What is Collaboration?
Jay F. Nunamaker Jr.
Director
Center for the Management of Information
Soldwedel & Regents Professor
University of Arizona MIS
1
Collaboration
is defined as making
joint cognitive effort
toward achieving an
agreed upon goal
2
Why Collaborate?
Exercise:
List some of the reasons why people
in your organization Collaborate
3
Why Collaborate?
Make Decisions
Surface Perspectives
Build Trust
Review
Share the Vision
Synergy
Share Work
Build Consensus
Share Information
Avoid Decisions
Solve Problems
Socialize
4
Modes of Collaboration
Place
Same
Different
Same
Time
Different
5
Systems to Support different
Collaboration Modes
Place
Same
Same
Different
Sessions
Audio/Video
Group Support Group Support
Time
Different Team Rooms Team Database
Project Rooms Virtual Sessions
6
Collaboration Behavioral Difficulties
Exercise:
List some of the behavioral
Difficulties with Collaboration
7
Collaboration Behavioral Difficulties
Waiting to speak
Domination
Fear of Speaking
Misunderstanding
Inattention
Lack of Focus
Inadequate Criteria
Premature Decisions
Missing Information
Distractions
Digressions
Wrong People
Groupthink
Ineffective
Collaboration
Poor Grasp of Problem
Ignored Alternatives
Lack of Consensus
Poor Planning
Hidden Agendas
Conflict
Inadequate Resources
Poorly Defined Goals
8
Collaboration Is Expensive
• 15 Million formal Sessions / day
• ? Million Informal Sessions / day
• 4 Billion Sessions / year
• 30-80% Manager’s time
Fortune 500 Companies
3M Corporation Study
9
Collaboration is Essential
No one has all the
– Resources
– Experience
– Knowledge
To do the job alone
10
Collaboration is:
• Difficult
• Expensive
• Essential
11
How do people in
organizations
Collaborate?
12
3 Levels of Collaboration Capability
Low
Level 1 Collected Work :
Sprinters
Degree of
Collaborative
Effort
Uncoordinated Individual Efforts
Level 2 Coordinated Work:
Relay
Coordinated Individual Efforts
Level Concerted Work:
High
Crew
Concerted Team Effort
13
Level 1 Collected Work
Sprinters
• Individual, uncoordinated effort toward team goal
• Team productivity is simple sum of individual
performances
• Individualized Processes - Start to Finish
• Office Applications
– MSWord Group Editing
– Multiple Spreadsheet Sections
– Powerpoint Presentation Passing
14
Level 2 Coordinated Work
Relay
• Coordinated Efforts and Processes
• Coordination, sharing, and hand-offs
• Coordination Applications
– Workflow Applications
• Adding structure to NOTES
• Coordinator
15
Level 3 Concerted Work
Crew
• All team members work a process
simultaneously to achieve the team goal
• Repeatable Customized Process
• Attention Dynamics
• Collaborative Applications
– GroupSystems Online
– Facilitate.COM
– Meetingworks
16
Interactivity of Communication
Hierarchy of Collaboration
Crew
Concerted
Work
Relay
Sprinters
Individual
Work
Coordinated Work
Collected Work
Process Structure and Task Structure
17
The
Yellow Sticky Approach
Manual Support
for Level 3 Collaboration
19
20
Dream Level 3 Concerted Collaboration
• Two to Hundreds of people
• Complex issues Addressed
• Everyone
•
•
•
•
Contributes Equally
Perceives everything Multiple Perspectives
Focuses Attention on Critical Issues
Takes ownership of the solution
• All Knowledge at everyone’s fingertips
• Design Customized Repeatable Processes
• Accomplish Goals and Produce Products
21
GroupSystems
Support for Concerted Collaboration
Integration of
– Collaborative Technology
– Attention Dynamics
– Knowledge Management
– Customized Repeatable Processes
To Dramatically Improve Productivity
22
The GroupSystems Concept
•
•
•
•
•
•
Computer for each participant
Software for each task
Public screen to focus attention
Network to share information
Access to external data
Any Time, Any Place, Any Technology
23
Collaboration
GroupSystems
Share
Information
Generate
Ideas
Session
Planning
Organize
Ideas
Poll
Consensus
Explore
Issues
Knowledge Management
Organizational
Memory
Enterprise
Model
Corporate
Database
Intranet
World Wide
Web
FTP/Gopher
WAIS
24
GroupSystems
Virtual Collaboration
Collaboration
Share
Information
NY
DC
Generate
Ideas
Boston
Session
Planning
Organize
Ideas
LA
SF
Poll
Consensus
PIT
HK
SYD
DC
NY
ATL
Explore
Issues
Knowledge Management
LA
Paris
LON
DC
SF
Organizational
Memory
Enterprise
Model
Corporate
Database
Intranet
World Wide
Web
FTP/Gopher
WAIS
CHI
25
GroupSystems Collaborative Support
• Support for Small or Large Groups
on the Internet and Intranets
• Create Shared Agendas
• Generate Ideas
• Share, Evaluate and Organize Information
• Create Knowledge
• Poll, Rank, and Prioritize ideas for consensus
• Jointly Create Documents
• Complete Records / Reports
• Draw and Annotate on Shared Whiteboards
• Import/Export to Lotus Notes and other Software
• Administer Surveys
• Obtain Commitment and Take Action
26
GroupSystems
is a suite of tools
to support
joint cognitive effort
for
Deliberation, Reasoning
and Decision Making
27
Each Tool Focuses
Thinking
in Some Unique Way
28
Team Processes
Idea
