Strategy and Context
Collaboration: Know Your Enthusiasts and Laggards. In one of the first comprehensive studies, according to Cisco, it found that personal attitudes towards collaboration and company collaborative culture are as important as collaborative tools. Four collaboration segments, based on habits and beliefs, are identified as: Enthusiasts, Comfortable, Reluctant and Laggards. Also see our related posts: Enthusiasts to Laggards, Measuring Collaboration, and The ALL ONE (TAO) of Collaboration.
Collaborative Strategies. Founded by David Coleman, the site offers extensive content on collaboration, including an impressive blog and white papers on such topics as: Enterprise Adoption of Real Time Collaboration, A Case Study On Oracle, Collaborative Project Portfolio Management (CPPM), An ROI analysis of e-Meetings, and Realizing the Potential of eCollaboration.
How to Manage Virtual Teams by Frank Siebdrat, Martin Hoegl and Holger Ernst in MIT Sloan Review. Virtual teams can outperform co-located teams, provided the end-to-end collaboration process – from selecting team members to delivering results – is carefully managed. The key findings of their study are: i) Virtual nature of the team is not necessarily detrimental to its performance; rather, the performance depends on team’s task-related processes, ii) Any level of “dispersion – even small levels – impacts team performance, and iii) Social skills and self-sufficiency of potential members are the key ingredients for assembling effective virtual teams. The authors outline the benefits and challenges of virtual teams. Recommendation of the paper are: i) Emphasize teamwork skills, ii) Promote self-leadership across the team, iii) Provide face-to-face meetings, and iv) Foster a global culture.
Six Strategies for Managing Telecommuters by Carl Eidson, Ph.D., Vice President and Wilson Learning. With the right skills and tools, virtual teams can be as effective as any traditional co-located teams, and in some cases, can be even more productive and efficient. The article is based on How to Manage Virtual Teams by Frank Siebdrat, Martin Hoegl and Holger Ernst in MIT Sloan Review.
Why Google Wave Sucks, And Why You Will Use It Anyway. In this blog post Martin Sievert mentions some of the early interface and technical challenges of using Google Wave, while also noting it is in "preview" mode -- short of beta and full public release -- so deserves a little slack. Yet he also points out that it is likely to succeed as Google works out the bugs, adjusts the user interface, and people learn how to use it well. He points out some useful tips for the users and CIOs at companies that use Wave.
Collaboration Tools: A Teaching with Technology White Paper by Ashley Deal. Paper offers a working model of the collaborative process and outlines basic approaches to assessing project-based group work. It also discusses potential risks and benefits of taking project-based collaborative learning online, and gives an overview of technology tools that can be used to support various activities in project-based collaborative learning.
Change your world or the world will change you: The future of collaborative government and Web 2.0. Paper outlines the future of relationship between government and its citizens, due to emerging possibilities for collaboration. It also offers ideas on how changes will occur and the benefits they would provide. A good bit of the substance is applicable to for-profit enterprises as well.
Leveraging Social Networking & Web 2.0 Collaboration Tools in Enterprises. Report address such key issues as: use of Web 2.0 and social networking applications in today’s organizations, ROI of corporate Web 2.0 tools, anticipated benefits of corporate social networks and Web 2.0 tools, perceived challenges of implementing these applications, using Web 2.0 tools for HR and talent management, and opposing view on corporate Web 2.0 tools.
Knowledge workers across Europe seek improvements: Independent study looks at the future of collaboration. Adobe commissioned a study by Forrester Consulting which surveyed 3,000 workers in Europe about their requirements, habits, tools, concerns, and desired improvements when working with others. Clearly Adobe wants to promote its products to address the challenges; however the research is quite insightful. Several main themes developed from the research are:
- Technology enables, and complicates, team collaboration
- Identity of core collaboration tools remains unsettled
- Information gathering is a sore spot for ad hoc collaboration
- The bar has been raised for quality of communications
- People are the problem: Security risk of current collaboration methods is underestimated
Gartner Says Worldwide Web Conference and Team Collaboration Software Market On Pace to Grow 22 Per Cent in 2008, October 30, 2008. Consulting group’s study shows a growth of at 20% year-over-year growth for 5 consecutive years. Collaboration software market revenue was on pace to reach $2 billion in 2008.
Gartner EXP Worldwide Survey of More than 1,500 CIOs Shows IT Spending to Be Flat in 2009. According to the 2009 CIO survey by Gartner, collaboration technologies are number 5 priority for CIOs.
10 Steps to Cohesive Collaboration by CIOinsight. A short video that presents a point-of-view on key elements of successful collaboration for adding value to business.
