Managing Multi-site Collaborations

About this Publication

No matter what form a company’s new product development process takes in terms of structure, review mechanisms and guidelines, it will often come down to how well the people involved interact, which determines project success and failure; a factor that is further exacerbated when dealing with multi-site collaboration.

The reality is that most companies will have experienced development projects that suffer from team management, leadership and communication failings, along with cultural barriers that at times seem impenetrable. Some of these disrupting influences will always be down to poor decisions being taken. But most will either be caused by not making or enforcing decisions, early on, or the failure to take the time to establish the development ‘teams’ – roles, responsibilities, collaborative agreements - again from the start. For poor decisions, the key is to not only recognize when this has occurred, but also to be prepared to take radical and swift action to try and repair the damage. Whilst, there are increasingly well recognized tools and techniques that can help companies ensure that teams are established on a firmer footing.

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