User Adoption Strategies (2nd Edition)Shifting Second Wave People to New Collaboration Technology
Michael Sampson
UserAdoptionStrategies �2
“Michael’sideasonuseradoptionareaction-oriented:learnbydoing,learnnowandfast.Thereisverylittleabstract‘consultantspeak’abouttheimportanceofcollaboration.AnideaofhisIlikealotis‘FacilitatedGroupRe-Imagining.’It’seasierthanitsounds!Itmeansgettinggroupsorteamstogethertodiscoverhowtheyworktoday,thendefine—withthem—howtheycanworkinthenewcollaborationcontext.Thisletsteamsdefinetheirwayofworkingtogether.Gettinganintactgrouptoagreeonworkinginadifferentwayiscriticaltosuccess.”
JaneMcConnellIntranetandPortalStrategist,NetJMCFrancewww.netjmc.com
“Michaelhasbeena‘collaborationstrategist’for15years—wellbefore‘workplacecollaboration’enteredmainstreambusinessvernacular.Allhisthoroughlyresearched,expertlywritten,andaccessiblebooksandarticlesattesttohisdeepexperienceandabidinginterestineffectiveteamworkandthevarioustechnologiesproducedoverthelastdecadeorsotosupportcollaboration.Inthislatestpublication,Michaelfocusesontheuser—thekeytoachievingsuccessfromcollaborationtechnologies,regardlessoftheproduct.Providingawealthofinsightandguidance,UserAdoptionStrategiesisamust-readforanyoneplanningatechnologyimplementationorseekingpracticalmeansofhelpingusersmakeeffectiveuseoftoday'stechnologiestoimprovetheirworkplacecollaboration.”
LynnWarnekeInformationManagement&SharePointConsultantMelbourne,Australiaau.linkedin.com/in/lwarneke
“Michael’sbookprovidesacomprehensivetoolkitwhichyoucanputtogoodusewhenyouneedtogetpeopletousethenewstuffyouhavedeveloped.Obviouslythebookiscentredaroundonlinetools,butmostoftheapproachesworkequallywellwithmanyotherkindsofprojects—andnotonlythingsonline.Michaelhaswrittenabookforeveryonewhoisworkingwithchangemanagementandadoption.Whetheryou’reanexperiencedchangeagentoryou’recomingtotermswithyourfirstproject,I’msurethatyouwillfindmanyusefultipsandstrategicapproaches,andthatyou’llfindyourselfreachingforthebookagainandagain.”
MartinRisgaardRasmussenApplicationConsultant,GrundfosHoldingA/SDenmarkwww.linkedin.com/in/martinrisgaard
UserAdoptionStrategies �3
“MichaelSampson’sbookUserAdoptionStrategiesisamust-read.Init,hecompellinglyoutlinestheneedforbehaviouralchangeifcollaborationtoolsaregoingtosucceedwithinorganisations,andprovidesasimplefour-stagemodelforplanningthistransformation.Mostimportantly,heoutlines20differentchangestrategiesthatcanbeappliedtogainadoptionofcollaborationtools.Theserangefromquick-and-easyactivitiestomajorenterpriseinitiatives;allareworthconsidering.Thisisamasterwork,andithighlightswhatorganisationsmustdotomakecollaborationtoolswork.”
JamesRobertsonManagingDirector,StepTwoDesignswww.steptwo.com.au
“WhatIenjoyedmostfromthebookisthewayMichaelexplainsthesestrategies.Notonlydoyougettoknowhowtheywork,butalsowhentoapplythem(inwhichsituation),andwhytheyactuallyhelpyou.Allthisiswritteninveryunderstandablelanguagefilledwithlotsofexamples,makingiteasyforyoutograsptheconceptsimmediately.Whilereading,afewtimesIthought‘whydidn'tIthinkaboutthisbefore?’Thesearen’tcomplexframeworksforwhichyouneedtoreadandthinkalotbeforehandtounderstandthem,andneitherdoesittakealotoftimetoapplythem.”
ReneModeryWebProgramManagerAuthor,“Chapter6.ExploringDifferentOptionsforImplementingSharePointSolutions”inTheSharePoint2010Handbook(2011)www.modery.net
“Althoughmostofusworkonthetechnologyendofcollaborativesoftware,wealmostalwaysgetinvolvedinthediscussionssurroundingtheage-oldquestion...‘Whyaren’tpeopleusing<insert-vendor-software-name-here>?’Theeasyknee-jerkanswer(andoneI’veusedanumberoftimesmyself)isthatit’snotthetechnology,it’stheculture.Whiletrueatacertainlevel,there’ssomuchmorebehindgettingpeopletoadoptcollaborativesoftwaresothatitdeliversonthepromisesthatweremade.MichaelSampson,awell-knownexpertonthetopicofcollaboration,divesdeeplyintowhatmakesforsuccessfuluseradoptioninhisbookUserAdoptionStrategies:ShiftingSecondWave
PeopletoNewCollaborationTechnology.ThisshouldbeoneofthefirstbooksthatisreadandstudiedbeforelaunchingyourSharePoint/Connections/etc.rollout.Andsincethebookisvendor-agnostic,itreallydoesn’tmatterwhatplatformyou’rerollingout.Theseproblemsarecommontoallofthem."
ThomasDuffDeveloper,RegenceAuthor,IBMLotusSametime8Essentials:AUser’sGuide,withMarieScottwww.dujert.com
UserAdoptionStrategies �4
UserAdoptionStrategies (2ndEdition)
ShiftingSecondWavePeopletoNewCollaborationTechnology
MichaelSampson
UserAdoptionStrategies �16
Foreword—byNancyWhite,FullCircleAssociates
Collaborationshouldn’tbeanelusivepractice.Werecognisewecanandmustworktogether.Werecognisethattechnologyhaschangedwhatitmeanstoworktogether,bothwhenweareinthesameplaceorscatteredacrosstheglobe.Wehavethebusinessimperatives.Wehavethetechnology.Yetwhydoesitremainsohard?
Letmetellyouastory.
Aresearchorganisationhadasupportteamwhorecognisedearlyonthepossibilitiesoftheuseofsocialmediafortheirscientists.Sotheyinstalledblogandwikisoftware,createdtrainingsessionsandthoughtthatitwouldbeaquickandobviousadoption.ItwasSOcleartothesesmartindividuals.Theirscientistswereclever.Easy.
Notso.Aftersomemissteps,theteamchangedtheirstrategy.Theywerenotscientists.Theyneededthescientiststodefinetherulesofthegame.Insteadoftrainingsessions,theyconvenedconversationsaboutresearch,notaboutsocialmedia.Asrealcollaborationneedssurfaced,theyofferedsuggestionsandexperimentsbetweenthem.Thetechnologyfolkscreatedprototypesforexperimentation,takingapagefromtheverypracticesthescientistsusedonadailybasis.Prototypesweresetup,feedbackofferedandappliedandtoolsandpracticessubsequentlyadjusted.