Eight ways to build a great team (collaboration in large work teams). Research into team behavior at 15 multinational companies discovered that teams that are large, virtual, diverse and made up of highly educated specialists are increasingly crucial. Yet, those same four characteristics make it hard for teams to get anything done. The article proposes eight factors that lead to success: 1. Investing in signature relationship practices, 2. Modelling collaborative behaviour, 3. Creating a “gift culture,” 4. Ensuring the requisite skills, 5. Supporting a strong sense of community, 6. Assigning team leaders that are both task and relationship-oriented, 7. Building on heritage relationships, and 8. Understanding role clarity and task ambiguity. This article is based on Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams by Lynda Gratton and Tamara J Erickson published in the Harvard Business Review.
Eight Ways to Build Collaborative Teams. Key ideas from the Harvard Business Review article by Lynda Gratton, Tamara J. Erickson, categorized by: What Executives Can Do, What HR Can Do, and What Team Leaders Can Do.
Getting Serious About Collaboration: How Companies Are Transforming Their Business Networks. Article presents the results of a survey conducted by BusinessWeek Research Services (BWRS) of C-level executives at large to mid-size companies. Among other key findings, two on collaboration are: 1. Only half of the C-level executives are satisfied that their IT infrastructures would be able to support their collaboration strategies during the next three years. 2. One-third said that internal workforce issues are a major obstacle to successful collaboration.
Innovation through Global Collaboration: A New Source of Competitive Advantage by Alan MacCormack, Theodore Forbath, Peter Brooks and Patrick Kalaher. Article describes strategies and practices used by firms that achieve greater success in their collaborative innovation efforts. An “outsourcing” mindset led to three critical errors: i) Focus on lower costs, and not collaborative strategy, ii) Ineffective organization, and iii) Lack of investment in building collaborative capabilities. Successful firms developed an explicit strategy and made organizational changes to aid performance.
Into the fray: How should companies approach collaboration marketing given the potential risks? by Christine Cutten. Author begins with current debate in the point/counterpoint format and offers her views on managing collaboration: Proactively manage your collaboration strategy; Be authentic – but discreet – in engagement; Align internal processes; Build and evolve capabilities; Measure interactions; and, Get serious about risk management. The author then presents perspectives on collaborative marketing: i) A view from the edge of business and technology innovation, ii) A view from the board of directors, iii) A view from the consumer products sector, iv) A view from the life sciences sector, and v) A view from the retail sector.
Mesh Collaboration and Business Process Platform: Creating Business Value. A position paper by Cap Gemini. It presents analytical frameworks and information while addressing: 1. Web 2.0: Myth or Magic? Enterprise tool or Social Plaything? 2. Enterprise and Technology Governance 3. The SAP Customer Perspective 4. And an example: Capgemini Internal.
Real-Time Collaboration Has Stalled...for Now. Alex Williams offers an insightful editorial on a study by Forrester on The State of Technology Adoption. The post includes two charts that highlight survey findings. Key points are: i) Dominant use of email is the biggest challenge to real-time collaboration. ii) Information workers do not really use tools such as web-conferencing, instant messaging and video-conferencing. iii) Innate needs for collaboration are present. Also see our related post: Despite Innate Needs, Real-Time Collaboration Stalling.
Using technology to improve workforce collaboration by James Manyika, Kara Sprague and Lareina Yee. Increasing number of knowledge workers and associated wage premium amplifies the significance of collaboration. The article provides statics to this effect, followed by recommendations on improving collaboration. Included are interesting findings on waste in collaboration.
Collaboration 2.0. Oliver Marks offers a frequently updated blog on points-of-view, interviews with insiders, and technologies and tools.
Collaboration between Business and IT Leads to Innovation. Isaac Sacolick offers five main trends that support his proposition that internal collaboration leads to innovation. These trends are based on the need for speed, complexity of new products, choices for execution, multi-disciplinary nature, and budgetary constraints.
Google Wave Drips With Ambition. A New Communication Platform For A New Web by MG Siegler. Detailed description of Google Wave as captured by the author at the Google I/O keynote in May 2009. The post provides visuals, potential uses and benefits, and examples.
Leading Effectively from a Distance: Six Strategies Managers Need to Know by Carl Eidson. The articles outlines benefits and liabilities of virtual teams, six leadership strategies for virtual team high performance, and questions to ask if you are managing a virtual team.
Collaboration Tools By Cyprien Lomas, Michael Burke, and Carie L. Page. Light on specific tools, the paper presents objectives, issues, needs and possibilities for collaboration in a learning environment.
