I think that the effect of COVID on virtual communications has stayed relatively similar to pre-COVID activity, at least for very large companies. I will preface this response by saying that my only working experience has come during the COVID-era so I have no experience during a "normal" project. I think things have stayed the same because for large companies, team members can be located across the country or even the world. At work, I am on several projects with team members from Israel, California, Texas, and Puerto Rico, meanwhile I sit at my desk in New Jersey. Pre-Covid, our communications would have had to be online, similar to today, with weekly meetings for project status updates. So in turn, I think that things have stayed pretty consistent despite a global pandemic, at least in the company I work for and what I have been able to see within the medical device world. Have you or anyone seen/experienced something different?

Thanks,

Matt

I believe that the transition to a virtual environment has improved project communication. While some aspects of virtual work have existed prior to COVID-19 they certainly did not exist in the capacity nor the efficiency that they do now. It is now easier than ever to chat and talk with your co-workers through programs like MS Teams. While it was never "difficult" per se to communicate with your coworkers, a virtual environment takes away some of the formality that may prevent quicker and more comfortable way of communication. Personally, I find it much easier message my manager or project lead and let them respond when they are available rather than approach them at their desk and hope they are not too busy or are actually sitting there!

With that while I feel the act of communicating is easier some instances are still a work in progress. Meaning can be lost through text messages and often require video calls to clarify which extend the amount of time on a task. Additionally, asking a simple question that could be answered with a few words can possibly take a few hours if the person you are talking to is busy or simply away from their computer. Finally, this may just be my experience but I feel as if problems and discussion are better had in person. In my opinion, conclusions are reached quicker and with less confusion through an in person meeting rather than in a virtual format. I am interested in what other people feel regarding my last point as I've noticed I carried a similar opinion in both my classes and internship.

I do believe that virtual communications have helped improve project life cycles to some degree. As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, virtual communication has certainly improved as we now have plenty of platforms to accommodate WFH work arrangements. Many of us have experienced working with people, whether it be coworkers or professors or fellow students, who may not have been as easily reached through emails or text or phone/video calls. The pandemic has definitely stressed the importance of communication. Because people were forced to work from home and could no longer rely on coming into work to meet and receive updates, we all have had to learn to maintain constant communication between coworkers and managers so that projects aren’t delayed. As people grew accustomed to online communication, I find that it has certainly been easier to get a hold of coworkers and managers.

On the other hand, I believe there are aspects of a project that are hindered by the transition to virtual communication and the WFH arrangement. I work in a lab that requires me to be on-site to get my tasks done. While planning and brainstorming can certainly be done online through virtual meetings, I find it more convenient to be in person as opposed to waiting for an email reply or waiting for a call back in the cases where experiments don’t go as planned or if any setbacks were to occur.

I think that these virtual communications may have hindered the planning phase of project management. For medical devices, this week's lecture discussed that one way to organize tasks (WBS) is by phase. In this instance I think that the input and design phase could be hindered via electronic communication. It can be easier to bounce ideas off of one another with face to face communication as opposed to virtual communications. I agree with the previous post that there can be more confusion when communicating virtually. In person, it is also easier to gauge body language and tone of voice. As a result of this barrier it can sometimes be more difficult to communicate online. Additionally, in my experience I have discovered that some people have found it more difficult to bond with their team online especially when compared to the dynamic and friendship that can be built in person. This can hinder projects because a strong team foundation and teamwork is vital to a successful project. Virtually, this is much more difficult to do. 

Aside from the first planning phase I agree with the previous posts that most project management work can be done remotely. The benefits of this virtual option include decreased travel time. Additionally, remote work can even decrease costs associated with operating office spaces. 

Has anyone else found that it can be harder to build friendships/communicate with team members virtually? 

The pandemic made it almost impossible to adjust to the new communication norm. Many companies felt threatened by the pressures of needing social distance and becoming more accustomed to a virtual work environment. Virtual communication, I think, made a lot of project managers fear a decrease in employee productivity. However, some aspects of the change were part of the company before the pandemic. The challenges that companies failed to prepare for allowed them to develop effective methods for persevering through similar challenges. With this in mind, I believe that virtual communications strengthened project life cycles by challenging companies to work through difficult times. If effective communication is a norm for the company in question, the transition to virtual communication is seamless. For a company that struggles with staying on schedule, this may not be the case.

Posted by: @elizabetharcher

During this week's lecture, the importance of communication as a project manager was discussed and how without communication between several sectors, a project will not be successful. Throughout the pandemic, with the new normal of working from home, project managers have had to find new ways to communicate with everyone involved on a project, almost completely virtually. Do you believe that these virtual communications have improved project life cycles? Or has this mode of communication hindered projects?