Whathappened?Practicestoenhancecollaborativeresearchemerged.Theyjusthappenedtousetechnologyaspartoftheprocess.Thescientistsdidscience,not“blogandwiki”classesthattheyfeltwereawasteoftime.
Tofollowup,thetechnologyteamreadjustedtheirrolestostewardingthetechnology—keepinganeyeonhowthescientistswereusingthetools,makingadjustmentsandlookingoutfornewoptions.Theywerecarefulnottodefinetheconversation,insteadlisteningandcontributing.TheylivedthewordsMichaelshareswithusonpage249,"Go!Learn!Adjust!Andthengosomemore!"
Throughtheprocessthese"technologystewards"redefinedtheirroles.Whataboutthescientists?Thinkaboutit.Arescientists“secondwaveadopters?”Inreality,thescientistsarefirstwaveadoptersintheirfieldsofresearch,butsecondwavetechnologyadopters.Ittook
Insteadoftrainingsessions,theyconvenedconversationsaboutresearch,notaboutsocialmedia. Asrealcollaborationneedssurfaced,theyofferedsuggestionsandexperimentsbetweenthem.Thetechnologyfolkscreatedprototypesforexperimentation,takingapagefromtheverypracticesthescientistsusedonadailybasis.
UserAdoptionStrategies �17
seeingthecollaborationfromtheircontexttobringthemonboard,butwithoutmakingthemfeellikesecond-classcitizensandbyrespectingtheirwayofworking.
I'mattractedtotheideaofsecondwaveadopters—thatlargegroupofpeopleEverettRogerswritesaboutinDiffusionofInnovations.Theyarethepeoplewhoareouttheregettingworkdone.Ifweasleadersareaboutcreatingtheconditionsforthatworktohappen,thenthisshouldbeagroupwepayattentiontoandsupport.WhenwedidourresearchabouttechnologyforcommunitiesofpracticeforourbookDigitalHabitats:StewardingTechnologyforCommunities,werecognisedthatpeopleusetechnologycreatively,ofteninwaysthedesignersorITneverexpected.WerealisedthereisarolethatisdifferentfromIT,arolethatrequiresbothknowledgeoftechnologyandknowledgeofthepeople.Inthisdynamicinterplay,wehavetheissueoftechnologyadoption.
Wavesarefunnythings.Thinkofoceanwaves.Theygoupanddown,theycanbegentleorpoundusintothesand.Justwhenwethinkwehavetheirrhythm,thenextwavechangesandsurprisesus.Thekeyisstayingalert,knowinghowtoswim,andbeingreadyfortheunexpected.
MichaelSampsonisabouttotakeyousurfingontheoceanofcollaborationtechnologyadoption.Inclear,practicallanguage,heoffersusinsightsthatcanreducethepainandincreasethebenefitsofcollaborationsoftwareadoption.Comeon,catchthewave!
NancyWhiteFullCircleAssociates,www.fullcirc.comAuthor,DigitalHabitats:StewardingTechnologyforCommunities,withEtienneWengerandJohnD.Smith
Thekeyisstayingalert,knowinghowtoswim,andbeingreadyfortheunexpected.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �18
Chapter1. FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical
Adoptioncanbehard...particularlywithbroad-brushedtoolsthatcandosomuch. 1
ScottJamison,Jornada
Theworldisfilledwithgroovytechnologytosupportpeopleworkingtogether.There’snoshortageofit.DuringthedecadethatItrackedallnewproductandserviceannouncementsinthe“collaboration”space,hardlyadaywentbywithoutatleastoneexistingvendorreleasingnewfeatures,ifnotanewentrantvendormakingasplashontheglobalstage.Mycontentionisthatthetechnologytosupportcollaborationisnolongerthelimitingfactor.Useradoptionis.
Inthischapter,wewill:
1. Considertheevidenceontheimportanceofuseradoption
2. Contemplatethecostandriskofnotdevelopingauseradoptionapproachforyourorganisation.
3. Definetheterm“useradoptionstrategies”anditsderivatives,asusedinthisbook.
4. Learnthedifferencebetweenfirstandsecondwavepeople.
Thetechnologytosupportcollaborationisnolongerthelimitingfactor.Useradoptionis.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �19
The“Why”ofUserAdoptionStrategies
Theuseradoption“problem”isarefrainIhearallovertheworldwhenI’mworkingwithorganisationsoncollaborationstrategy—inSingapore,inAustralia,intheUnitedStates,inEurope,andyes,eveninmyhomecountryofNewZealand.Butit’snotjustwhatI’mhearing.Thereisgrowingagreementamongmultiplegroupsofpeopleinvolvedwithcollaborationtechnology—thevendors,theconsultants,theinternalevangelists,theend-userorganisations—thatanintentionalfocusonuseradoptionisessential.I’dgoasfarassayingthatmanyarecomingtotheviewthatthisisthemaingame.
Thebasicthinkinggoeslikethis:
Itisimportanttochoosetherightcollaborationtechnologyforyourgroup,organisationorcommunity—nottoomuchtoconfusethem,andnottoolittletoannoythem.Forthisyouneedtoknowcertainthings(e.g.howthepeoplewithinthetargetgroupwork),youneedtogetvariousthingsright(e.g.vendorselection,riskmitigation,andtechnologyintegration),andyouneedtohavetherightpeopleinplacetomakeitworkwell(e.g.business-focusedITadministrators).ItalkaboutthisindepthinCollaborationRoadmap.
Therewillbeagroupofpeopleinanyorganisationwhoquicklyandactivelyembracethenewcollaborationtechnology.Thesearepeoplewehavetraditionallycalled“earlyadopters,”butinthisbookarecalled“firstwavers.”Theyarethepeopleforwhomgettingtousethenewtechnologyissufficientrewardtoexperimentandtrythingsout.Theydon’tneedsomeoneelsetoactivelyadvocatehownewtechnologywillhelpthem,maketheirlivesbetter,orbebetterthanthecurrenttechnologiestheyareusingtoday—they’reabletointuititforthemselves.
Thereareonlyafewfirstwaveadopterswithinanygroup,organisationorcommunity.Gettingbeyondthemtothesecondwaveadoptersisessentialtodrivingbetterbusinessperformance.Thisisbecausesecondwavepeoplearecarryingoutvitalbusinessactivities,therearemanymoreofthemnumericallywithinanygroup,organisationorcommunity,andasaconsequencetheyhaveamuchgreaterimpactonbusinessperformance.
