The Virtual Team Challenge: Is It Time for Training?

There has been considerable growth in the use of virtual teams in the past decade, and further growth is broadly assumed as this practice is driven by globalization. Researchers investigating virtual teams describe problems these teams encounter, assert that training for virtual team assignments is necessary, and offer suggestions on the issues that such training should address. Further evidence of the need for such training is that a fortune 100 company employed one of the authors to interview their employees and develop the initial version of a virtual team training simulation for their use. The ´virtual team challenge´ simulation, an updated version of that simulation, is being used in the Rose-Hulman Project Management course. Participants face problems similar to those reported as they manage a simulated project with virtual team members. Participants receive advice and are guided to adopt best practices as defined by our literature review and those offered by the client. Playing time is two to three hours. This presentation includes a literature review, an overview of the simulation (including screen shots), and reports on initial use results.