Are needs of virtual & Normal project team one and the same?

Virtual projetcs are not same as normal projects. Virtual projects requires a broader as there is no face to face discussion in order to grasp view of sender.As in normal projects it is real easy stuff to develop any project by meeting a strict deadlines.

May i say offshore and onsite as virtual team and only offshore guys as normal team? any comment on this...

Teams are build to get man power working towards common goal. Communication is paramount interest for all. Physical team is setup that works best but, I don't consider Virtual team as new term as corporates had field and regional staff as extended arm of corporate house. Virtual team is just extension of common interest guys working across the globe.

Need of virtual team will be get someway beyond human voice and I believe Intranet-e-mail with photos and profile of guys, CISCO/MS technologies etc. are the ways used by managers to bridge such gaps. Again, team members need to have cultural behavior of their extend peers which demands educating themselves for the same.

No the needs are not the same.

Colllocation provides on-the-spot communication and the abiolity to do followup with team members. When the team goes virtual, there definitely are issues which causes the Team leaders, The teasm members and project manager to change their working style.

Where does each member stand on the amount of work done, the problems they are facing, the potential delays, the risks at each geographic location, the timne zone difference are just a few minor issues. Most of the PM tools now provide for these. Cultural differences, value differences are the not-so-obvious and sensitive issues.

There is a long list of things to attend to specially and uniquely for virtual teams, an additional list where greater emphasis on follow up is required and so on.

So it is a quite a different cup of tea!

Every team would have its own unique needs. Even if there are two co-located teams they would have their own needs based on several factors such as cultural mix, competency mix, gender mix and many more. Of course the past experience can help in building a library of needs that probably are most commonly understood.

They are not the same and ask anybody.  I dont think anybody agrees that both are the same.  sometimes virtual teams are more important for better direction, and monitoring and evaluation; but the project team may be the actual players.  I wonder as to what difference it should make to receive a direction all alone by being virtual than receiving it with other colleagues together..   May be the comraderies which is so very essential workplace aspect, gets missed by virtual team members.

I also think that from the HR point of view, there is little grooming given to the virtual team members and they matter only for completing an assignment.

Needs are very different even though the goal is the same (delivery on time with high quality and less cost). There are challenges (cultural, communication, timings and competitiveness) within teams.  All virtual team members not only concentrate on delivery, they also become agents for marketing, to improve business in case of off-shoring. This factor drives significantly and sometimes creates rift in the teams due to impact on jobs.