Secondwavepeople,however,aredifferentfromfirstwavepeople.Theydon’teasilymaketheintuitiveleapfromwhatthetechnologydoestohowtheycoulduseittodotheirworkbetter;theyneedhelpfromotherstoadoptnewwaysofworking.
Thereisgrowingagreementamongmultiplegroupsofpeopleinvolvedwithcollaborationtechnologythatanintentionalfocusonuseradoptionisessential.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �20
Thisbookisabouthowtohelpsecondwavepeopledothis.
UserAdoptionProblemsinSharePointLand
IhavedonealotofworkwithSharePointduringthepastsixyears,resultingintwoSharePoint-focusedbooks.OneoftheproblemsIhavefrequentlyobservedinvolvesthe“IT-department-led”implementationofSharePoint.Thisisn’taproblemwiththetechnologyofSharePointassuch,butratheraproblemofhowspecificorganisationsapproachtheuseandadoptionofSharePoint.
BythetimeITprofessionalshaveSharePointreadytogoforeveryoneelse,theyhaveforgottenthepainandfrustrationtheyexperiencedwhenlearningSharePoint.Inaddition,whileSharePointis“thejob”forITprofessionals,it’sdefinitelynotthejobforbusinessendusers.Businessendusershaveajobtoaccomplish,andSharePointismerelyameanstoanend.ThesefactorscreatetwoproblemsforITprofessionalswhenworkingwithbusinessusersonSharePointadoption:
1. Theythinkallbusinessusersknowwhattheyknow—SharePointhasbecomesecondnaturetothem,andtheycan’tunderstandthe“bigdeal”usersaremakingaboutchangingtheirworkandembracingSharePoint.
2. Theydon’tshareacommonmotivationorlanguagewiththebusinessusers,andsotalkatcross-purposes.BothsetsofpeoplemaybespeakingEnglish(orFrench,orGerman,orDanish),butforallintentsandpurposes,thereisnocommongroundonwhichaconversationcanbeheld.
Again,thisisn’tatechnologyproblem—itcanhappenregardlessofthespecificcollaborationtechnologyyourorganisationembraces.Theproblemistheapproachtakenbytheorganisation(orpartofit),anditseffectscanbeverydamaging.
OtherpeoplewhoworkwithorganisationsonSharePointhavecommentedonthesamephenomena.Forexample:
LeeReedfrequentlypresentsontheuseradoptionchallengewithSharePointatconferencesandeventsintheUnitedStates. Lee2
says,Oftentimes,SharePointisrolledoutwithgreatfanfareandislaudedasafantasticsolutiontoahugenumberofbusiness
challenges.“We'retransformingourorganisationthroughcollaboration,”themasse-mailnotificationmightsay.Well,yourusershave
An“IT-department-led”implementationofSharePointcreatesproblemswhenworkingwithbusinessusersonadoption.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �21
heardthatbefore,haven'tthey?Usershaveahardtimebelievingsuchpontifications,andtheirskepticismcanquicklyundermineanyeffortstorolloutSharePoint.
KimLundfromMindsharpwroteablogpostinlate2009entitledHowtoIncreaseSharePointEndUserAdoption. Kimwrites,Ifyou3
findthatuseradoptionofSharePointisavoidedorslowerthananticipatedinyourworkingenvironment,youarenotalone.Many
studentsthatIhavetrained,consulted[with],andlistenedtohaveexpressedtheirpainpointsforSharePointadoption.
ClareStonefromPentalogicTechnologywroteawhitepaperonbarrierstoenduseradoptiononSharePointinOctober2009. 4
Clarestartsthewhitepaperwiththisstatement:It’seasytodeployanapplicationlikeSharePointwithinanorganisation;thehard
partisgettingpeopletouseitinawaywhichmakesthemmoreproductive.ManypeopleItalkwithdisagreethatdeployingSharePointis“easy,”butfullyagreethatuseradoptionisthe“hardpart.”
VariousresearchreportsonSharePointduring2011alsohighlightedthesameissue—adoptionisamajorchallenge. 5
UserAdop*onProblemswithCollabora*onTechnology
Iwroteabovethatmanypeoplearecomingtoseethatanintentionalfocusonuseradoptionisessential.Whileit’sdefinitelyaproblemfororganisationswithSharePoint,it’snotexclusivelyaSharePointproblem.Forexample:
Socialtext(www.socialtext.com),anenterprisecollaborationsoftwareandprofessionalservicescompany,releasedawhitepaperonuseradoptionin2009. Intheopeningsection,thewhitepaperstates:Thesuccessorfailureofanysocialsoftwaresolution…[is]
6
adirectresultofitsadoptionrate….Thereareplentyofexamplesoffailedsocial
softwareprojects.Whydidtheyfail?Becausetheywerenotembracedbyusers.
NewsGator(www.newsgator.com),asoftwarecompanyfocusedonenterprisesocialcomputingextensionsforSharePoint,alsoreleasedawhitepaperonuseradoptionin2009. Intheopeningremarks,NewsGatorsays:Thispaperpresents7
amodelforproactiveanalysisthatshouldbeundertakenpriortoorduringthe
earlyphasesofdeployinganenterprisesocialcomputinginitiative.Investingthe
timeandefforttocompletetheanalysisshouldgreatlyincreasetheopportunityforsuccessfuladoptionandactiveongoing
participation.Inotherwords,howyouapproachsocialsoftwareintheenterprisehasabigimpactonadoption.
NewsGator:howyouapproachsocialsoftwareintheenterprisehasabigimpactonadoption.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �22
TheUCViewpublishedanarticleIwroteonuseradoptionandLotusConnectionsinApril2009.Istartedwith,IncreasinguseradoptionisacommonchallengefororganisationsthatintroducecollaborationandsocialsoftwaretoolssuchasIBMLotus
Connections.Administratorsoftenfinditdifficulttoteachbusinessusershownewtoolscanhelpthemintheirwork.Peoplearebusy,
andintoday’seconomicmaelstrom,peoplearescared.Insuchtimes,thesafeapproachistostaywithwhatyouknowgiventhe
inherentproductivityandefficiencyofthisoption.
UserAdop*onProblemswithOtherTechnologies
Vendorsoutsidethecollaborationcamparealsoadvocatingtheimportanceofuseradoption,therebyillustratingthatit’sabroadandgeneralissue.