Generation
Idea
Organization
Idea Evaluation
and Prioritization
Idea
Exploration
Idea Development
and Exposition
GSS Tools
Brainstorming
Topic Commenter
Idea Organizer
Categorizer
Group Outliner
Group Matrix
Alternative Evaluator
Vote
Stake Holder analysis
Assumption surfacing
Group Writer
Team Graphics
Screen Prototyper 29
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Why GroupSystems
Can Improve Collaboration
Parallel communication
Anonymity
Structured processes
Improved information access
Organizational memory
Enables larger groups
Improved goal congruence
30
Why GroupSystems Improves Collaboration
• Parallel Input
–
–
–
–
No air time competition
No waiting for a turn
No forgetting your ideas
No domination
31
Why GroupSystems Improves Collaboration
• Anonymity
– No Intimidation
–
–
–
–
No Domination
No Evaluation Apprehension
Focus on Ideas not personalities
Free to float unpopular ideas
32
Why GroupSystems Improves Collaboration
• Structured Process
–
–
–
–
–
Path to get from A to B
Minimal off-task discussion
Milestones for progress assessment
Efficient path toward convergence
Focused effort and deliberation
33
Why GroupSystems Improves Collaboration
• Knowledge Management
– Improved Information Access
– Organizational Memory
– Artificial Intelligence Categorization
– Advanced Searching
– Explicit Knowledge
– Tacit Knowledge
– Automated Sense-Making
34
Why GroupSystems Improves Collaboration
• Improved Goal Congruence
–
–
–
–
Shared Understandings
Consensus Assessment
Focus on Differences
Concerted Effort
35
Intellectual
Bandwidth
36
Intellectual Bandwidth
Represents
All the relevant Knowledge
for a given set of Stakeholders
on a particular Issue
37
Knowledge
Domain
All
Knowledge
Of
A
Domain
Task Team
Intellectual
Capital
Intellectual
Bandwidth
Explicit
Captured
Available
Knowledge
Intellectual
Bandwidth
Applied
Knowledge
38
Collaboration &
Knowledge Management
Increase and Leverage
Intellectual Bandwidth
40
Intellectual Capital
Organizational
Members
Understanding
Wisdom
(Principles)
Knowledge (Patterns)
Information (Relationships)
Data
(Symbols)
Collaborative Capability
Concerted
Coordinated
Collected
Access
U
S
E
&
D
E
P
L
O
Y
M
E
N
T
Intellectual
Bandwidth
41
Increasing and Leveraging Intellectual Bandwidth
With Collaboration & Knowledge Management
Level of Understanding
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
Collaborative
Capability
Individual
Collective Coordinated
Concerted
42
Level of Understanding
Wisdom
Sense Making
Manual Journal Search
Knowledge
Group Support Systems
Team Database
Email
Information
Application Sharing
Web Search Engine
Data
Individual
Collected
Coordinated
Level of Collaborative Capability
Concerted
43
Increasing and Leveraging Intellectual Bandwidth
With Collaboration & Knowledge Management
Level of Understanding
Collaboration
Organization X Concerted
Understanding
Information
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Organization X
Intellectual
Bandwidth
Data
Individual
Collective
Collaborative
Capability
Coordinated Concerted
45
Increasing and Leveraging Intellectual Bandwidth
With Collaboration & Knowledge Management
Level of Understanding
Collaboration
Organization X Concerted
Organization Z Individual
Wisdom
Knowledge
Understanding
Information
Knowledge
Organization Z
Information
Organization X
Intellectual
Bandwidth
Data
Individual
Collective
Collaborative
Capability
Coordinated Concerted
46
Increasing and Leveraging Intellectual Bandwidth
With Collaboration & Knowledge Management
Levels of Understanding
Collaboration
Organization X Collaborative
Organization Z Cumulative
Organization Y Coordinative
Wisdom
Knowledge
Organization Z
Information
Data
Understanding
Information
Knowledge
Data
Organization X
Organization Y
Individual
Collective
Intellectual
Bandwidth
Collaborative
Capability
Coordinated Concerted
47
Level of
Understanding
Wisdom
Knowledge
Information
Data
5
10
15
20
25
Group Size
Individual
Collective
Coordinated Concerted
Levels of
Collaborative Capability
48
Level of
Understanding
Collaboration
Organization X Concerted
Understanding
Information
Size
27
Wisdom
Knowledge
Organization X
Information
Data
Intellectual
Bandwidth
5
10
15
20
25
Group Size
Collected
Connected
Coordinated
Concerted
Level of
Collaborative
Capability
49
Level of
Understanding
Wisdom
Knowledge
Collaboration Knowledge Management
Organization X Concerted
Information
Organization Z Individual
Knowledge
Size
23
15
Organization Z
Organization X
Information
Intellectual
Bandwidth
Data
5
10
15
20
25
Group Size
Individual
Collective
Coordinated Concerted
Collaborative
Capability
50
Level of
Understanding
Wisdom
Knowledge
Collaboration Knowledge Management
Organization X Concerted
Information
Organization Z Cumulative
Knowledge
Organization Y Coordinative Data
Size
23
15
13
Organization Z
Organization X
Information
Intellectual
Data
Organization X Bandwidth
5
10
15
20
25
Group Size
Individual
Collective
Coordinative Concerted
Collaborative
Capability
51