Based on what I've learned about project management and what Covid-19 forced us to do, we all should exchange contact information with not only one person in the organization. That gives us a chance to send emails and text messages to more than one person in the organization, so that if one person is unavailable for any reason, someone else can respond or direct us to the right person. 

During the early period of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was working as a prototype designer. I was primarily communicating with clients through email with occasional phone calls. I found it challenging to provide and receive feedback on designs as there was often miscommunication through emails and it was challenging to stay on the same page. During in person meetings, I would generally show the actual sketches of 3D model and we would then talk through things like, what the functions of different parts would be, what looked good/bad, what might be a problem, etc. In order to improve the communication through email, we began using much more detailed images with clear labels and extremely detailed captions outlining the various parts and more frequent phone calls to follow up each email. This did improve the communication, but I think it would have been more effective to use video calls where we could share screens to have a discussion more like what would have been had in person.

Following up smartly is a necessary management skill, and with the pandemic, it has even become more important. Adding coworkers of the recipient as CC to an email sometimes helps in receiving a quick response. I personally like to receive emails that are brief and to the point and think that most would feel the same way. During follow-up emails, it is also useful to reattach any required documents for easy access. Sometimes specifying a deadline also helps a lot. Blaming a recipient in an email for a late response can be counter-productive and disruptive for your work relationship, especially during this pandemic people are stressed and could react in unexpected ways. Allowing the coworker/recipient his personal space is important by avoiding sending messages or calling at inappropriate times or on holidays unless absolutely necessary. 

I believe virtual communication has improved immensely from the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic to now, mostly due to trial and error over the last 10 months. Platforms, such as WebEx, Zoom, and Google Classroom, were rarely utilized before the pandemic, and there were a lot of issues and kinks to fix and figure out back in March. It was also very time consuming for most, with often times technical difficulties and miscommunication turning what would normally be one quick, routine in-person meeting into a longer meeting or several meetings. From a personal standpoint, I now prefer online classes due to convenience purposes, but it took awhile to get used to the change, particularly when it came to group projects. Communicating with group members and trying to come up with a successful project plan can be extremely difficult when everyone is in a different location. Some may even be living in different time zones. Moreover, the most important lesson I've learned over the course of this pandemic is that it is always better to lean on the side of overcommunication when dealing with virtual projects and presentations.

Although I am not a project manager, I do actively work in a lab and with a team. I've found that COVID did disrupt the flow of conversation and information early on, but by implementing required zoom meetings and other, more direct forms of communication such as texting, we were able to work around these lapses. 

Ultimately, it has been a challenge but it is not like I was not already using email and texting to contact those who I work with. 

I agree, it is been really hard lately communicating things between team members due to the lack of face-to-face communication. Everything works best when you have the opportunity to just stop by someone's desk and discuss something for 15min rather than waste an hour trying to figure out what you are not getting right. It is also better to always refer to the physical product or monitor testing results yourself at the lab. A big problem with working from home is not having enough time to execute your own tasks. Now my work days are filled with meetings, since face-to-face communications are not possible anymore. Any small conversation needed tends to drag to a 30min or even an hour meeting, wasting some time that could have been used to complete something more important. The ideal solution in this situation is to have 15min conversation instead of scheduling meetings. It always starts with "do you have a minute?" and then it would be really easy to discuss the topic desired. This way your work day wouldn't be always blocked off with meetings and people cannot reach you, especially working with people internationally. Nowadays technology makes it way easier to have a better interactions, offering video calls and sharing screens in order to make everything easier for more success. Another good idea is to share personal contact information in order for anyone to reach you easier for a quick chat. I personally don't really prefer this method, since I like some privacy in my personal life and I can be easily reached to on any of the work chatting programs, i.e. Microsoft Teams.

I have actually found Covid-19 to disrupt project management in a different way than just being virtual at all times. Since many companies had feared their profits would dive, the hiring and retention of talent grew slim and there seemed to be gaps in teams that caused some timing and resourcing issues. It became harder to have simple tasks that needed a few sign offs to be completed as everyone was stretched thinner than the past with no difference in the amount of work needing to be completed everyday. 