InaMarch2005whitepaperfromBusinessIntelligence(BI)vendorBusinessObjects,theauthorwrites:AtypicalBIprojecthasareturnoninvestment(ROI)of430%—assumingproperimplementationandorganisation-wideuseradoption.Failuretoachieveuser
adoptionresultsinmisseddeadlinesandcompromisedbusinessperformance.Despitetoday’spressures,proactiveorganisationswith
aneyetobusinessadvantagecanenjoyunprecedentedbenefits.Newthinking
suggeststhatuseradoptionisakeydeterminantofsuccess. 8
Inlate2010,astudyfromIBMandMITcommentedonthedifficultieswithgainingacceptanceofbusinessanalyticsinsideorganisations,andpointedthefingeratuseradoptionissues.Businessanalyticsisatopmostcompanies'apps
wishlists.Thebusinessgoal,ofcourse,istomakesenseoftheenormousamount
ofdataandinformationhousedintheirservers—andstopmakingcritical
decisionsfromthegut.Theproblem,however,isthattheadoptionofanalyticsis
beinghinderednotbytechnologybutbyage-oldpeopleproblems:change
managementandculturalresistance. Theresearchcitedfourmainobstaclesto9
widespreadadoption:lackofunderstandingofhowtouseanalyticstoimprovethebusiness,lackofbandwidthduetocompetingpriorities,lackofskillsinternallyinthelineofbusiness,andanexistingculturethatdoesnotencouragethesharingofinformation.
Thisbookdoesnotcontextualiseuseradoptionwithintheseotherareas,buttheapproachandstrategiesoutlinedinthebookcanbeappliedtomitigatetheproblemsnotedabove.
Lackofunderstandingofhowtouseanalyticstoimprovethebusinessisthetopobstacletowidespreadadoptionofbusinessanalyticstechnology.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �23
What’sGoingOn?
Whyallthisdiscussionandinterestinuseradoptionstrategies?Here’swhatIsee:
Thetechnologyiseasytobuyandinstall.It’seasytogetthelatestandgreatesttechnology;it’sfairlycheap,it’swidelyaccessible,andit’savailablefrommanydifferentvendors.WhenNicholasCarrsaidthatITdoesn’tmatter,partofhisargumentwasthatthewidespreadavailabilityofmaturetechnologytoanypurchasereliminatesopportunitiesforcompetitivedifferentiation.It’snottheITthatmatters—it’swhatyoudowithit.
“Justbecause”isn’tenough.Having“cool”stuffisdirectlyappealingtosomepeople,andunappealingtoothers.EventhelatestandgreatestSharePointorEnterprise2.0technologylacksthepunchrequiredtogeteveryonetoshift“justbecause.”Somethingmore—anintentionalapproachtoencouraginguseradoption—isrequired.
What’stheCostofNotDoingIt?
Haveyouheardthesaying,“Hopeisnotastrategy”?Unfortunately,hopeisthe“strategy”inwhichmanyorganisationsputtheirtrustwhenrollingoutnewcollaborationtechnology.TheITdepartmentbuildsit,makesitavailable,andthen“hopes”thatthetargetpeopleintheorganisationwillmakegooduseofit.Whilehopeisnotanupfrontstrategy,it’safrequentlyembracedsurrogate.
What’sthecostofembracingthissurrogateapproach?Considerthefollowingthreestages:
TheITdepartmentatyourorganisationdecidesanewpieceofcollaborationtechnologywouldbeagoodidea.
TheITdepartmentgoesoutandpurchaseswhattheythinkisneeded,andgetsitinstalled,configured,andreadytogo.
TheCIOsendsoutaone-timeemailtoeveryoneintheorganisation,saying“Thenewkitisavailable;goforit.”
What’sgoingtohappen?In99%ofinstances,abigfatnothing.Therehasbeennocommunicationorexpectationsettingaboutwherethenewtoolshouldbeused,norhowmuch,norwhatit’sdesignedtoreplace.Nostorieshavebeentoldaboutthebenefitspeopleandteamswillreceivebyusingthenewtool—neitherexemplarstoriesfromwithinyourorganisation,norreal-to-lifescenariosthathavebeen
EventhelatestandgreatestSharePointorEnterprise2.0technologylacksthepunchrequiredtogeteveryonetoshift“justbecause.”
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �24
developedtocommunicatecontextandprospect.Andthereisnocultivationofamovementamongthestafftoreinforcethevalidityandpotentialofthenewtool.TheCIO’semailisgoingtofallflat.Endofstory!
Whatarethecostsofthis?
1. Wasteofmoney,time,andeffortfromITindiscovering,learninganddeployingthenewtool.Inalargeorganisation,thiscouldrangefromhundredsofthousandstomillionsofdollarswasted.Inlightoftoday’seconomicrealities,feworganisationshavethefreedomtodothis.
2. FurthererosionofthetrustandpartnershipbetweentheITdepartmentandtherestofthebusiness.Intoomanyorganisations,ITisalreadyseenasthe“businesspreventiondepartment.”Failureincollaborationtechnologyinitiativesrepresentfurtherstrikesagainstthistrustandpartnership.
LowAdop*onisCostly
Onewaytounderstandthecostofnotdoinganyintentionalworkarounduseradoptionistoincludeitinyourfinancialmodels!Doasensitivityanalysisontheimpactoflessthanperfectuseradoption.Inarecentblogpost,JasonWhiteheadwrote:
…mostbusinesscasesassume100%useradoptionandignoretheimpactlowlevelsofadoption
haveonreturnoninvestment(ROI).Asyouknow,benefitsareonlyrealisedifyourpeople
actuallyusethesystemconsistentlyandeffectively.Unlessyoucurrentlyhavefullandeffective
adoptionofyourexistingsystems,itisnaïvetothinkthatyouwillachieve100%adoptionofyour
newsystems.
Toaccountforlessthanperfectuseradoption,youneedtoexaminehowdifferentadoptionlevelsaffectyourbusinesscase.Ifyoufind
thattheprojectedROInolongermakessenseyoucaneitherscraptheprojectordeterminewhatadditionalresourcesandeffortis
requiredtoincreaseadoptiontothepointthatitwilldeliveranacceptableROI. 10
What’sthebenefitofdoingthissensitivityanalysis?Youwillgainaveryclearpictureabouttheimportanceofuseradoptioninalanguagethatseniorexecutivescanunderstand.Thiswillbeofgreatbenefittoyouinadvocatingforthekindofintentionaluseradoptionworkproposedinthisbook. 11
Mostbusinesscasesassume100%useradoptionandignoretheimpactlowlevelsofadoptionhaveonreturnoninvestment.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �25
Lookingatthecostoflowadoptionfromanotherangle,consideranorganisationof1,200employeesembarkingonthecollaborationjourney.Thetechnologycosts$200peremployee,andthedecisionistolicenseitforeveryoneimmediately,andthenrunapilotprogramfor6monthswith400staff.These400staffreceivetrainingandencouragementtousethenewapproach(at$300each).Twelvemonthslater,only200peopleareusingthetechnology,andthenonlyinahalf-heartedway.Ofthe$360,000out-of-pocketexpenditure,$260,000hasbeenwasted.
