Communicate to Collaborate!

Standardizing Printing Campus Computer Labs:

A Game of Strategy

NMC Summer Conference 2010

What to Expect Today?

Introductions: – John Staley, Student Technology Services

Coordinator– Cathy O’Bryan, Director of User Services

Background and RulesSmall-Group Game of Strategic CommunicationLarge Group DiscussionThe Real Result!

BackgroundLab Coordination

– Influence without Direct Authority– Consortium Governance– Distributed Funding– Autonomous management

Printing– Multiple Methods to Pay-for-Print– 3 in a Single Location– Range of High to Low Tech Solutions– Home-grown, vendor-based and combination

Challenges Abound!

• Need to influence without authority!• Disparate and competing computer lab needs.• Lack of inter-departmental understanding & cooperation.• Varied levels of technical expertise and staff resources.• Diverse and incompatible technical solutions.• Funding model needed.• Identify campus partners.• Coordination of Printing RFB (Request for Bid) with a new

and unidentified E-Commerce vendor RFB.• Mistrust of Central I.T.

Game Rules• Do not begin until told.• Asset Card Deck represents potential assets and strategies

for developing committed collaboration to a single Pay-for-Print system for the computer labs.

• Road of Trials Card Deck (RTC) represents potential events that can impact your project positively or negatively.

• Work as a team to construct a program with each member contributing a certain number of cards per turn to the Project Deck.

• Do not look at the Asset or RTC Card Decks; but draw from there only when told.

• Can look at each other’s Hands but cannot exchange them.

Introductions

Form groups of 3– Introduce Yourself– Discuss and Identify 3 elements that would be

essential to building a commitment to collaboration on a single Pay-for-Print System

Feel free to ask Questions of John & Cathy

First Goal

Decide upon and select your core assets and strategies using cards. (10 minutes)

What to do:1. Open envelope and place deck face down. NO

peaking!2. Each member draws 5 cards from deck.3. Each member contributes 2 cards from their hand.

The Road of Trials: Get Ready!

Conflicts

Opportunities

Set-Backs

Learning

Take That! (3 minutes)

What happened:

Effect on Your Project:

Blocked By:

4 Road of Trials on Your Own

What happened:

Effect on Your Project:

Blocked By:

RecoveryEach member draws 2 more cards from deck for a

total of 5 in hand.

Re-Strategize

Replenish and re-fortify your program – Each team member contributes 1 more card to the Project Deck.

Await the next trial. minutes

Take That: Final Trials! (3 minutes)

What happened:

Effect on Your Project:

Blocked By:

Take That: Final Trials! (3 minutes)

What happened:

Effect on Your Project:

Blocked By:

Achieving the Goal? Or Not?

What happened?• Did you successfully build computer lab collaboration to

achieve commitment to a common Pay-for-Print solution?

• Were the right resources available to successfully implement a solution?

• What did your team do well?• What would you do differently next time?

5 minutes

Reflect and Apply Lessons Learned

Work with team and select 9 cards which represent the core elements of an ideal program.

5 minutes

What Actually Worked!Community:

Build Mutual Understanding to Reach ConsensusAsk and Listen to Each OtherCommittee of Vested Stakeholders

Staff (Assessment Team)Functional requirements identified & prioritized (I.e. Must, Nice, Out of Scope)

Communicate Often and in Many DirectionsVendor presentationsFocus groups

The Game Continues!

Next Steps– Integration with campus wide E-Commerce vendor– Phasing out old pay-for-print systems– Integration with departmental printing systems needed

(e.g. grants, quotas, etc.)– Expansion of system to all campus? New, unknown needs?

Communicate or …….You’ll Never Know What You Don’t!

Special Thanks!

University of Wisconsin Madison’s “Simulation and Games Program 2006- 2009: GameQuest: Creating an Educational Game for Higher Education” by Kathy Christoph and Steve Ackerman.

Copyright: 2008 Board of Regents University of Wisconsin System

Contact Information

John Staley, InfoLab CoordinatorDivision of Information Technology (DoIT)University of Wisconsin – Madison 608.263.3911 jstaley@doit.wisc.edu

Cathy O’Bryan, Director of User ServicesDivision of Information Technology (DoIT)University of Wisconsin – Madison 608.263.7788 cobryan@doit.wisc.du