On the other side of the coin, it has enabled many teams to become more efficient in time management. Personally, this encourages myself to talk to my team and become more open to casual conversation meetings that feel like I would be ready to be back in the office again. I know my company is doing its very best at keeping everyone feeling like they are able to still drive creative and innovative products, even when virtual meetings are the only collaboration time. 

While I do not have any experience as a project manager, there have clearly been great changes in how people communicate. In my experience in a research lab with only 10 people text messages and emails which were already the primary form of communication have become even more important. There has also been continued usage of online lab meetings. As such for me there have been negligible changes. From hearing from friends most of there work has been moved to their homes, unless they require specific equipment or a clean room. But they have kept not embraced texting, but instead use in-office messaging systems like Slack. This is most likely so that larger companies can keep track of conversations easier. This system also works better for people that do not want to use their personal phone for work interactions.

Due to COVID-19, project management, and more specifically, the communication required for projects to be completed, have been heavily disrupted. Although my experience with this disruption is not within industry, but rather academia, I found that I had many similar challenges to what others have mentioned. Last semester, I was completing a master’s project under the supervision of a professor. My advisor was keen on being involved in almost every step of my project, and this required a lot of communication between us. However, the major problem I faced was that communication with my advisor was difficult. Despite having to come in myself to work on my project, my advisor did not come in nearly as often, so we did not have many face-to-face interactions. More than this, my advisor was very busy handling multiple projects, so I would not typically receive responses to emails, text messages, or phone calls until much later. Ultimately, I was able to set up a reoccurring meeting with my advisor in which I could provide him with progress updates and receive any feedback for what additional items needed to be completed. Although this did not completely remedy the issue of poor communication, it did provide me with a definitive weekly meeting to discuss anything that I needed too.

Working in a corporate environment, I feel that having the face-to-face interaction is definitely helpful, but not necessary. We have been able to navigate through the pandemic without the need to see each other every day. This can be attributed to technology. If it weren’t for the advanced technology we have today, project management of different types of projects/research, would not be feasible. However, I feel that would be very difficult to properly communicate the progress made in a research lab without the face-to-face interaction if working in a research lab. I believe the solution to communication issues, in regards to working a in research lab for example, is holding recurring meetings with the advisor/colleagues as it would be the most effective in communicating progress made in research as @am2343 mentioned above. 

It is not necessary to have a face to face interaction with people all the time in the work environment all the time. COVID-19 has proved this more correctly. People who has to work a particular task has to take responsibility for their work and be able to allot their time to it. It completely depends the individual to be answerable to their calls and emails regarding work. There are also people who work from home even before the pandemic but were able to manage the work properly. There is great advanced technology of many websites and applications which companies use to keep track of the work from the teams for projects. It makes the work easier for the project manager or the head to understand what to expect from an individual at the end of every deadline and keep a continuous track of the progress. Technology is helping the organizations and making it easier for the individuals to keep everything in order.

Due to COVID – 19, I have experienced the disruptions it caused working on projects in both industry and academia. As for industry, I was working as an intern in the spring semester of 2020 for a medical device manufacturing company where I would occasionally have to go into the office. The minor disruption that I experienced while in the office was trying to communicate with coworkers that were working from home that day. The disruption was related to the time it took to sometimes receive a response in comparison to just stopping by one’s desk as mentioned in a prior reply to this post. The method I adopted was to anticipate any potential questions related to my work for the week and ask coworkers the questions in advance if both of us were in the office on the same day. Similarly, I would also send any inquiry emails to coworkers prior to leaving my house in the morning if that coworker was not coming in for the day. In the case of academia, I was working on a master’s project last semester where most questions were answered in our weekly progress reports meetings over a video call. In addition to the questions that arose from my work throughout that week, I would also anticipate any potential questions that may arise from the work that I planned to do in the following week. Overall, the method I implemented to receive responses in a timely manner was to anticipate any questions or inquires that may arise in advance.

Due to COVID-19, its becoming increasingly more difficult to get ahold of people when you really need them. Personally, I'm the type of person who typically doesn't like to overdo phone calls and emails and things like that. Fortunately, I was able to overcome this weakness. To reach someone, I will not hesitate to email multiple times, call and text. I find that an email or text is more effective because not a lot of people enjoy speaking on the phone. I also make it a mission of mine to stay online just incase someone needs to reach me.