Figure1-1.PoorAdoptionEqualsWastedExpenditureandaLostOpportunity
�
Thefailuretoadoptnewcollaborationtechnologyandwaysofworkingresultsinwastedexpenditure,missedopportunities,andalowchanceofachievingtheinitialvisionthatdrovetheinvestmentinthefirstplace.Useradoptioniscriticaltosuccess.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �26
Thereisathirdwaythatadoptioniscostlytoo:itcreatesalitteredlandscapeofpoorly-adoptedtools.OneteamusesYammer.AnotherteamusesSharePoint,plusabitofBasecampforworkingwithexternalparties.AthirdteamusesLotusLive.Afourthusesanothertool.Thissituationhasmanynegativeimplications,suchasconfusionamongstaffaboutwhattooltouse,highongoinglicensingfeespayabletovendors,highinternalsupportcostsduetotheburdenofsupportingsomanytools,difficultiesindeliveringtraining,andseverechallengeswhenon-boardinganewemployee.Thereisno“waywedothingsaroundhere,”butratheranincoherentcollectionoftoolsusedbyspecificteamsforspecificpurposes.Complexityreigns.
UserAdoptionStrategies—TheWhat
Inthefirsthalfofthischapter,Isetthebackgroundontheuseradoptionchallengeanditsimportance.Inordertobeclearonwhatwearetalkingaboutwithuseradoptionstrategies,thissectiondefinesthreewaysthisbookusesthephraseanditsderivatives.
Thecollectivephrase“UserAdoptionStrategies”referstoagroupingofindividualstrategiesthatanorganisationcanusetoencouragepeopletostartusinganewcollaborationtechnology.Inthissenseit’stheglobaltermtorefertoallavailablestrategiesforuseradoption.
A“UserAdoptionStrategy”isasingleself-containedwayofencouragingpeopletostartusinganewcollaborationtechnology—forexample,theReal-to-LifeScenariosstrategy,isa“useradoptionstrategy.”WhenIprofileaparticularuseradoptionstrategyinchapters6-9,thestrategyincludesaname,adescription,andinstructionsaboutwhenthestrategycanbestbeappliedwithintheprocessofuseradoptionwork.
A“UserAdoptionApproach”referstotheintentionalplandevelopedbyaspecificorganisationtoencouragetheprocessofuseradoptionbyaspecificgrouporsetofgroups.EitheroneuseradoptionstrategyormultipleuseradoptionstrategieswillbeembracedwithintheUserAdoptionApproach.Theapproachshouldbecontainedinadocumentofsomeform,althoughthedocumentisintendedtoconveyasharedagreementandcommitmentfromagroupofpeoplewithintheorganisationabouttheuseradoptionapproach.
SecondWavePeople
Theterm“secondwave”isusedthroughoutthisbook,and“secondwavepeople”aretheintendedaudienceforyouruseradoptionwork.Theyareyourtargetmarket.Let’sexaminewhatsecondwavepeoplearelike.
A“UserAdoptionStrategy”isasingleself-containedwayofencouragingpeopletostartusinganewcollaborationtechnology.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �27
“Secondwavepeople”or“secondwavers”representthelargestbodyofpeopleinagroup,communityororganisation. Theyaregenerally12
theoneswhohavetousethenewcollaborationtechnologyasit’sgiven,ratherthanhavinganydirectinputintowhatitisandhowitcouldbeused.Theyareverydifferentfrom“firstwavepeople”—theearlyadoptersofanythingnew,theadvocates,thechampions,theenthusiasts.Firstwaversaremoreatpeacewithchange,permissiveofchaos,unfazedbyambiguity,andactuallyderiveenjoymentfromfiguringsomethingout.AsIsaid,theyareverydifferentfromsecondwavepeople!
Herearethedifferencesbetweenfirstandsecondwavepeople,differenceswhichformthefabricwithinwhichtheadviceinthisbookisgiven.Thinkofthesedifferencesas“ideal-typehallmarks.”Notallofthemwillapplytoeveryindividualinthetwowaves,butifyouseemorethantwoinagivenperson,thenit’slikelytheyareasecondwaver.
What-whyreversal.Afirstwavepersonisattractedtothe“what”ofthenewcollaborationtechnology,butmaystruggletoarticulatethe“why”—thefutureorientedpicture—tootherpeople.Theymay“getit”implicitly,butstruggletoputitintowords.Asecondwavepersongetsthe“why”(ifit’sconveyedintermsoftheirwork),butwillneedhelpwiththe“what.”
Differentreferencegroups.Afirstwavepersonseestheiruseofthetoolwithinaself-createdreferencegroup,usuallyoutsideoftheirorganisation.Asecondwavepersonseestheirownwork,andtheuseoftoolscontextualisedwithinaninternalreferencegroup.
Differentrewards.Gettingtousenewtoolsisrewardenoughforfirstwavers,butsecondwavershavetounderstandwhereandhowthenewtoolswillimprovetheircurrentwork.
Speedofadoption.Firstwaverswillquicklyembracenewtools,andwilllearnhowtodosothroughtrial-and-error.Secondwaversneedgreaterexternalhelpandhandholdingtosuccessfullymakethetransitionfromcurrenttoolsandapproachestowork.
Natureofinvolvement.Firstwavershaveahighdegreeofinvolvementindefiningwhatcouldbedone,whatshouldbedone,andhowtodoit.Secondwaversaregenerallyexpectedtofollowalonganddowhatthey’retold.
Dealingwiththeold.Firstwaverswillbequicktocalltheoldstuff"dead"andwillwanttomoveawayfromitasquicklyaspossible.Secondwaverswanttoembracenewthingswithinthecontextofwhattheyalreadyknowandhave.
Gettingtousenewtoolsisrewardenoughforfirstwavers,butsecondwavershavetounderstandwhereandhowthenewtoolswillimprovetheircurrentwork.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �28
Itistheirjobvs.Itcouldbeusedfortheirjob.Firstwavepeopleoftenhaveanorganisationalresponsibilitytotryoutnewthings,andseewhatcouldbeusefultothewayworkgetsdone.It’spartoftheirjobtoexplorethenew.Forsecondwavers,theyactuallyhavea“realjob”todo—that’showtheydescribeit—andthespecifictechnologytoenableinteractionandcollaborationis,atbest,tolerated.
