The following tag-cloud and abstract was for an invitation to extend my COLLA 2015 conference paper, “Online Learning Community Software to Support Success in Project Teams”. The new paper, “Online Social Networking Software as Ad-Hoc Project Management Software in Capstone Project Courses,” was submitted to the International Journal On Advances in Intelligent Systems and adds 100% more data, extends the results to incorporate a more in-depth social network analysis and enhances the discussion. Although the guidelines suggest 30%-40% new content, we feel we have far exceeded this amount and offer a fresh take on this study. Below is the abstract and tag-cloud for this paper:
Abstract— In this paper, we explore the use of online social networking (OSN) software as ad-hoc project management (PM) software. Through the adaptation of specialized OSN software, project teams can facilitate group collaboration as they work towards completing project milestones. This study aims to showcase the importance of sustained engagement throughout the lifecycle of the project, across both meta-level engagement with the external community and micro-level engagement within and among the project team members. More specifically, this work identifies how OSN technologies cultivate online community which can be shown to augment project motivation and participation resulting in project success. Under the lens of an existing theoretical model, one which highlights individual collaboration within online community spaces, we measure perceptions of the customized OSN software before and after its implementation. A content analysis highlights how successful project teams maximized features of the system, which is supported by a social network analysis (SNA), which highlights levels of individual engagement across the project lifecycle as they relate to online interaction and project results. Survey data identifies individual perceptions across various aspects of the system as it fosters social interaction and build online community, represented in terms of social capital.
Citation
B. Thoms, E. Eryilmaz. “Online Social Networking Software as Ad-Hoc Project Management Software in Capstone Project Courses,” International Journal on Advances in Intelligent Systems, v9(3), pp. 233-243, 2016.