Birds view of the whole marina beach enviroment with hydroplis terrain added. Thanks to Gorden from team Urbans who helped me to solve the problem of texture imported to be too bright from last modification.
Another view of the island from real time play mode. Noticed the terrain colour to be much more realistic.
“It is not a question of how well each process works; the question is how well they all work together.” – Lloyd Dobyns and Clare Crawford-Mason, Think about quality
Gathering applications
Primarily include surveys, project management, feedback, and time tracking. While these applications might be included in some wikis and blogs, e.g wetpaint.
Wikis
They are either stand-alone (such as MediaWiki) or part of a suite (such as TikiWiki) or as a web based such as Wetpaint. Wikis might include workflow management, blogs, image and file galleries, chat, a calendar, surveys and more.
Blogger
It lets you create a blog for yourself or for your team, letting all team members post on individual blogs. You can post photos, customize the layout, and set the options for syndication (RSS feeds). You can also specify whether your blog is public or is only available to those readers you have chosen.
Google calendar
It lets you create multiple calendars, which you can view individually or as a group. You specify the name of the event, when it is (and if it is and all-day or limited-time event, and if it repeats), where it is, which of your calendar it belongs to (if you have multiple calendars), and a description.
References:
M.Katerine (kit) Brown, Brenda Huetture, and Char James-Tanny (2007), Managing Virtual Teams, Worldware Publishing, Plano.
Mehdi Khosrow-Pour, (2007), Emerging Informationo Resources Management and Technologies, Idea Group Publishing, Hershey
Axel Bruns, (2008), Blogs, Ekipedia, Second Life, and Beyond, Peter Publishing, New York.
The word intent or intention is usually connected with desire and determination but in a less powerful meaning.
A working definition for intention is: “to have in mind a purpose or plan, to direct the mind, to aim.” Lacking intention, we sometimes stray without meaning or direction. “Only a few things about teams are sure, and one is this: successful teams have clear goals.” quoted from Glenn Parker’s book, Cross-Functional Teams. Without a shared vision, intention and goals to support a teams main vision which in our case the desire of high achievement, teams will fracture along personal views and functional lines and the project will fail.
Purpose
Why are you doing this project? What will be different when you finish the project successfully? Without a clear purpose, you will not be able to tell if the project is successful or not. For example, a project purpose might be “to shorten the customer’s learning curve.”
Goal
What are you going to do in order to accomplish the purpose? A project with the purpose of shortening the c ustomer learning curve might have a goal of “ simplify the user interface: or “ improve available training material.: Note that purpose and goals are not the same.
Major milestones
How are you going to accomplish the goals, and by when? You do not need to duplicate the task or schedule sections (those come later in the plan); just summarize them at this point.
M.Katerine (kit) Brown, Brenda Huetture, and Char James-Tanny (2007), Managing Virtual Teams, Worldware Publishing, Plano.
Kurt Verweire and Lutgart Van Ben Berghe (2004), Integrated Performance Management, Sage Publication, London.
http://healing.about.com/od/marciawieder/a/powerintention.htm. Accessed on 21st of April
Context
From Word Power Dictionary of Readers Digest, the word context meaning the circumstances that form the setting for an event, statement, or idea. Context may be one of the most important cultural variables for virtual teams.
In high-context cultures, messages have little meaning without an understanding of the surrounding context. People from high-context cultures prefer more historical information and more subjective personal opinions. People from low-context cultures prefer more objective and “fact-based” information.
Members from high-context cultures may prefer communicatons that are able to carry a great deal of contextual information. This implies that information-rich technologies that convey a number of clues regarding meaning may be modre suited to a team with a number of members from high-context cultures. High-context cultures include China, Japan, Greece, Mexico etc. Moderate-context cultures include Italy, France, Britain etc. Low context cultures include English Canada, USA, Germany.
The collaborative context
Collaborative technologies have changed the context of interaction completely. Many conversations can take place at the same time. Ideas generated by different people on a shared screen for all to see inspire conversations within the group. Ideas are both external and manipulable. People can create icons to represent ideas and concepts, which others can modify or manipulate until they become both community property and a visual part of the conversation.
Electronic collaboration is the use of networking and collaborative technologies to support groups in the creation of shared understanding. Electronic collaboration fosters new kinds of collective work made possible with advanced collaboration technologies. The use of collaborative technologies enables conversations with new kinds of prosperities.
References
Vlatka Hlupic, (2002), Knowledge and business process management, Idea Group Inc (IGI), Hershey
Deborah L. Duarte, Nancy Tennant Snyder (2006), Mastering virtual teams: strategies, tools, and techniques that succeed, John Wiley and Sons. Stafford BC
My category is shared Repositories such as Youtube, Google 3d Warehouse, Filefront or Fileplanet.
As shared repositories such as Youtube, Google 3D Warehouse and Filefront are widely used throughout all phases of the project, collaborative team building will form naturally by all team members. The purpose of using multidisciplinary shared repositories not only helps to develop better team culture but also emphasizes on the quality and efficiency of the project.
Our team could use Youtube for online video sharing which shows our work to everyone. Youtube allows our team mate to work seamlessly with each other throughout the whole project. Youtube videos set as a centralized sharing point for what we should achieve.
Google 3D Warehouse merges with Sketchup effortlessly since it is one of Sketchup’s supporting website for 3D model sharing online. Our team member couldl share their part of model via Google 3D Warehouse which improves work efficiency.
