I takt med utvecklingen av av informations- och kommunikationsteknik (IKT) har det blivit alltmer vanligare att bedriva projekt på distans. Därför är denna studies syfte att undersöka hur projektmedlemmar beskriver upplevelser och erfarenheter av att delta i distribuerade projekt, samt de utmaningar som de har erfarit. Studien utgår ifrån en kvalitativ forskningsmetod och baseras på data insamlad från 9 öppen-strukturerade intervjuer. Datan har sedan analyserats med hjälp av en induktiv och tematisk analysmetod. Vidare visar den här rapporten att studiens respondenter har erfarenhet av att hantera utmaningar inom kommunikation, kultur och uppgiftslösningar när de arbetar i distribuerade projekt. Dessa utmaningar behandlar framförallt mänskliga behov, såsom gemenskap och motivation, men även hur dessa kan påverkas av de förutsättningar (till exempel beroendet och användningen av IKT) som råder inom distribuerade projekt. / In line with the development of information and communication technology (ICT), it has become increasingly common to undertake distributed projects. Therefore, this study's purpose is to investigate how project members describe their experiences of participating in distributed projects, as well as the challenges that they have been through. The study is based on a qualitative research method and is based on data collected from 9 open-structured interviews. The data has then been analyzed using an inductive and thematic analysis method. Furthermore, this report shows that the respondents of the study have experience in managing communication, culture and task challenges when working in distributed projects. These challenges address primarily human needs, such as community and motivation, but also how these can be influenced by the conditions (eg dependence and use of ICT) that exist in distributed projects

Syftet med studien har varit att undersöka projektledares upplevelse av kommunikationen i virtuella projekt inom IT-branschen. Datainsamling genomfördes genom kvalitativa semistrukturerade intervjuer med totalt nio projektledare. Det insamlade materialet har analyserats genom tematisk analys. Av resultatet framgår att projekten inom IT-branschen till stor del är virtuella och att kommunikationen mellan projektdeltagarna och även mot beställare till stor del sker virtuellt. Den formen av kommunikation har både för- och nackdelar, men för att för att underlätta det för deltagarna att kommunicera virtuellt är ett fysiskt första möte essentiellt för en effektiv kommunikationsmiljö. Ett sådant möte har inte bara fördelen av att deltagarna lär känna varandra, och därför får det lättare att sedan kommunicera virtuellt, utan det är också ett bra tillfälle att se till att alla deltagare får en gemensam målbild och för att skapa en känsla av grupptillhörighet (s.k. teambuilding). Medan virtuella möten har fördelen att de ofta är mer effektiva och tar mindre resurser i anspråk, har de nackdelen av att kommunikationen många gånger begränsas till text och tal, medan det är svårare att läsa av ansiktsuttryck och kroppsspråk. Samtidigt är text och tal de viktigaste kommunikationsformerna, men det finns med språket alltid en risk för misstag vid tolkningar. Studiens främsta upptäckt är att dålig kommunikation har sin orsak i misstolkningar av information. För att råda bot på detta finns tekniker med kontroll av att informationen nått fram, vilka bör användas för att säkerställa en effektiv kommunikation. / The purpose of the study has been to investigate project managers' experiences of communication in virtual projects in the IT industry. Data collection was conducted through qualitative semi-structured interviews with a total of nine project managers. The collected material has been analyzed using thematic analysis. The results show that projects in the IT industry are largely virtual and that communication between the project members and also towards clients is largely virtual. This form of communication has both advantages and disadvantages, but in order to facilitate virtual communication, a physical first meeting is essential for an effective communication environment. A physical meeting has not only the benefit of the participants getting to know each other, and therefore makes it easier to communicate virtually, but it is also a good opportunity to ensure that all participants share a common goal and to create a sense of group belonging (socalled team building). While virtual meetings often have the advantage of being more efficient and consume less resources, they have the disadvantage of difficulties to read facial expressions and body language. The communication is often limited to text and speech. On the other hand, text and speech are the most important forms of communication, but with textual and oral language there is always a risk of misinterpretation. The study's main finding is that poor communication has its cause in misinterpretation of information. In order to counteract this, there are techniques to verify that the information has been obtained, which should be used to ensure effective communication.

Problem statement: Virtual and distributed projects are now fast replacing collocated projects as they bring up more skills needed for projects. There are various problems that have been encountered while working on virtual and distributed projects which include lack of face-to-face communication, different geographical locations and culture. Project management, through the use of project management methodologies, is becoming more crucial to ensure the problems are removed or minimized. The aim of this study is to look at the use and effectiveness of project management methodologies in virtual and distributed projects. Research method: The positivistic research paradigm was used in this study since it allowed the researcher to quantify and analyse the data received from the survey. As part of the positivistic research a survey was conducted for the research method while a questionnaire was used for data collection purposes. The collected data was then tested and analysed using the quantitative data analysis which included descriptive statistics, t-tests, factor analysis, KMO and Bartlett’s test, Cronbach’s alpha test, spearman’s rho, Levene’s test for equality of variance and non-parametric correlations. Main findings: While companies apply different project management methodologies to virtual and distributed projects, it is other factors (which include lack of face-to-face communication, different geographical locations and different cultures) which influence the use and effectiveness of the project management methodologies as well as the success of the virtual and distributed projects. In some cases it is how the project management methodology is used as some only apply certain parts of it while others report not having enough time to apply the project management methodology. Principal conclusion: Project management methodologies are useful and effective in virtual and distributed projects when they are effectively applied and followed. Issues caused by lack of face to face communication, different geographical areas and different cultures also have to be addressed as they influence the results on the virtual and distributed projects’ success. This is further discussed in this study and proposed solutions are given to the issues caused when using project management methodologies in virtual and distributed projects. / MSc (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Problem statement: Virtual and distributed projects are now fast replacing collocated projects as they bring up more skills needed for projects. There are various problems that have been encountered while working on virtual and distributed projects which include lack of face-to-face communication, different geographical locations and culture. Project management, through the use of project management methodologies, is becoming more crucial to ensure the problems are removed or minimized. The aim of this study is to look at the use and effectiveness of project management methodologies in virtual and distributed projects. Research method: The positivistic research paradigm was used in this study since it allowed the researcher to quantify and analyse the data received from the survey. As part of the positivistic research a survey was conducted for the research method while a questionnaire was used for data collection purposes. The collected data was then tested and analysed using the quantitative data analysis which included descriptive statistics, t-tests, factor analysis, KMO and Bartlett’s test, Cronbach’s alpha test, spearman’s rho, Levene’s test for equality of variance and non-parametric correlations. Main findings: While companies apply different project management methodologies to virtual and distributed projects, it is other factors (which include lack of face-to-face communication, different geographical locations and different cultures) which influence the use and effectiveness of the project management methodologies as well as the success of the virtual and distributed projects. In some cases it is how the project management methodology is used as some only apply certain parts of it while others report not having enough time to apply the project management methodology. Principal conclusion: Project management methodologies are useful and effective in virtual and distributed projects when they are effectively applied and followed. Issues caused by lack of face to face communication, different geographical areas and different cultures also have to be addressed as they influence the results on the virtual and distributed projects’ success. This is further discussed in this study and proposed solutions are given to the issues caused when using project management methodologies in virtual and distributed projects. / MSc (Computer Science), North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014