The Case for Collaborative Tools: Long-distance teamwork on a shoestring budget by Lucie Olejnikova and Jessica de Perio Wittman. Authors discuss the advantages and disadvantages of long-distance collaboration. They present the results of the survey they conducted to understand the psycho-sociological aspects of a long-distance, Web-based communication, as well as its impact on project administration and budget.
Online Collaboration Tools - The Collaborative 2008 LearningTrends Map - MindMeister Mind Map. A single page, albeit quite large, provides a comprehensive relational categorization and identification of tools in the mind mapping format. The pictorial creates a view by categories of collaboration and associated tools.
Collaboration framework. A framework/model for creating and enabling collaborative environment: Define Business Needs, Find Collaborators, Connect Collaborators, Create Value, Evaluate Business Results.
Collaborating for Improved Product Development by BNET Editorial. Article makes a case for collaborative product development and outlines: What You Need to Know, What to do, and what to avoid.
Eight Key Factors for Successful by Matt Mattison. Author presents his views on: “eight key factors essential to developing an effective software strategy as the basis for managing and guiding the technology collaboration activity.” These factors are: 1. Technical Issues, 2. Primary Business Drivers, 3. Improvement History, 4. Performance Goals, 5. Executive Owner, 6. Management Team, 7. Software Engineering, and 8. Customers. Author outlines key questions for each factor that management should consider.
The Collaborative Organization by Rachel Conerly, Tim Kelley and John Mitchell. Authors define collaboration and outline how it works, followed by prescription for collaboration in practice: 1. Identify problem, 2. Involve all relevant stakeholders, 3. Create a collaborative plan, and 4. Design and facilitate collaborative meeting.
How Far Can you Collaborate? The Perils and Payoffs of Collaborative Strategic Planning by Suzanne Bonefas. Context is an experiment that is underway in the Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), an organization dedicated to producing meaningful collaborations among liberal arts colleges in the south. Author addresses Potential Perils and Potential Payoffs in Collaborative Strategic Planning, followed by guidance on how to ensure success.
Thoughts Around the Myth of Dynamic Collaboration by Mondher Ben-Hamida. Author challenges linear thinking on dynamic collaboration and outlines technology challenges. Being a consultant, the author promotes the firm’s available tools/approaches.
Build your collaboration strategy with IBM. While the brochure is a marketing piece by IBM, it does provide a way to think about the “connect, collaborate, innovate” framework.
The power of many: ABCs of collaborative innovation throughout the extended enterprise. This IBM article makes a case of greater collaboration based on its survey of CEO worldwide. ABC stands for: Alignment, Boundaries and Commitment. Authours offer interesting frameworks for thinking, followed by a case study of “research without walls” at Eli Lilly.
What factors determine the quality of collaborative processes? by Joseph P McMahon. From definition to assessing collaborative processes, for the following collaborative factors: Competent representation, Diversity, Collaborative attitude, Effective communication, Collaborative structure, and Collaborative context.
What It Takes To Foster A Culture Of Collaboration by Gil Yehuda. Author’s advice and insights: 1. Implementing tools does not change collaborative behaviors 2. New organizational realities drive collaboration 3. Cultural barriers tap the breaks 4. Addressing corporate culture enables collaboration 5. Get support from all stakeholders 6. Think marathon, not sprint 7. Pick technology that addresses the problem.
The questionable value of the real-time web by Daniel Tenner. “Real-time web” can mean any number of things, from “live updates without refreshing the page” to “see text as it’s typed”, but all those are technological rather than conceptual definition. At its core, the concept of “real-time web” must be about the immediacy of information flow. Real-time updates are very useful under some specific, work-related circumstances, but they come with a very real cost in stolen attention and disrupted workflows. Since they have a cost, you should think twice before using them, unless they also have a benefit to you. If you’re a consumer of information (and we all are), turn off the live notifications, unless you need the information for your work.
Enterprise 2.0: How a Connected Workforce Innovates. An Interview with Andrew P. McAfee by Anand Raman in Harvard Business Review. The article addresses two issues: i) How do the new social technologies transform innovation efforts?, and ii) Does the use of Enterprise 2.0 technologies yield better ideas? Won’t a company simply drown in bad ideas?
Social Computing Changes the Enterprise Collaboration Landscape by Rob Koplowitz with Matt Brown and Jamie Barnett. Making a case for wikis for enterprises, authors present survey data on the investment and business use of wikis, and how to view wikis in the context of business.