Filefront and Fileplanet allow us to share the actual model and map file for our project for supporting what each of us is doing despite differences in the progress of the final project which saves time for meeting up and pass over the models to team mates.
By providing a centralized shared repository for project information, team members won’t have to meet face to face in order to work their part of job. If we have team members in Asia, , Australia, North America or any other places that the whole team can’t not meet together, place project-related information on shared repositories will allow everyone to access what they needed 24/7. Incorporate other collaboration technologies, such as instant messaging, online chat room. This whole collaborative process throughout shared repositories will ultimately improve work efficiency of all team members.
Culture
The term culture is defined in many ways. In our case, culture will mainly be defined for team building. All teams experience challenges in culture, logistics communication, and so on. Here i will use the example of iceberg to describe the challenge in culture for collaborative team building.
As with the icebergs that float on the ocean, it is not the obvious, visible differences that get even experienced people into difficulties when working with other cultures, but the nuances that lurk below the surface of most people’s conscious awareness. And cultural differences exist, not only in virtual teams like what we are right now, but also within the same locale, office, or social group. The structure of the iceberg is a common and apt analogy for describing culture:
Above the waterline: About 15% to 20% of culture is readily visible. These characteristics include things like language, ethnicity, dress, laws, art, architecture, and other attributes that fare immediately obvious when meeting a person from am particular culture or when you set foot in a particular locale that is representative of a culture.
At the waterline: about 5% of culture is on the edge of one’s awareness. These are things that might not be obvious until they are pointed out, but most people are conscious that they exist and can generally adapt their behavior appropriately. Examples include table manners, level of formality, personal space, hierarchy, and so on.
Under the surface: about75% to 80% of a culture lurks below the surface of most people’s awareness. These characteristics are the deeply ingrained attitudes, beliefs, prejudices, expectations, and so on that comprises an individual’s world view. In many cases, even people who are self-aware and thoughtful have difficulty articulating and explaining these attributes, precisely because they are so deeply ingrained.
In most situations, you get what you give. If you approach a situation with an open mind, a friendly attitude, and a genuine desire to understand and work with the other person, the other person will respond in kind. When inevitable misunderstandings occur, have a sense of humor about them and patiently work through the misunderstanding. Encourage your team to stretch beyond individual comfort zones and to learn about and accommodate cultural differences, while remembering that, at our core, we are more alike than different – we all want food, shelter, clean water, for our children to be better off than we are, and to leave the world better place than it was when we arrived.
Building a Team Culture
The challenge for managers of multicultural teams is to build an atmosphere of mutual respect, effective communication, and productivity despite differing worldviews and physical environments. In essence, as a manger or team leader, you must take a disparate group of people and culture, and develop a team culture that is an amalgamation of the best of each culture and strength that the individual team members bring with them. Manager can facilitate building a team culture by doing the following:
If the project is going to last for months or is highly complex, budget for periodic in-person meetings for at least the functional leads.
During the initial meeting, after some teambuilding time, ask team members what kind of team they want to be and what they want the work environment to be like. This helps identify what the team members expect from themselves, each other, and you.
People tend to be more productive when they feel a connection to their teammates. Fun, social interaction builds that connection and encourages proactive communication with the other team members. Such interactions can range from checking in at the beginning of a meeting to an off-site teambuilding event.
The biggest complaint in post-project evaluations is communication. It is impossible to over-communicate. Follow conversations with an email summarizing agreements and action items, and ask the recipient to confirm his or her understanding. Identify potential challenges and opportunities, and plan as a team for the possibilities.
Recognizing a job well done is an important aspect of team leadership. It is important to provide recognition thoughtfully and carefully.
If you have team members in Asia, , Australia, North America or any other places that the whole team can’t not meet together, place project-related information on a intranet site or team blog, team wiki site where everyone can access it 24/7. Incorporate other collaboration technologies, such as instant messaging, online chat room.
Incorporate national and religious holidays, as well as vacations, in your project planning. Promise only what you can comfortably provide, but always suggest alternatives if you are unable to meet a request.
References:
M.Katerine (kit) Brown, Brenda Huetture, and Char James-Tanny (2007), Managing Virtual Teams, Worldware Publishing, Plano.
Kurt Verweire and Lutgart Van Ben Berghe (2004), Integrated Performance Management, Sage Publication, London.
Image 1: http://benasur.files.wordpress.com/2008/11/iceberg22.jpg, accessed on 26th of March 2009
Image 2: http://www.healthyteams.com.au/userfiles/image/healthyteamfoundations.jpg, accessed on 26th of March 2009
Image 3: http://www.12manage.com/images/picture_deal_kennedy_culture_types.gif, accessed on 26th of March 2009
Management
As described by World Power Dictionary, management means the process of managing. It is the process of getting activities completed efficiently and effectively with and through other people. For our case, the term management will mainly focused on Project Management, Team Management, and Preformance Management.
Planning
Organising
Staffing
Directing
Coordinating
Reporting
Budgeting
References:
Kurt Verweire and Lutgart Van Ben Berghe (2004), Integrated Performance Management, Sage Publication, London.
Project management, http://managementhelp.org/, accessed on 27th of March 2009
Development of Management thought, http://choo.fis.utoronto.ca/fis/courses/LIS1230/LIS1230sharma/history4.htm, accessed on 27th of March 2009
Tech Test For Exporting Model from 3D max 2008 to Crysis Sandbox 2
