How Projects are Managed across the World

A global project is pretty much what it says on the tin. it is a project that is based in multiple countries across the world. With global projects, multiple people or project teams are spread across different countries, each working on a single project at the same time.

Key Aspects of Handling a Global Project Team

Cultural Differences

This issue especially takes the front seat when it comes to a global project team. For example, the Chinese are very non-expressive people. Therefore, if you use too many hand gestures while you speak to a group of Chinese team members, it will cause them to lose focus and get distracted. Similarly, starting work on time and finishing on time is a concrete principle in Europe, especially Germany and France, whereas in India, people are a bit more relaxed when it comes to adhering to time. [Also read: How Cultural Differences Play an Important Role in ITIL Implementation].

Holidays are an important aspect of cultural differences. The project managers need to take into account the religious and national holidays of different countries while planning the project. They need to understand the impact of these holidays on the project schedule and ensure that they are factored in while creating timelines. In the US, people might be okay with being contacted for an important piece of information while they are on vacation, whereas in the UK, people tend to get offended when they are called on work matters during vacation.

Hofstede’s ‘power distance’ is another critical cultural factor. Employees in western countries are comfortable with putting forward their opinions and questions and having a discussion with their superiors, whereas in India or China, people might be hesitant to challenge authority. Therefore, it is the project manager’s responsibility to ensure that the team members have completely understood what is expected of them and they are in agreement to perform the tasks required from them.

Language Barrier

English is the business language in most countries. However, in countries like Germany, France, China, Japan, and a few others, business is done in their respective native languages. English itself is spoken in varying accents all around the world. The project manager needs to be mindful of these differences in language and accent while considering that team members from countries whose native language is not English might not be as comfortable as the native speakers. Additionally, he or she needs to advise his team to avoid slang and humor because the other side may not understand its subtleties and may even find it offensive.

For example, phrases such as “Roger that” and “Houston, we have a situation” are very common in the US, while someone in China or India may not understand the phrase.

It might help to learn the basic greetings of the team members’ language such as “Hello”, “Goodbye” and “Thank you”. They will appreciate the effort and will form a bond with your team though they are not physically present in the same office building. Ensure that you learn the right pronunciations of the names of your team members. People tend to take offense at their names not being pronounced the right way. The way you greet people at the end of a phone conversation or email is important too.

In some cases, when the English of the team member or a vendor is impossible to comprehend, it is advisable to use an interpreter, even if it may need extra time to complete conversations. Although it is not a comprehensive solution since the interpreter might not understand the technical terms involved in the project, it is something that needs to be worked around.

Make sure all meeting discussions and conversations are documented and sent to each of the team members involved. Some people are better at reading and writing English than listening and speaking. Therefore, a written document will help them assimilate the information and come up with questions if they have any so that everyone in the team is on the same page.

Technology

The importance of technology cannot be overstated when it comes to managing a global project team. Email and telephone used to be the most common modes of communication, whereas today, there are many more efficient and cost-effective applications such as Skype, Cisco WebEx, Citrix GoToMeeting, etc. which offer several options such as video, screen sharing, document sharing, and meeting recording facilities. As far as technology is concerned, it is important to keep it a level playing field.

For example, even if you have 4 members sitting in one office and the rest joining in from different parts of the world, make sure these 4 members log in using their individual computers. This way, the rest of the team who are not physically present in the room would not feel less important.

Time Zones

Navigating time zones is an inevitable issue when it comes to managing global projects. For example, it is a challenge to even fix a meeting that involves team members from the US, UK, India, and Australia. Scheduling a meeting at a time that is comfortable for all team members who are in four different time zones is a herculean task. Additionally, the different daylight savings slots in different countries complicate it further.

The project manager could use a meeting planner and ensure that the meeting is scheduled at a time that is comfortable for everyone in the team. For example, you could schedule a meeting for 4 pm in London which is 8.30 pm in Bangalore and 8 am in San Francisco. This time slot would work for everyone. Furthermore, before you schedule the meeting, ensure that the team members are comfortable with the time slots and have the necessary equipment to be a part of the meeting if they are dialing in from their home.

Project initiatives and requests can originate either in head office or the business units

Decision to implement: each project request or initiative is examined against a set of criteria (scorecard) to determine whether it is suitable for global or local implementation. This decision is made jointly by the head office and representatives of the units, who examine the extent to which the project is aligned with the corporate strategy, its ability to succeed on a global basis (review of needs in the business units), the amount of implementation resources available, etc. The project is then rated and inter-unit collaboration initiated.

Planning processes: global projects are planned at head office. The requirements of the local units are ascertained and the scope of the project is mapped according to core and business unit activity.

Core activity includes definition and implementation of the solution which constitutes the greatest common denominator for all the business units. For example: the core activity in a global system integration project will include the system specifications and development based on the requirements common to all the local units.

After implementation of the core activity, individual projects are executed in each of the units.

This distinction eliminates rework. The joint, global portion of the project only needs to be executed once and is followed by simultaneous implementation of individual local projects in the business units.

Multi-year work planning: the strength of an organization lies in its ability to forecast and plan the project portfolio one to three years in advance. Advance planning allows resources and budgets to be prepared at both a global level (collaboration between the head office and the business units) and locally, in each of the individual units.

Implementation and controls: the people executing a global program are the key to its successful implementation. The good relations and regular communication between them can counteract any partitions, conflicts of interest or politics inside the organization. It is important that the project management team is deployed to reflect the project structure, including a local project manager for both the core activity and each local project. These then report to the manager of the global program, who collates and synchronizes all information. The program projects can either be managed sequentially or concurrently, depending on the nature of the project and the availability of resources. Defining clear-cut areas of responsibility and organizational structure supports the efficient management of individual processes, retains knowledge and professionalism, streamlines communication between the head office and the business units and ensures that resources are utilized throughout the organization.

Closure: the closure of a global program is important for two main reasons. When projects are conducted on a sequential basis, clear closure of each project makes overall management of the program easier to monitor. Secondly, closure is used to tie up loose ends and learn lessons for the future.