Team Collaboration.
The Benefits of Team Collaboration
When working on product development, one of the most powerful tools at the hand of developers is team collaboration. Working in teams, as opposed to working individually, enables the developers to take advantage of the individual strengths of each team collaborator as well as their combined strengths.
Who Benefits from Team Collaboration?
The easy answer is “everyone”. From the individual team members, to the manufacturer of a product, to the end user of a product, there is no one in the chain who doesn’t benefit. Teams benefit from collaborating because it takes the stress off of the individuals involved and allows for more consistent and effective work sessions.
A client waiting for a big project with a rush deadline will definitely benefit from team collaboration, as it means the project will be done very efficiently with no change in delivery time. For most businesses, time is money. And team collaboration can save the client both time and money, which is the biggest benefit to them. Team collaboration can even take place despite large distances between team members. Desktop sharing, web conferencing and online presentation software solutions allow team members to work and collaborate together in real-time via the Internet. This form of online team collaboration can drastically save companies time and money.
When is Team Collaboration a Good Practice?
Team collaboration is a perfect solution for large projects that require the expertise of many people and even minimal actions on the part of each expert. When a project has a fast approaching deadline, it is often team collaborating that makes the project a success, as individuals can each take pieces of the project and get them done while others are finishing their own specific parts of the project. Using web collaboration and web conferencing software, teams can employ the skills of experts in other states or countries for their project and collaborate together online. If remote support or remote access technologies are utilized team members can collaborate together from across borders and oceans and work remotely on a common project document.
What are the Requirements of Team Collaboration?
Team collaboration is an effective practice, however in order for it to be a successful endeavor there are several things that must be present. First, if the team members do not get along or work well together, the collaboration might not be as effective as it could be. Second, there has to be a certain amount of availability and flexibility among team members. Sometimes, collaboration is done remotely via remote computer access. If so, then web conference (or webinar), voice conferencing and online meeting software can be utilized. A third requirement for team collaboration is a good business software package that enables the collaborators to track the project and to submit their portions of the project to all other team members.