The role of a Project management in the past was to coordinate the efforts of a group of individuals working toward a common goal. This was accomplished through a variety of tools, such as teleconferencing, meetings, white board sessions, and printed project status reports. A Project Manager lived with a phone glued to his or her ear.
A Web 2.0 world didn’t change the role of project management, but it did simplify, and in most cases, increase efficiency. A project manager in a Web 2.0 world can conduct meetings via web conference, can create a common project workspace that automatically tracks changes, and can keep a record of conversations via e-mail correspondence. But additional social networking capabilities add the ability to coordinate talent around the globe to focus on a project. So while the project manager may be based in Silicon Valley, he can utilize the talent of a programmer in New York, a marketing maverick in Dallas, a graphic designer in Orlando, and other talent scattered around the world meeting in one portal.
Additionally, with increased globalization, a smart project management team can work during “normal” business owners to solidify concepts, and send the entire project to an outsourced team of MBA’S in India to continue the work, so that when they show up the next morning during “normal” work hours, the project has advanced by a day or more! A Web 2.0 world can increase productivity almost exponentially.
This ability does require a strong hand in the project management team, with superior organization skills, but all of those tools are available online as well.