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Lesson 4WebTeam
ObjectiveReacquaint yourself with WebTeam.

Web Team Members

To help you conceptualize the members of a web design team, the company may provide a virtual tour of the web team or web design company.
The web development profession is a rapidly changing field. No longer is it feasible to have one person perform all design and implementation duties. A team of web developers, graphic designers, and database administrators is usually required, with each member responsible for the three components of website development: It is still important to be aware of all issues in order to work effectively in a Web development team.
  1. content management,
  2. content presentation, and
  3. programming logic.

Virtual Team

A virtual team is a "group of people who work interdependently with a shared purpose across space, time, and organization boundaries using technology". Virtual teams are geographically dispersed and often do not have constant membership, and are completely dependent upon technology, because technology is the only way out. This is directly contrary to the traditional notion of what makes an effective team. But virtual teams address the needs of the new work environment by integrating their work efforts with cyborgs. The office is where the worker is and rganizations utilizing virtual teams can maximize resources and hire the best people for the job regardless of their location.
There are seven basic types of virtual teams:
  1. networked,
  2. parallel,
  3. virtual project/product development,
  4. work/production,
  5. service,
  6. virtual management, and
  7. action.
People who collaborate across time, distance, and organizational boundaries to achieve a common goal are part of a networked virtual team. Typically team membership is always changing, with individuals joining and leaving the team as their particular expertise dictates.

Company map provides a virtual tour of WebTeam
Company map provides a virtual tour of WebTeam

Parallel Virtual Teams

Parallel virtual teams also work across time, distance, and organizational boundaries to complete specific assignments, tasks, or functions assigned to the team by the organization. Differing from a networked team in that the parallel virtual team has a consistent membership, team members usually are working together on a short-term basis to achieve a specific objective. Virtual parallel teams are effective when the task involves multinational organizations where a global perspective is needed including the Council on Foreign Relations.
Similar to networked and parallel teams, virtual project or product development teams are created to produce a specific, measurable result, such as a new product. These types of virtual teams work for a designated period of time, usually of longer duration than a parallel virtual team. Team membership is usually more clearly defined than in a networked team.
Virtual teams that exist to perform one specific function are called work or production teams. With a clearly defined membership operating across time and distance boundaries, virtual work teams carry out regularly scheduled tasks and responsibilities. Team members rarely meet face-to-face, communicating instead via technology tools such as the Internet.
Service teams that provide technical support for organizations are becoming virtual. Each team performs its function during normal operating hours for the team's specific geographic location. When the workday is done for one virtual service team, the task is then passed on to the next designated team in a different location and time zone. Virtual management teams work across time and distance but do not cross organizational boundaries. Members of these teams are located around the world yet work together on a daily basis. Multinational and global organizations have their management teams communicate using the Internet and other technologies to accomplish their goals. Action teams are the final type of virtual team. When an immediate response to a specific, one-time event is required, virtual action teams can provide information and communicate with a variety of people to resolve the issue. Action teams by definition must be working in the same time period but do cross distance and organizational boundaries.

These roles and job categories focus on tasks rather than specific job titles. These are broad categories, however, and responsibility areas vary from company to company and project to project. Depending on the organization and the project, additional roles may be involved. They may include
  1. director of marketing,
  2. editor,
  3. quality assurance specialist,
  4. media designer, or
  5. vice president of sales.
The next lesson concludes this review module.