Collaboration “in the Wild”: Some Observations

An Enterprise 2.0 dream scenario: implementing a complex project across multiple sites, in two different time zones, with a large team (well over 100). The team was reasonably savvy with collaboration tools; core team members were quite comfortable with Instant Messaging, and we have been relying on SharePoint for many months. A centralized, coordinated document repository; a single source, very public bugs/issues list – the foundation was in place for some time, so our “go-live weekend” experience was pleasantly predictable…

An Enterprise 2.0 dream scenario: implementing a complex project across multiple sites, in two different time zones, with a large team (well over 100). The team was reasonably savvy with collaboration tools; core team members were quite comfortable with Instant Messaging, and we have been relying on SharePoint for many months. A centralized, coordinated document repository; a single source, very public bugs/issues list – the foundation was in place for some time, so our “go-live weekend” experience was pleasantly predictable.

During this critical time, we had to coordinate with the multitude, and we did that with a highly structured “hour-by-hour plan”, regularly scheduled “all-hands” conference calls, and web-based meeting places so all could review Completed, In Process, and Coming Soon tasks. After a successful weekend, we received plenty of positive feedback, and some interesting suggestions for improvements:

1. Conference calls were regularly scheduled, and featured tight agendas – which tended to limit individuals’ ability to connect with the right person (until afterward). Since each location had a “war room” where the team gathered for the status calls, some suggested we leave the conference call open 24×7. I wasn’t a big fan of this one, primarily because I’m the guy paying the long-distance bill …
2. Few on the team are actively using Twitter, but one of the project leads noted that IM was quite popular, and imagined a Tweetdeck-like ability to see instant messages and responses that have gone out previously; “threaded conversations” that could be visible to all, helping collaborative problem-solving and knowledge transfer. I congratulated him on inventing Google Wave …
3. Like most decent-sized companies, we have a highly structured Process for approving code changes into production – and like most decent-sized projects, we noted a few instances where promotions to resolve problems were delayed (while they worked their way through the Process). Might there be some streamlining opportunities here, since we are working on a high profile project with lots of oversight?

Of course, #3 was a non-starter, but the first two generated some good discussion, Yes, it’s conceivable that we could augment our SharePoint site with a few new extensions or plug-ins to address the first two – but I’m actively working against any changes to our collaboration environments for a very simple reason – we’re not finished with the big project. Phase 2 of 2 is coming in just a few weeks.

Am I being close-minded? Not really, I’m a huge driver of collaboration tools in the company. But, I’m also a realist – and I know two significant factors that argue against change at the time:

Prioritizing “Improvements”: We are implementing ERP and other highly intrusive / foundational systems, and there’s a lot of change that comes along with that. I understand that an organization can only take so much change at once – so why not focus on the stuff that’s bringing real (ie. quantifiable, bottom-line, significant) business value.