Notethatsecondwaverswon’twearabadgeproclaimingtheirmembershipintheSecondWaveAdopterClub.Recognisingthemrequirespayingattention—lookingoutforthetypesofindicatorsIhavelistedabove.Note,too,thatalthoughthebookisfocusedonpeopleinthesecondwave,theadvicewillalsohelppeopleinthethirdandsubsequentwaves.
Peoplesometimesaskhowfirstwavepeoplecaninfluenceor“preachto”thesecondwavers.Themosteffectivewayisto“livethemessage.”Onceyouhavepeopleinyourorganisationswhoareusingthenewtoolsaspartoftheirday-to-daywork,otherpeoplewillseethat.Ifthenewtoolsandapproachesarerelevanttotheirworkaswell,theywillbe“broughtintothefold.”Clearlythismeansthenewsystemhastowork,ithastoshowbenefitcomparedtocurrentwaysofworking,anditneedstobecomeabsorbedintotheworkingapproachoftheorganisation.Peoplewhoarenotintheearlywavesdon’twanttoinvesttimeandeffortlearninganewsystemthatlacksthecapabilitytodeliveronitspromises.
ThedifferencebetweenfirstandsecondwavepeopleisakeyreasonwhydeploymentsofcollaborationtechnologydrivenbytheITdepartmentusuallyfail.HavingpeopleintheITdepartmentactivelyusingthenewsystemdoesn’tsolvetheuseradoptionproblem.Infact,ifit’sjusttheITdepartmentthatisactivelyusingthenewsystem,itismorelikelytocausetheuseradoptionproblem.ITpeopleare“abnormallyprofiled”incomparisontotherestoftheorganisation,andtherecanbequitealevelofantagonismbetweenITandothergroups.Foruseradoptiontobecomelessofaproblem,youhavetogetbeyondtheITdepartmentthroughengagementwithbusinessteamsandgroups.Formoreonbusinessengagement,seeChapter6inmybookCollaborationRoadmap:You’veGottheTechnology—NowWhat?
“Users”or“StaffMembers”
Aquicknoteontheuseoftheword“user”inthisbook.It’sbeensaidthatdrugaddictsandpeoplewhousecomputersoftwarearetheonlytwogroupsinsocietywhogobythelabel“users.”WhileIdon’thaveaparticularlovefortheuseoftheword“user,”otheralternativessoundworse.Wecouldtalkabout“staffmembers.”Butthenwe’dhave“StaffMemberAdoptionStrategies”—quiteamouthful.Wecould
HavingpeopleintheITdepartmentactivelyusingthenewsystemdoesn’tsolvetheuseradoptionproblem—infact,itismorelikelytocausetheuseradoptionproblem.
Chapter1 FocusingonUserAdoptionisCritical �29
talkmoregenerallyabout“people,”butthenwe’dhave“PeopleAdoptionStrategies.”Thatdoesn’tworkforthesamereason.Let’sbeclearthoughthatthefocusisonpeoplewhoworkinsidetheorganisation—theemployees,thestaffmembers,themanagers,andtheexecutives.Inshort,“useradoption”isthebestphrasewehave.
Summary
Thisintroductorychapterhaslaidthefoundationforthisbook.We’vetalkedthroughwhyanintentionalfocusonuseradoptionisimportant,andhaveconsideredtheevidencethatuseradoptionchallengesarenotlimitedtoanyoneparticulartechnology.It’sabroad-basedproblem.Useradoptiondoesn’thappenbydefault,regardlessofthetechnologyinvolved.
Thischapteralsolookedatthreeotherissues.First,itaddressedthecostofnottakingtheuseradoptionchallengeseriously,andproposedonewayofquantifyingthefinancialimpactoflessthanperfectuseradoption.Second,itdefinedkeytermsthatwillbeusedthroughoutthisbook,suchas“useradoptionstrategies,”“useradoptionstrategy,”and“useradoptionapproach.”Third,itprovidedinsightintothedifferencebetweenfirstwaveandsecondwavepeople,thelatterbeingthekeyfocusofthisbook.
InChapter2weturnourattentiontotheorganisationalcontextinwhichourworkwithuseradoptiontakesplace.
Useradoptiondoesn’thappenbydefault,regardlessofthetechnologyinvolved.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �77
Chapter4. NewWaysofWorking
Businessdataandbusinessprocessesareunifyingforceswithintheenterprise.Byputtingyournewcollaborationtoolsinthecontextofa
businessprocessorobjectivebusinessmeasure,youcandriveadoptionacrosstheentirespectrumofemployees. 34
JoeSchueller,CiscoSystems
Therearehundredsofproductsthatfallunderthephraseof“collaborationtechnology.”Sincewearefocusingonuseradoptionofnewcollaborationtechnologyandapproachesforgreaterbusinessbenefit,itishelpfultohaveanunderstandingofthetypesoftechnologiesthatareavailable,andthatsetthecontextforourwork.Inthischapter,Iwilldiscusscommoncollaborativescenarios—thefundamentalbuildingblocksoftechnology-supportedcollaboration—andhighlightnewtechnologiesforapproachingeachscenario.
Inthischapter,wewill:
Learnaboutcollaborativescenariospeopledoregularly.
Considercurrentwaysofapproachingeachcollaborativescenario,andtheproblemsthatresult.
Lookintonewcollaborationtechnologythatcansupportexistingscenariosinnewways,andtheassociatedbenefits.
Byputtingyournewcollaborationtoolsinthecontextofabusinessprocessorobjectivebusinessmeasure,youcandriveadoptionacrosstheentirespectrumofemployees.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �78
CollaborationScenarios
Variousapproachescanbetakenwhentalkingaboutthetechnologythatisusedtosupportcollaboration.Forexample:
Youcandifferentiatebyproductgroupings—suchreal-timeinteraction(presenceandavailability,instantmessaging,andwebconferencing),calendaring(enterprise,web-based,andmobile),teamworkspaces,andsocialcollaboration(activitystreams,rating,andcommenting).Suchalenscreatesadifferentiationbasedonacceptedindustryproductareas.
Youcandifferentiatebyintent—forteamsthatwouldbecreatingasharedplaceforjointaccess,locationindependence,andreal-timejointeditingandreview,amongothers. Thisapproachlooksacrossdifferentproductgroupstohighlightthespecific35
needsofateam,group,ororganisationfromthetechnology.
YoucandifferentiatebyCollaborationScenario—anapproachthatstartswiththedifferentcollaborativeactivitiespeoplecarryoutasaregularpartoftheirwork,andthenlinksthoseactivitieswithparticulartypesoftechnology.Thetechnologyisonlyconsideredinthecontextofthescenario. 36
Thischaptertakesthethirdapproach.
