Social Project Management
Encyclopedia
Social project management is a non-traditional way of organizing projects and performing project management
. It is, in its simplest form, the outcome of the application of the social networking (i.e. Facebook) paradigm to the context of project ecosystems, as a continued response to the movement toward distributed, virtual teams. Distributed virtual teams lose significant communication value normally present when groups are collocated. Because of this, social project management is motivated by a philosophy of the maximizing of open, and continuous communication, both inside and outside the team. Because it is a response to new organizing structures that require technologically-mediated communications, Social Project Management is most often enabled by the use of Collaborative software
inspired by social media
. This paradigm enables the project work to be published as activity stream
and publicized via the integration with the social network of an organization. Social project management embraces both the historical best practices of Project management
, and the open collaboration of Web 2.0
.
While Project management 2.0
embraced a philosophical shift away from centralized command and control and focused strongly on the egalitarian collaboration of a team, social project management recognizes the important role of the project manager, especially on large projects. Additionally, while Project management 2.0 minimized the importance of computer-supported scheduling, social project management recognizes that while many projects can be performed using emergent planning and control, large, enterprise projects require centralized control accompanied by seamless collaboration.
.
While some have used the terminology Project Management 2.0 and social project management interchangeably, they exhibit significant differences in practice.
The COMMUNIGRAM-NET, network of excellence on social project management has been setup in November 2011
First, social project management software is embedded into the social network of the larger organization.
One goal that Project management 2.0
systems realized was the need to created project-based collaboration systems. However, PM2.0 tools were often adopted at the project level, and not the enterprise level. This led to the situation where team members on several projects might have to use multiple tools for collaboration, depending on what project they were working on at that moment. Additionally, because of the fragmented nature of the tools used, little visibility existed to any person outside of the project team.
Social project management is based upon the philosophy that the project team is one part of an integrated whole, and that valuable, relevant and unique abilities and knowledge exist within the larger organization. For this reason, Social Project Management systems are integrated into the collaborative platform(s) of an organization, so that communication can proceed outside the project boundaries.
Second, social project management software is organized around a formal project schedule, and all activities and collaborative functionality are linked to this schedule.
While PM 2.0 tools stressed collaboration, many tools provided little to no actual project management capabilities. While this often worked very well for smaller projects, especially ones with distributed teams, it could not scale to enterprise-level projects.
Social project management embraces the vision of seamless online collaboration within a project team, but also provides for the use of rigorous project management techniques.
Third, social project management software provides an activity stream
that allows the team, and its stakeholders to build ambient awareness
of the project activity and status.
This is what makes social project management "social". The concept of Ambient awareness
enables distributed teams to build awareness in ways that previously was restricted to teams that were collocated. Using the Activity Stream paradigm, large distributed teams are provided with a constant stream of information regarding the project. While in the past, this kind of continuous communication might have been posited to create Information Overload
, this stream of small bits of information has been shown to create significant alignment between people working together, without overload .
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
. It is, in its simplest form, the outcome of the application of the social networking (i.e. Facebook) paradigm to the context of project ecosystems, as a continued response to the movement toward distributed, virtual teams. Distributed virtual teams lose significant communication value normally present when groups are collocated. Because of this, social project management is motivated by a philosophy of the maximizing of open, and continuous communication, both inside and outside the team. Because it is a response to new organizing structures that require technologically-mediated communications, Social Project Management is most often enabled by the use of Collaborative software
Collaborative software
Collaborative software is computer software designed to help people involved in a common task achieve goals...
inspired by social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
. This paradigm enables the project work to be published as activity stream
Activity stream
An activity stream is a list of recent activities performed by an individual, typically on a single website. For example, Facebook's News Feed is an activity stream. Since the introduction of the News Feed on September 6, 2006, other major websites have introduced similar implementations for their...
and publicized via the integration with the social network of an organization. Social project management embraces both the historical best practices of Project management
Project management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
, and the open collaboration of Web 2.0
Web 2.0
The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
.
While Project management 2.0
Project management 2.0
Project Management 2.0 is one branch of evolution of project management practices, which was enabled by the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies. Such applications include: blogs, wikis, collaborative software, etc...
embraced a philosophical shift away from centralized command and control and focused strongly on the egalitarian collaboration of a team, social project management recognizes the important role of the project manager, especially on large projects. Additionally, while Project management 2.0 minimized the importance of computer-supported scheduling, social project management recognizes that while many projects can be performed using emergent planning and control, large, enterprise projects require centralized control accompanied by seamless collaboration.
