distributed teams might give companies access to talent that they may otherwise not be able to tap locally. Additionally, organizations might gain experience in working with different global markets and cultures which can prove to be vital with planned global expansion.

With access to more potential resources a project could be completed faster and with significant cost savings.

On the other hand working with distributed teams introduces many challenges in the Agile process. Face-to-face communication requires use of potential expensive technology, such as video conferencing and time differences in a team spanning global time-zones require coordination and unusual meeting times. Language and cultural barriers might further hamper communication paramount for Agile project teams.

History

Distributed teams existed in the world of project management from the beginning. Due to modern technologies and cost pressures forcing companies to outsource work gloablly distributed teams have become a common appearance. Distributed teams have proven the ability to work following Agile processes, but usually require more coordination and technological support. Working in a global market place distributed team often have become a necessity where co-location would be too costly or is impossible due to other factors.

Current practice

See also

Experience Report - Outsourcing Agile Without Losing Agile

Sources & Reference

External Links