Virtual team working: a design perspective

The paper stems from the belief that success in industry depends strongly on the creation of a synergy between technology and people. Neither can ensure success in itself. The design of information technology systems is often based on rather old assumptions about how people can and should work together. This may constrain rather than improve productivity (Creighton and Adams, 1998). The aim of the paper is to discuss the importance of such synergy between technology and people in a virtual work context and to identify ways of supporting it. Rapid changes in information and communication technologies have enabled the emergence of new forms of organisation and work practices where individuals can communicate, collaborate and work regardless of their physical location or the location of the company they work for. In particular, the paper outlines some of the key concept areas on the human aspects of virtual team working, and suggests ways in which these can be incorporated into design systems across many application areas. Since many of the research findings are drawn from the experience and operation of a company which has been active in the successful management of remote working teams for ten years, the relevance of the findings to designers of remotely operated systems will be of particular significance