History
The concept of social project management emerged during 2008 when some developers of project management tools started to use the term to differentiate between traditional project management tools and tools for Agile software developmentAgile software development
Agile software development is a group of software development methodologies based on iterative and incremental development, where requirements and solutions evolve through collaboration between self-organizing, cross-functional teams...
.
While some have used the terminology Project Management 2.0 and social project management interchangeably, they exhibit significant differences in practice.
The COMMUNIGRAM-NET, network of excellence on social project management has been setup in November 2011
Key concepts (how social project management differs from Project Management 2.0)
Social business software, of which social project management is a subset, powers business performance based upon its ability to assist teams in managing exceptions . Because it is based on the concepts of Social Business Software in general, Social Project Management software is differentiated from other collaborative project software by three key areas of functionality:First, social project management software is embedded into the social network of the larger organization.
One goal that Project management 2.0
Project management 2.0
Project Management 2.0 is one branch of evolution of project management practices, which was enabled by the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies. Such applications include: blogs, wikis, collaborative software, etc...
systems realized was the need to created project-based collaboration systems. However, PM2.0 tools were often adopted at the project level, and not the enterprise level. This led to the situation where team members on several projects might have to use multiple tools for collaboration, depending on what project they were working on at that moment. Additionally, because of the fragmented nature of the tools used, little visibility existed to any person outside of the project team.
Social project management is based upon the philosophy that the project team is one part of an integrated whole, and that valuable, relevant and unique abilities and knowledge exist within the larger organization. For this reason, Social Project Management systems are integrated into the collaborative platform(s) of an organization, so that communication can proceed outside the project boundaries.
Second, social project management software is organized around a formal project schedule, and all activities and collaborative functionality are linked to this schedule.
While PM 2.0 tools stressed collaboration, many tools provided little to no actual project management capabilities. While this often worked very well for smaller projects, especially ones with distributed teams, it could not scale to enterprise-level projects.
Social project management embraces the vision of seamless online collaboration within a project team, but also provides for the use of rigorous project management techniques.
Third, social project management software provides an activity stream
Activity stream
An activity stream is a list of recent activities performed by an individual, typically on a single website. For example, Facebook's News Feed is an activity stream. Since the introduction of the News Feed on September 6, 2006, other major websites have introduced similar implementations for their...
that allows the team, and its stakeholders to build ambient awareness
Ambient Awareness
Ambient awareness is a term used by social scientists to describe a new form of peripheral social awareness. This awareness is propagated from relatively constant contact with one's friends and colleagues via social networking platforms on the Internet. Some examples of social networking websites...
of the project activity and status.
This is what makes social project management "social". The concept of Ambient awareness
Ambient Awareness
Ambient awareness is a term used by social scientists to describe a new form of peripheral social awareness. This awareness is propagated from relatively constant contact with one's friends and colleagues via social networking platforms on the Internet. Some examples of social networking websites...
enables distributed teams to build awareness in ways that previously was restricted to teams that were collocated. Using the Activity Stream paradigm, large distributed teams are provided with a constant stream of information regarding the project. While in the past, this kind of continuous communication might have been posited to create Information Overload
Information overload
"Information overload" is a term popularized by Alvin Toffler in his bestselling 1970 book Future Shock. It refers to the difficulty a person can have understanding an issue and making decisions that can be caused by the presence of too much information...
, this stream of small bits of information has been shown to create significant alignment between people working together, without overload .
Standard compliance
It is important to keep several standard compliances (e.g. PRINCE2, ISO 21500, Guide to the Project Management Body of Knowledge PMBOK 4.0)See also
- Activity streamActivity streamAn activity stream is a list of recent activities performed by an individual, typically on a single website. For example, Facebook's News Feed is an activity stream. Since the introduction of the News Feed on September 6, 2006, other major websites have introduced similar implementations for their...
- Ambient awarenessAmbient AwarenessAmbient awareness is a term used by social scientists to describe a new form of peripheral social awareness. This awareness is propagated from relatively constant contact with one's friends and colleagues via social networking platforms on the Internet. Some examples of social networking websites...
- Project management 2.0Project management 2.0Project Management 2.0 is one branch of evolution of project management practices, which was enabled by the emergence of Web 2.0 technologies. Such applications include: blogs, wikis, collaborative software, etc...
- Social intelligenceSocial intelligenceSocial intelligence describes the exclusively human capacity to use very large brains to effectively navigate and negotiate complex social relationships and environments....
Further reading
- , Leadership and Project Management: Time for a shift from Fayol to Flores
- , Social Structures (2009)
- , Breaking the Code of Project Management (2009).
- , Making The Social World (2010)
- , Social Intelligence (2007)