@anthonynjit to answer your response on this topic I do believe that in the era we live in now of pre pandemic and post pandemic of Covid-19, virtual access to meetings and project management on zoom calls are more critical than ever. Prior to the virtual explosion of zoom conference calls and meetings there was smaller sectors and versions of virtual chat, but I don't think big companies and corporations realized how critical and valuable that these virtual safety nets have been able to connect many people at one time on the job and get communication done in all departments effectively which has truly been a life saver in order to conduct business and get work delegated and accomplished without skipping a beat. 

@jafangnibo You made some very valid points. There definitely should be some face to face interactions for project management to be executed the way it was intended. There should be a process to measure if projects are being completed according to guidelines and timelines set in place. Remote work in regards to project management does work by using platforms such as Zoom and Microsoft Teams to meet with employees and team members. A benefit that has been seen with project management and Covid-19 is that using digital platforms has helped businesses to reduce costs for traveling to sites, and there has been an increase in effectiveness and availability from companies.

@wmckennedymsm-edu That is a great observation. Another thing I saw with a lot of hospitals during covid is that began to allow non-medical people to work from home like the medical coders and billers. They were able to decrease the numbers of personnel in the building as well as save money by repurposing the space by leasing it to another essential industry. Made perfect business sense to me!

Ever since Covid fell upon us, different aspects of society have changed, especially with regards to employment within the medical field. Even when not specifically honing in on medicine, project management in all forms in all fields has changed, largely because work has shifted to being remote (for health and safety reasons). I think allowing for these kinds of tasks and others to be done remotely alleviates the stresses that are associated with trying to come in-person for work, and with apps and software like Zoom and Slack, communication with project teams can still be conducted effectively (barring no technological difficulties). I will say that it does require discipline and more structure on the project team to make sure all tasks are completed in a timely manner and to the same standards expected pre-Covid when team members were in-office. So, though that can potentially cause issues, I think, overall, it allows for better work quality, time management skill increases, and a better work-life balance for the team. Hopefully it also bolsters collaboration as-needed rather than forcing it where it's not necessary.

Ever since Covid fell upon us, different aspects of society have changed, especially with regards to employment within the medical field. Even when not specifically honing in on medicine, project management in all forms in all fields has changed, largely because work has shifted to being remote (for health and safety reasons). I think allowing for these kinds of tasks and others to be done remotely alleviates the stresses that are associated with trying to come in-person for work, and with apps and software like Zoom and Slack, communication with project teams can still be conducted effectively (barring no technological difficulties). I will say that it does require discipline and more structure on the project team to make sure all tasks are completed in a timely manner and to the same standards expected pre-Covid when team members were in-office. So, though that can potentially cause issues, I think, overall, it allows for better work quality, time management skill increases, and a better work-life balance for the team. Hopefully it also bolsters collaboration as-needed rather than forcing it where it's not necessary.

I believe virtual communications has improved project life cycles because I believe it holds more employees to be accountable. When all communication or most communication is done virtually, it holds those who have projects to complete accountable. COVID-19 left many people to work from the comfort of the house. Which means time is saved in travel and money is saved as well, thus allowing for plenty of time to complete a project. I believe virtual communications too can hinder projects if someone on the team does not communicate well.

I honestly think it is about the same. I would also say it is less social awkwardness in it since we are only virtual. We used to use group chats to speak with each other about our projects before the pandemic. Now we still do it. We used online document editing that allowed us to all edit without having to send it back and forth. We still did that in the pandemic. There is not much of a difference in productivity, which speaks to our resilience.

Many of these posts discuss how communication has stayed relatively unchanged or improved and, in many cases, I agree with them. Although I only have experience in the COVID-era, many of the projects I assisted on had team members stationed across the country/world—I only have experience in government work. Microsoft teams, Slack, and other websites like Trello allow for virtual whiteboards, communication, and task lists that kept all the projects going. The only aspect of my experience that was hindered was communication with upper-level bosses. Instead of being able to pop into their offices and ask a question, the only way to communicate was through email or chat. These individuals in my experience were extremely busy, and because I was only an intern, I was not very high on the priority list for them (rightfully so) which made it harder for me to get my work done depending on what I needed them for.

Has anyone else experienced this and found a way to work around it, or is this just a more government-than-industry issue? 

The COVID pandemic has certainly impacted communication between several sectors within the workplace. The norm had gone from working face to face in the office to working from home in what seemed to overnight, forcing companies to adapt quickly and implement measures compatible with the home office of their employees. Although virtual forms of communication existed pre-pandemic via email and others, the pandemic forced companies into overdrive with video conferencing (Zoom, Webex, etc.) and instant messaging (Discord, Slack, Google Chat, Microsoft Teams, etc.) apps. Personally, I believe that in doing so, these virtual methods strengthened the ways of communication and improved project life cycles by making communication faster, more efficient, concise, and open. The virtual workspace allows employees to communicate openly and maintain a documented string of communication which may contribute to increased focus and productivity. Communication in the workplace is essential to success and I believe virtual communication has its contributions.

@knd26 I've been in the same boat where I've had difficulty contacting certain people when we were all working virtually. Whereas pre-COVID you could simply walk up to colleagues and talk face-to-face, when everyone was limited to virtual work, sometimes even a quick question can take days and multiple follow-up messages before getting a response. In these cases, it is definitely important to talk to your project team and express that you're having trouble obtaining certain answers. The project manager could escalate the issue and convey the urgency of the matter to the unresponsive person or to their manager, or they could suggest a different individual who may be more available to help. Plus, the other project team members might be having a similar issue, so it's always good to bring it up. I think situations like this are where project managers truly shine - facilitating communications in order to get the desired outcome.

I believe virtual communications have improved since covid-19 therefore providing benefits to project life cycles. As mentioned before there were already means of communicating virtually but not to the extent that we have now post covid. Although this is great I do also believe the nature of working from home created a different work environment when people had to return to in person activities. Many employees have stated they prefer to work from home or hybrid vs strictly in person. I think this creates an environment where some employees are unhappy and that might create a negative environment which can delay project life cycles. 

I think that projects, that are very hands-on, might be limited by remote and virtual activity. If you want to bring a project to success, you need to work together as a team. I just think productivity increases tremendously when you are all together, versus lounging around in your home. However, they do have a lot of project management systems, that are electronic, that seem to offer a glimmer of hope.