Mostly due to the pandemic there have been many improvement made, and continue to be made, to online workspaces. Such as Zoom, Microsoft Teams which allows you to share projects and documents easily and work in a group, Google Docs, etc. There are some companies that have even taken it a step further and create their own workspace inside of an online Metaverse and some include Virtual reality.  I believe that these virtual communications have improved project life cycles as it allows everyone to have access to files at all times as we move to a more digital and technologically advanced world. It also allows people to work more efficiently as they are able to pick their work up at any time as opposed to having to stress at an office and stay overtime. It can have its downside as some people may not as be responsible and become lax. But that is more so up to the person than the technology.

I think there are equal pros and cons to how effective communication is for Project Managers during these times. Having everyone in person allowed for project managers to communicate in person and work over issues in real-time, resolving any issues they may have over email in person. When having a communications based position such as this, I think that face to face aspect is important. On the other hand, there are multiple communication outlets available for remote workers. Video meetings have blown up over the timeframe of the pandemic, allowing for easy accessibility for face to face conversations wherever you are in the world. I think it mainly boils down to how flexible the Project Manager wants to be with their team, and how they can accommodate for different modes of communication.

I believe due to covid 19 the communication has improved as project management due to the virtual working.However I believe it has enhance communication in a way that is beneficial for the company as well their skill set being in a management role.Furthermore before covid-19 face to face interaction was base on appointment but now we are able to make numerous appointment in one sitting speeding up production due to via zoom call.

@prentism I was actually thinking the same thing. It was not idea to communicate virtually at the height of the pandemic; however, it was easy to accomplish. The efficiency of virtual communication is critical to a thriving business. Many meetings could occur within a day and for your more ambitious individuals they were able to optimize their talents and expertise by working on several projects simultaneously. Having the virtual option for conferences and meetings allowed you to be at many places in a week without leaving the comfort and saftey of your home or office. 

Covid-19 revealed and exacerbated the gaps in communication and more than likely extended the project life cycles. At one point in time, everything came to a complete standstill - the world was actually quiet. Companies had to figure out how to pivot their operations from on-site to remote in matter of weeks. If the pandemic has not taught companies that active and effective communication is a necessary skill, I hope they've learned by now. The pandemic has heightened how important it is to communicate with your team and at first it may have hindered projects and delayed expected outcomes. However as time progress, I believe that communication has or will improve because people will adapt to the ever-evolving environment. Given the nature of how things are going now, I'd say project life cycles are improving and virtual communication allows more flexibility for people to accomplish their tasks in the pipeline.

For a project to be successful, communication is of the utmost importance.  This is even more true since the pandemic emerged. Project managers need to be engaging while allowing flexibility in the project deadlines.  If a project end date needs to be pushed back to accommodate issues with unavailable staff or supply chain issues, then so be it.  Relying on email & visual media to have progress meetings is necessary to keep everyone accountable and on task.  This is especially important when key stakeholders are working from home remotely. Although there have been challenges for companies since the pandemic, I think that there have been some welcomed improvements used to complete a project life cycle.

@anthonynjit I think Covid has forced organizations to communicate better because of the pandemic's longevity. For companies to maintain a sense of normal functions employers and leaders throughout different industries had to adapt to still convey the same messages they would in face-to-face. I do think that because of the virtual communications, there has been a slight improvement in the communication overall because of the loss in contact that everyone was forced to become comfortable with. I see it the same way as the phenomenon that occurs for some individuals when one of the senses gets weaker and another gets stronger. Because people couldn't easily go to an office or check in physically with a coworker for a misunderstanding, communicating properly the first time became even more imperative. I agree that is also allowed a more comfortable feel to communicating with other professionals that probably would have never occurred if everyone were still expected to be in the office. Responses are faster and now may appear more straight to the point which can be appreciated by most.

I do not feel like work from home and virtual communications have hindered project timelines. If anything, I would assume that it was more helpful. Work from home has allowed people to work in a more relaxed environment. Most people are more comfortable in their home. Also, it does cut down on travel time and it cuts down the time spent in meetings physically. We all know that during zoom meetings we can spend the time both in the meeting and working on something else. At least for me, I've spent many zoom meetings multi-tasking to ensure I am able to get more work done during that time. If anything, I feel I have been more efficient during work from home than I am now at a physical job. I also feel that the response time is faster virtually. If we are working on our computers, we are more likely not to miss any correspondence sent our way. It's very easy to quickly respond to an email or teams message and return to the task at hand. 

I think that the virtual change of communication due to Covid has made communication harder for some and easier for others. There are groups that have difficulty with technology and communicating through applications such as zoom and then there are groups who do it with ease. The biggest factors to communication being better or easier now since Covid is being able to add more people to a single conference or meeting, there;s more comfort ability typically without it being so face to face.