CommonCollaborationScenarios
AmongthemanyCollaborationScenarios,commononesinclude:
ManagingaTeamProject.Whenteamsworktogetheronaproject—aninitiativewithaparticularoutcome,setmembership,anddefiniteendsignal.
SharingTeamandOrganisationalUpdates.Howdifferentpartsoftheorganisationarekeptup-to-datewithcurrenthappeningsandfutureplans.
FindingExpertise.Whenpeopleneedtolocateotherswhohaveexpertiseorspecialknowledgeinaparticulartopicorfield.
CollaborationScenariosstartswithacollaborativeactivitypeoplecarryoutasaregularpartoftheirwork,notthetechnology.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �79
CollaborativelyAuthoringDocuments.Whentwoormorepeopleworkonadocumenttogether—planning,drafting,writing,editing,andthefinalpolishing.
CollaborativeIdeaManagement.Whenmanypeoplehaveideasonwhatcouldorshouldhappen,andhowthoseideasarebroughttogetherforanalysis.
MakingGroupDecisions.Whenmanypeopleareinvolvedinformingdecisionoptions,evaluatingtheoptions,andmakingadecision.
ManagingMeetings.Whenpeoplemeettodiscussideas,makedecisions,explorepossibilities,andotherwisecommunicate“inthenow.”Thescenarioincludesthepre-meetingplanningactivities,aswellasthepost-meetingfollow-up.
SharingLearningandBestPractices.Whenmanypeoplearedoingsimilarwork,andinnovationsintheworkapproachmadebyonepersoncouldbenefitotherpeopledoingthesamework.
HoldingDiscussions.Whenteamsorgroupsdiscussideas,challenges,problems,andopportunities,withaviewtoexploringtheboundariesofwhat’sknown.
IndividualCoherence.AspecialCollaborationScenariothatconsiderstheimpactofintroducingnewcollaborationtechnologyonanindividual—howtheytrackandcoordinateeverythingtheyhavetodo.
ExaminingCollaborationScenarios
Inthischapter,wearegoingtofocusonsixofthesescenarios:
1. ManagingaTeamProject.
2. SharingTeamandOrganisationalUpdates.
3. FindingExpertise.
4. CollaborativelyAuthoringDocuments.
5. CollaborativeIdeaManagement.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �80
6. MakingGroupDecisions.
Thechapterconcludeswithabrieflookatthreeotherscenarios:holdingmeetings,requestingfeedback,andsharingbestpractices.
ManagingaTeamProject
Emailisthemostcommonlyusedcollaborationtechnologytoday.It’sthemostcommontoolpeopleusetocollaborateonteamprojects—discussingissues,checkingupontimeframes,swappingdocuments.Butemailisnotideallysuitedtomanagingteamprojects,foravarietyofreasons:
DocumentChaos.Whenco-authoringadocument,nooneissureiftheyareworkingonthemostrecentedition,andsomeonehastobringtogetherallthesuggestedchangestocreateanewmastercopy.It’smessy,error-prone,andtakesfartoolong.
VersioningChaos.WhenJimislookingforaparticulardocumentorspreadsheet,howdoesheknowwhetherthecopyonhisdesktop,inthefilefolder,oroneofmultiplecopiesinhisemailinboxisthemostcurrentversion?Basicallyhedoesn’t.It’sawildguess.
CommunicationChaos.Usingemailforconversationsleadstochaos.Althoughmodernemailclientsoffertheabilitytoshowrelatedmessagesinathread,threadingisnotsufficienttogiveaproperandnaturalorderingofemailmessageswhenmanypeopleareconversingonanissueoveramulti-dayormulti-weektimeframe.Messageswillbesentandreceivedoutoforder.Someteammemberswillrespondtoearliermessagesinthethread,notthelatestone.They'renottryingtobemalicious(inmostcases)—they’retryingtocontribute—butsincetheircontributionsarehandledviaemailandnotamoreappropriatetool,theycontributetoconversationconfusion. 37
Whatcanbedone?Manyorganisationsareexperimentingwithcollaborationsitesforteamprojects—MicrosoftSharePoint,LotusQuickr,andCentralDesktop(seeFigure4-1),amongothers.Achangeofcollaborationtechnologyintroduceschangestothewayworkisdone:
• Peopleswitchtothecollaborationsite,andstopusingemailforthecommunication,collaborationandcoordinationworkoftheteamproject.Thebigideawithacollaborationsiteisthatallofthedocuments,conversations,meetings,andtasksrelatedtotheprojectarebroughttogetherinasingleapplication,insteadofbeingseparatedacrossseveraldifferentapplications.
Whileemailisthemostcommonlyusedcollaborationtechnologytoday,itisnotideallysuitedtomanagingteamprojects.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �81
• Documentsarestoredintheteamsite,andnotemailedaround.Allworkonadocument,spreadsheetorpresentationisdoneoutofthecollaborationsite;peopledon’tworkanymorewithlocalcopies.Thatmeansadocumentisopeneddirectlyfromthecollaborationsite,andafterthechangeshavebeenmade,itissaveddirectlybackintothecollaborationsite.
• Communicationanddiscussionhappensinadiscussionareawithinthecollaborationsite,ratherthaninemail.Thiscanbequiteabigchangeforpeople,becausediscussionsnolongercomethroughtotheirBlackBerriesandiPhones.Althoughthediscussioncanbemucheasiertofollow,thereisasingleversionofthetruth,andnoonehastokeeptheirowncopyofthediscussion.
• Thecoordinationaroundtheteamprojecthappenswithinthecollaborationsite.Tasksarecreatedandassignedtopeople.Meetingsarescheduled,andheld.Projecttimelinesareshared,andupdated.
• Peoplecanbeeasilyaddedtoandremovedfromthecollaborationsite,toaccommodatechangingprojectmembership.Newprojectteammemberscanquicklyreviewwhat’sbeenhappeningintheproject,andexaminethecurrentstatusofitsdifferentaspects.
Documentsarestoredintheteamsite,andnotemailedaround.Allworkonadocument,spreadsheetorpresentationisdoneoutofthecollaborationsite;peopledon’tworkanymorewithlocalcopies.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �82
Figure4-1.CentralDesktopforManagingTeamProjects
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CentralDesktop’scloud-basedcollaborationplatform,SocialBridge,connectspeopleandinformationinthecloud,makingitpossibletomanageprojects,sharefiles,combineknowledge,inspireideas,andmore.Seewww.centraldesktop.comformore.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �83
SharingTeamandOrganisationalUpdates
Keepingeveryoneonthesamepage,whetheritbeinateam,adepartmentoracrosstheentireorganisation,isamajorcommunicationsjob.Theactofgettingthemessageoutisjustonesmallpartoftheoverallprocess;ensuringthatpeopleunderstandthemessage,andcanthenchangetoworkinadifferentwayaremuchbiggeraspects.
