Global Virtual Teams: A New Frontier for Capstone Design.

As engineering becomes more global in nature, engineering design is increasingly being accomplished through global virtual (GV) teams. These types of teams are usually defined as being geographically dispersed, spanning several different countries and time zones, being composed of team members with little prior association, and communicating through electronic means. GV teams overlay a number of new challenges on top of the usual challenges for design teams. This paper will review some of the efforts taking place at universities in the U.S. with GV teams, including our own experience. We propose a 'three ring' Venn diagram as a framework for understanding the issues associated with GV teams. We discuss these rings in some detail and provide recommendations for establishing successful GV teams. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]