Universal Collaboration The Future of Unified Communications and Collaboration by Robert Henry. Focused on enterprise communication, the paper covers: i) Trends, Challenges, and Opportunities, ii) Universal Collaboration: The Evolution of Unified Communications, iii) The Rise of Consumer-Driven IT, iv) Customer Service as an Enterprise Process. V) Microsoft Unified Communications as a Web 2.0 Platform, and vi) Cloud Computing: Beyond SaaS to Software+Services.
Collaboration and Community -- Promoting Collaboration for a Sustainable Community: A Critical Examination of Education, Immigration and the Local Economy in Santa Fe. The paper addresses: 1. What is Collaboration? 2. Collaboration vs. Other Models of Cooperation 3. Principles of Collaboration 4. Dynamics of Collaboration 5. Collaborative Leadership 6. Limitations of Collaboration 7. Building Collaborative Communities.
Platforms for Collaboration by Satish Nambisan. This article from Stanford Social Innovation Review offers a framework for three types of collaboration platforms: Exploration, Experimentation and Execution. For each platform, it presents: Objectives, Role of Lead Organization and Desired Outcomes.
Strategy + Business: The Promise (and Perils) of Open Collaboration by Andrea Gabor. Author proposes: 1. Craft leadership message 2. Collaborate with customers 3. Build a culture of trust and open communication 4. Cultivate open communication 5. Build a flexible innovation structure 6. Prepare your organization for the new skill set 7. Align evaluation and rewards.
The Alternatives to Collaboration by Andrew Gent. The post challenges conventional wisdom and outlines problems with collaboration. The author presents alternatives to collaboration and suggests that behaviors such as conspiring and competing in fact may be more productive. Eventual recommendation is to understand and bridge different styles of interaction.
McKinsey Outlines the Dilemma for Building Broader Supply Chain Collaboration. Post offers it views on the article and outlines areas that often prevent successful supply chain collaboration: 1. Partner complexity and churn 2. Silos and forecasts 3. Poor quality of data 4. The mistrust spiral.
Collaboration and Community by Scott London. Author addresses: What is Collaboration?, Collaboration vs. Other Models of Cooperation, The Principles of Collaboration, The Dynamics of Collaboration, Collaborative Leadership, The Limitations of Collaboration, and Building Collaborative Communities.
Collaborative Authoring Decreases Time to Market. The BT Group’s strategy is a combination of outsourcing content production and having the capability to continue to produce local content. The local training has to be produced rapidly and inexpensively, meet certain standards, and load easily onto BT’s learning management system, which is called Route2Learn (SumTotal). Recently, after assessing requirements and capabilities, the group decided to implement a collaborative system for authoring, managing and deploying learning content. The article outlines the process – Defining Requirements, Selecting a Solution, Extending the Scope – followed by lessons learned.
Social Networking: Rethinking Productivity. The author outlines benefits and drawback of social networking, from personal research and experiences. He also provides recommendations on how to use social networking productively.
Business Week Online Project Collaboration. BusinessWeek has created an online forum for individuals to post blogs and news items pertaining to various topics. This particular topic area addresses project collaboration. The strength is there are a great many entries here. The drawbacks are that there is quantity over quality, searching and filtering tools are weak, and there is no context for the entries.
The latest tech tool? People power. by Alan S. Cohen. How social networking can transform the CIO into a superhero! To be sure, for social networks to become the next great tool in the CIO’s daring arsenal, they need to evolve. They need to be secure. They need to integrate into corporate information systems. They need to support work processes that deliver business results.
Taking an Expanded View of Collaboration by John Jantsch. Author posits that collaboration at every level of your business is not really that difficult and outlines various business needs for which collaboration tools are available. Brief outlines and tools are suggested for: Prospects¸ Customers, Partners, Providers, and Staff.
Collaborative software. This Wikipedia entry is typical of an overview. Focus is on an overview and potential area for collaboration, rather than specific tools.
Web collaboration tools come in all shapes and sizes. Which one is right for you? Facilitate.com compares its offerings, limited in scope for various areas of collaboration. Dimensions of comparison are chosen in a way that they favor the vendor. However, the framework for comparing tools for specific needs is instructive and can be expanded to include your needs.
How to Choose the Right Collaboration Software by Darren Dahl. An easy, short read on some thoughts and examples by the Inc. magazine.
Empower Your Company With Collaboration Tools by Irwin Lazar. This short paper provides basic collaboration models and emergence of wiki’s as a useful tool for SMB (Small and Medium Business) knowledge workers.
A Review of Team Collaboration Tools Used In the Military and Government by Michael Letsky. The report reviews the recent past and current status of collaboration tools for providing recommendations for the future with respect to crisis reaction. It is an effort to identify the “best” Web-based tools to support team work when members cannot reside in the same physical workspace.
