Assessing the State of Collaboration: Return to Essentials is the report on a study to understand and assess current practices in collaboration and future outlook on collaboration. Over 450 respondents participated in the survey conducted by All Collaboration in January and February 2010.

Key findings. We were struck by three main messages from our survey responses.

1. Complex collaboration is already a significant work activity for many people, and will only grow in importance.
2. Successful collaboration requires mostly the good principles of project management applied to dispersed teams.
3. Keep it simple on the collaboration tools.

Assessing the State of Collaboration: Return to Essentials report expands on these three key themes, illustrated by survey findings and quotes from respondents.  We also include our commentary on the “so what?” for leaders, collaborators at large, and tool makers. The appendix provides other survey responses.

The subtitle of this report, Return to Essentials, captures these themes.  It helps emphasize that collaboration has become or is becoming an essential for how enterprises get their business done.  At the same time we must all be careful about the latest fads in tools and approaches, because our survey respondents point out the importance of time-tested meeting-management practices and well-travelled communications tools as the best way to make collaboration effective.