Real Projects, Virtual Worlds Coworkers, Their Avatars and the Trust Conundrum

This qualitative study informs project managers of the impact that the authentic projection of coworker identity via avatars has on trust and potential project management success when teams use virtual worlds to collaborate. By exploring the common experiences and reactions of potential virtual team participants to a demonstration that showed how to customize avatars and use them to communicate with others, it facilitated the development of a grounded theory that confirms whether the projection of authenticity via avatars is an antecedent of team trust and real project management success. Real management success was the main objective, since it is vital for the enterprise to use all means possible for competitive advantage in an ever-expanding technological society

Knowledge Management Using Student Feedback: A Study Of Online Students’ Lived Experiences On Virtual Teams

Introducing group projects in online courses provides an excellent learning laboratory for students to experience what it is like to work on virtual teams. This qualitative study leverages a knowledge base containing feedback captured in a university learning management system from a population of thirty-four students in an online M.B.A. project management course over three semesters to examine the lived experience of students assigned to virtual work teams. Anonymous student discussions about their successes and challenges while collaborating on virtual teams to deliver a final research paper are reviewed. A grounded theory is proposed and best practices provided for instructors interested in including virtual team projects in their own online courses

The Endurance Test: A Virtual Project Team’s Lived Experience in an Online Project Management Course

This case study examines longitudinal data from an online MBA program’s project management course to understand and describe the lived experience of a virtual student team that exhibited difficulty delivering a term project. Testing a theoretical model proposed by Lohle and Terrell (2016), the study affirms that unless students actively contact their instructor to escalate feedback and concerns about progress it is difficult to assess student contribution on virtual team projects. The instructor also actively solicited feedback and facilitated closure to compensate for a lack of student accountability. This prompted a research question asking whether requiring an online instructor’s constant oversight and engagement is an optimal strategy for effective project delivery on virtual student teams

Systems Analysis from a Qualitative Perspective: An Emerging Skills Set For Information Systems Professionals

“Effective systems analysis is at the core of the design, development and operation of a modern information system. As part of their analysis and design work, information technology (IT) professionals are called upon to interview clients, observe daily operations and interpret and evaluate existing or proposed solutions. These practitioners must understand and situate themselves in the context of multiple stakeholder organizations and remain cognizant of organizational goals. Unfortunately many of these interaction skills, critical to effective application development and delivery, are not taught in a university setting, Fortunately, many of these needed skills are the focus of effective qualitative research.

A Grounded Theory of Persistence in a Limited-Residency Doctoral Program

Approximately 50% of doctoral students in social science, humanities, and educational doctoral programs fail to earn their Ph.D. This number is 10% to 15% higher for students enrolled in online or limited-residency programs. Using in-depth interviews and qualitative data analysis techniques, this grounded-theory study examined participants’ recollections of their experience as students in a limited-residency doctoral program and their reasons for withdrawal while working on their dissertation. The resultant theory clarified relationships between attrition and support issues (i.e., advisor support, dissertation process support and program office support). The theoretical model helps identify steps faculty and administration may take in order to reduce high levels of attrition

Student-Identified Requirements for Persistence in a Limited Residency Ph.D. Program

The attrition rate for students in traditional doctoral programs hovers around 50%, while students in limited-residency and online programs tend to leave programs at rates 10% to 20% higher. Other than a student’s intrinsic motivation, prior research with the population studied in this program has not uncovered factors that may be predictive of attrition. The goal of this study was to better understand this phenomenon from the perspective of this population. Analysis from interviews with graduates of such a program yielded a set of best practices, focused primarily on assisting students as they prepared for their dissertation. The development and application of policies, procedures and tools based on results of this research may help administrators and faculty address the additional 10% to 20% they have historically experienced

Managing Information Across the Enterprise: Implementing a Program Management Office (PMO)

Program management offices (PMOs) can help develop and implement organizational improvements. PMOs can increase the efficiency and effectiveness of product and service delivery and help bridge the strategy–execution gap to sustain a competitive advantage. A PMO is one essential element for driving collaborative vision, prioritization, communication, and execution of projects [Allen, 2006]. This article introduces (1) PMO concepts (framework, structure, and procedures), (2) a PMO Case Study Methodology to implement an organization’s PMO, and (3) concepts in case method research for the classroom experience that could be used in universities’ business, information systems, and enterprise resource planning curricula

UB Knightlines Fall/Winter 2016

The UB Knightlines newsletter for fall and winter of 2016. This issue contains articles discussing winners of the UB Alumni Association's Distinguished Alumni Award, Alumni Association Scholarship winner Mendel Murray, professor Jeongkyu Lee’s Young Data Science program, president emeritus Richard Rubenstein and this book After Auschwitz, UB receiving a National Institutes of Health grant to expand research, SASD students winning third place in the Sherwin-Williams STIR Student Design Challenge, the opening of the new dorm University Hall, student Michael Asmerom a National Association of Black Accountants, professor Marsha Matto and SASD students work with couple to design beach home, faculty news, alumni news, books published by alums and faculty, and other campus and sports news

Implications for Real Project Management Success: A Study of Avatar Identity as an Antecedent of Virtual Team Trust

Virtual worlds provide a way to simulate face-to-face meetings via three dimensional environments where users can meet and communicate through avatars, or their graphical and customized online alter egos. Unfortunately, minimal research exists into the application of virtual worlds on virtual teams for real project management success. This is a concern because virtual worlds can restore the visual cues that foster trust but their avatars\u27 identities may diverge from their owners\u27, thus potentially undermining that trust. Since virtual team members may never physically meet, it is unclear how this will affect virtual team member trust and project success when avatars are used for project communication. This qualitative study assessed whether the authentic projection of an owner\u27s identity via their avatar is an antecedent of team trust. It presented a theoretical model that depicts the impact of virtual team trust on the ability of project managers to leverage the enhanced delivery opportunities virtual worlds provide and the impacts of team member comfort with the virtual world medium and their attitudes toward others\u27 avatar designs on virtual team trust

How Online Teaching Made Me a Better Instructor on Campus

Thinking through every aspect of an online course’s instructional design is crucial for effective online teaching. This case study examines the impact that applying online instructional design techniques has on campus based course delivery. In it, an instructor with both online and on campus teaching experience shares the positive impact of applying online instructional design techniques in his campus based courses. Using anecdotes, supporting research, examples and demonstrations he discusses using the learning management system (LMS) as a course wizard and the impact this has on syllabus development, the controversy and goodwill surrounding the recording of video lectures and student feedback, developing online quizzes and test banks for reuse while reducing cheating, using online discussions to foster a flipped classroom for increased interaction in class with homework that leverages videos outside of class and implementing automated rubrics for increased clarity and expectation setting. The benefits of providing enhanced structure for students and productivity for instructors are revealed and several myths are debunked. Finally, using the LMS as an enhanced course knowledge base is explored and key takeaways are reviewed