Experiences and frustrations using web-based collaboration platforms/offerings. Shares experiences of several people, in a informal survey, conducted on LinkedIn by Jonathan Wilson.
Top Ten Tips for Web-based Collaboration in SMBs. A short article offering tips for encouraging collaboration in SMB environments.
HyperOffice vs Microsoft SharePoint: A comparative Analysis. Article is written by HyperOffice staff to promote its product. With that in mind, the approach presented is a useful way to assess competing collaboration tools.
Latest collaboration tools failing to take off by Ian Williams. Provides an overview of a study conducted by Forrester Consulting, which found that collaboration among knowledge workers across Europe is becoming increasingly pervasive and critical to businesses, but workers also express frustrations.
StateMaster – Encyclopedia: Collaborative tool. Author offers a brief overview of types and levels of collaboration. The article includes examples of open source/free and proprietary software.
Collaboration Strategy: Strategic Framework. Collaboration as People, Process/Tools, and Shared Bounded Goals within a Context for Goal-Specific Work and Knowledge work. The article has useful links to other research.
What Is Collaboration? Defines collaboration and outlines what collaborative leaders should know about collaborative work culture as a journey and not destination.
Defining Common Collaboration Tensions by Harvard Business Publishing. This short article addresses inherent tensions in “scalable” collaboration: Transactional versus Relational Collaboration, Loosely versus Tightly Coupled, and Static versus Dynamic.
Collaborative Tools Strategy, University of California, Berkeley. An example of collaboration in practice.
20 Factors That Influence the Success of Collaboration. Factors related to: Environment, Membership Characteristics, Process and Structure, Communication, Purpose, and Resources.
Supply Chain Collaboration for Consumer Products Companies. This marketing brochure presents Accenture’s views and offerings.
Designing and Managing Cross-Sector Collaboration: A Case Study in Reducing Traffic Congestion. Although focused on a specific area, the study presents key lessons: 1. Understand Prior Initiatives and the Environment 2. Develop Effective Processes, Structures, and Governance Mechanisms 3. Understand the Roles of Key Actors 4. Demonstrate Leadership and Key Competencies 5. Create an Outcome-Oriented Accountability System.
Seven steps to intelligent collaboration. Article focuses on A collaborative approach to supply chain management. Here are the steps: 1. Strategic Planning 2. Resource Allocation 3. Realistic Timeframe 4. Measurement for Reward 5. IT Integration 6. Commitment and Buy-in at all Levels 7. Visibility.
Cisco Collaboration: Connect, Communicate, Collaborate. While this presentation promotes Cisco platform, the first part on “industry update” is not vendor-specific.
Collaborative Strategy Design. Brochure promotes a training course on Collaborative Strategies, but also offers the firm’s framework for collaboration.
Selling Collaboration by David Coleman. Author makes a case for how and why collaboration can be sold to the marketplace and management.
What is Your Collaboration Strategy? New technologies create new opportunities by Alex Kassabov. A consulting firm presenting its views on organizing collaborative environment into the functional categories: 1. E-mail 2. Virtual Meeting & Team Spaces 3. Portals and Dashboards 4. Social Networking 5. Forms 6. Instant Messaging.
Enterprise Collaboration: the way we do it. A brochure by Cap Gemini to promote its offerings that presents its approach. It defines collaboration maturity along: person, group, team, enterprise and global.
Collaborative Tools Strategy Task Force Report, University of Washington. A real example of an institution of higher education making efforts for creating a collaborative environment. The report goes from a definition of collaboration to recommendations.
Define Collaboration Before Planning a Strategy by T. Austin, B. Burton. Authors of Gartner Research say: “Companies generally focus too much on "buying" collaboration rather than on the behaviors it enhances. Focus on augmenting specific behaviors, not on generalized support for collaboration.”
Software of Choice for Enterprises. IBM promotes its solution, yet this post provides some useful data (Forrester Research predicts that enterprise spending on Web 2.0 is set to grow strongly over the next five years, reaching $4.6 billion globally by 2013) and offers its views on: Migrating Toward a New Approach to Collaboration, Keys to Success, and Expected Collaboration Outcomes.
McKinsey's 'Business and Web 2.0' Report and the new Consulting Landscape by Oliver Marks. Apparently the report has extensive analysis of survey data from which either the author of the post or of the report concludes: “Increasing speed of access to knowledge for internal purposes, and also when working with external partners/suppliers tops the ‘measurable gains’ charts, while for customer related purposes (the social CRM space) increasing effectiveness of marketing leads in the third category.
What exactly is collaboration anyway? The post addresses such items are definition of collaboration versus cooperation, and challenges for collaboration.
