Any thought about social network and project management?

User8 · Mon 17 Jun 2013 1:23 pm

Hello all,

I am currently writing a small report about the link between social media (and particularly social network) and project management in order to get my graduation.

I have seen a lot of opinion pools and some qualitative studies as well but I am struggling to find any quantitative approach of the subject.

Basically, is that a real plus to use social network for project management? Cheaper? Quicker? I know it can be hard to quantify but I'm a little bit surprised that I haven't found any studies on that.

So, as project managers, do you use social network? If yes, why? And if you have some figures to back up your comment that would be really great.

Any input is welcome!

Thanks.

Mon 17 Jun 2013 2:19 pm

FYI - http://www.projectsmart.co.uk/forums/vi ... f=2&t=1465

Personally, I would use social media for the convenience factor and also to overcome geographical constraints (i.e. I am based in Berkshire and a team member in Yorkshire).

In Project Manager Today (May 2013) there is a detailed article on this matter.

User8 · Mon 17 Jun 2013 2:56 pm

Interesting, thanks for the link.

I was especially interested in finding accurate figures but it seems to be hard to find any.

I agree for the convenience and for the geographical reasons but why aren't you using mails? Those are equally convenient. Is it just easier to manage?

begeland · Tue 18 Jun 2013 10:35 am

I don't have any numbers that will help, but I have used Facebook groups as ways to collaborate with my team on several of my projects. It's proven to be a very quick way to disseminate information to my project team - almost like an open chat room, but in the familiar confines of Facebook. I'm not saying it's right for everyone, and I know some people can have a tendency to get distracted using social media and get sucked into hours of non-productivity. As for me and the way I used it with my teams on a few projects, it's been helpful.
Brad

Tue 18 Jun 2013 12:59 pm

begeland wrote:I don't have any numbers that will help, but I have used Facebook groups as ways to collaborate with my team on several of my projects. It's proven to be a very quick way to disseminate information to my project team - almost like an open chat room, but in the familiar confines of Facebook. I'm not saying it's right for everyone, and I know some people can have a tendency to get distracted using social media and get sucked into hours of non-productivity. As for me and the way I used it with my teams on a few projects, it's been helpful.
Brad

I think Brad has touched on some good points here.

A lot of people know how to use FB already, easy to operate & familar platform.
There is a risk of people getting distracted when on FB.
It may not be right for everyone (specially not older team members who are less technical).

begeland · Tue 18 Jun 2013 6:12 pm

Thanks! As I was mentioning that it may not be right for everyone, I hadn't thought about older team members. Thanks for bringing that one up. And it isn't necessarily just older team members - it's amazing how many people I know...and it would be men more than women...who are (or I thought were) at least somewhat technical who have not even started their own profile on Facebook. So the FB social media solution won't work for everyone...but it's a good, quick communication tool if everyone is onboard with it.
Brad

Adi.ProofHub · Mon 02 Sep 2013 11:27 am

User8 wrote:Hello all,

I am currently writing a small report about the link between social media (and particularly social network) and project management in order to get my graduation.

I have seen a lot of opinion pools and some qualitative studies as well but I am struggling to find any quantitative approach of the subject.

Basically, is that a real plus to use social network for project management? Cheaper? Quicker? I know it can be hard to quantify but I'm a little bit surprised that I haven't found any studies on that.

So, as project managers, do you use social network? If yes, why? And if you have some figures to back up your comment that would be really great.

Any input is welcome!

Thanks.

Through social media you can communicate with people as it elliminates the location constraint. You can create groups for this purpose, but you can't assign tasks, set milestones and monitor the progress of each person. Also there could be some security issues in social media websites. So in my view project management software like Basecamp, Microsoft Project, ProofHub, Zoho should be used.

Mohamed.Benmerikhi · Tue 03 Sep 2013 11:45 am

HI there,

Social networks certainly can add a plus to project management if used in a convenient way. I guess the issue would be to generalise or impose its use to the entire project team. Certainly some project team members might find it useful, especially in the absence of a project collaboration platform. Here, the size and the geographical dispersion of the project matter a great deal.

Best of luck
Mohamed Benmerikhi

begeland · Thu 05 Sep 2013 4:13 am

I have used Facebook for for project management. I've set up a closed group for several projects and used it as a quick means to collaborate directly with team members. Everyone liked it because it was a very familiar format and it ensured that information could be shared fast and would not be lost in an inbox somewhere. So far I haven't included project customers on this method, but it's a possibility. And as of now, I've used it on 3 shorter projects, but could see using it on a long term project as well - I don't think there would be much difference. And if I were to include the customer, I would like set up a second closed group for full collaboration - I don't think the project customer necessarily needs to be included in everything that goes on between members of the project team...can lead to customer concerns or misinterpretations that don't need to happen as the team is brainstorming through issues, etc.

Brad

Mohamed.Benmerikhi · Thu 05 Sep 2013 12:33 pm

Just another thought on social networking and project management. I still think it is critical to use social networking for information exchange in projects where teams members are not co-located. Perhaps, we can reap the benefits only in retrospect. And it depends on the deliverables of the project. If a project involves a Product Breakdown Structure where each component is distributed to dispersed organisation or teams, then social networking offers many advantages as it allows team members, globally, to overcome distance and communicate more effectively.

Mohamed Benmerikhi