Themostcommonapproachtosharingupdatesacrossagroupofpeopleisemailblasts.
Aprojectleadersendsoutaweeklyprojectstatusupdateemailtoallteammembers,withthemessageinthebodyoftheemailalongwithanattachmentforthemtoread(probablyanewversionofthedreadedprojectplan).Theprojectleaderknowsthatshe’llhavetodealwithatleastonepersoninthecomingdayswhoisworkingoffthewrongprojectplan.
Adepartmentalmanagerwritesafortnightlyemailtoeveryoneinhisdepartment,explainingseniormanagement’scurrenttoppriorities,andoutliningwherehe’llbeinthecomingweeks.Ininvitingcommentsandfeedback,heknowsthatafewpeoplewillaskthesamequestion,buthe’sbecomeusedtocopying-and-pastingfrompreviousemailssoastosavetime.
Inkeepingwithourfocusonchangingworkpractice,eachoftheseareascanberevampedgivennewcollaborationtechnologies.Forexample,ablogcouldbeusedinbothinstancestofacilitatethesameprocessofcommunicating,butinadifferentway:
• Theprojectleaderwouldpostherweeklyupdateontheteam’sblog,andeveryoneontheteamwouldknowwheretofindthecurrenteditionoftheprojectplan.Inthatrespect,theprojectplanchangesfrombeinga“file”thathastobedownloadedandreviewed,andbecomesawebpageintheteam’scollaborationsitethatisalwaysup-to-datewiththelatestinformation.Thereisnomoresearchingorcallingaroundtofindthecurrentplan.
• Thedepartmentalmanagerchangeshisworkpracticeandnowwritesaregularblogonhisdepartmentalintranetsite.Ratherthanmerelyrestatingwhatmanagementhavebeentalkingabout,heisabletolinktotheblogpostsfromhisseniors,inordertogivehispeopleaccesstothesourcemessage.Heisthenabletoaddhisinterpretationofthemessageforhispeople.Throughthecommentfunctionontheblog,peoplewithinthedepartmentareabletoaskquestionsandprovidetheirfeedbackdirectly,withouthavingtosendprivateemails.Everyoneinthedepartmentisabletoseethequestionsthathavealreadybeenasked,aswellastheresponsesthathavebeengiven.Theycanseekfurtherclarificationonparticulartopicsifsomethingremainsunclear,orputtheirenergyintoaskingadifferentquestion.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �84
Figure4-2.SharingTeamandOrganisationalUpdatesviaaBlog
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Blogsprovideawayofsharingupdateswithinateamorgroup.Peoplecanrequestthatupdatesarepushedtothem(viaasubscription),andareabletoleavecommentsfortheoriginalauthorandotherblogreaderstosee.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �85
Alawfirmusedablogtoreplaceitsmonthlyinsidenewsletter.Onebenefittheyquicklydiscoveredwasthefaster“time-to-market”fornewsletterarticles,whichnolongersataroundforweeksonendbeforebeingreleased.Asecondbenefitwasthatmanagementdevelopedamorenaturalandinformal“voice”forstaffcommunications.
FindingExpertise
Howdoyoufindexpertswithinyourorganisation?Formanyit’sahitandmissendeavor.Youknowsomeone,whoknowssomeone,whoknowssomeone,andeventuallyyougetlinkeduptoaskthequestion.Butsometimesittakestoolong,andthecustomerontheotherendofthephoneisn’tgettingtheanswertheywant.Oritdoessort-ofwork.Yougetthroughtosomeonewhoisapparentlytheexpert,buttheycan’tunderstandwhatyouaretryingtosay.Unfortunatelythisworkpracticeisalltoocommoninorganisationstoday,leadingtolostopportunities,disappointedcustomers,andmuchwastedtime.
Withnewcollaborationtechnologies,locatingexpertscanbedoneinadifferentway—throughadifferentworkpractice.
Peoplehaveaprofilewithinthecollaborationtechnology,wheretheydescribewhattheyseeastheirareasofexpertise—suchasstrategicanalysis,financialprojections,facilitatinggroupdiscussions,orautomotiveindustryanalysis.Otherpeopleareabletobrowsethroughtheprofilesandexpertiseareas,toseewhohasexpertiseandexperienceinaparticulararea.
Whenlookingataprofile,therearelinkstotheperson’scurrentworkprojects,somerecentblogposts,andsomeitemstheyhavepostedindiscussionforums.Beforeyoumakecontact,youareabletoreadthesourcematerialandevaluateforyourselftheirexpertise.
Onceyouhavefoundthepersonyouwanttospeakwith,embeddedpresenceinformationtellsyouiftheyarecurrentlyonlineandavailableforinteraction.Iftheyarenotavailable,throughalinktotheirelectroniccalendar,youcanseewheretheyareandwhentheyexpecttobeback.
Newerexpertiseprofilesystemsalsohighlightareasinwhichtheotherpersonhasacommoninteresttoyou,andlistspeoplethatbothofyouknow.Thepointofthisistoconveytheirtrustworthiness,putthepersoninawidersocialcontext,andtosuggestsometopicstotalkaboutwhenmakingcontactwiththeotherpersonforthefirsttime.
Withnewcollaborationtechnologies,locatingexpertscanbedoneinadifferentway—throughadifferentworkpractice.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �86
Therehasbeenalotofrecentvendoractivityaroundexpertiseprofiles.Forexample,IBMincludesthesecapabilitiesinIBMConnections.
Figure4-3.DiscoveringandEvaluatingExpertsviaProfiles
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IBMConnectionsincludesapersonalprofilepageforeachperson,whichdisplayskeyinformationabouttheirworkandareasofcontribution.Contactinformationisalsodisplayed,tospeedtime-to-contact.Seewww.ibm.com/lotus/connections.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �87
TheprofilepartofIBMConnectionsstartedlifeasaninternalsystematIBMtohelppeoplefindexperts—itwascalledBluePages.Oneoftheenduringchallengeswithexpertiseprofilesisthataskingpeopletomanuallykeeptheirprofileup-to-datedoesn’twork,andsecondly,theexpertsintheorganisationmaynotwanttobefoundbecauseoftheextrarequestsforassistancethey’llreceive.IBMfoundthathavingwaysforexpertstosharetheirknowledgethroughnon-real-timemeansmadetheadoptionchallengemucheasier:
OncewegaveContributorsthechoiceabouthowtosharetheir
knowledgeandexperience,wefoundthattheyweremorelikelyto
contributeusingthesesocialoptions,sincetheyrealisedthattheresult
wouldbefeweremails,IMsandphonecallsaskingfortheirbasic
expertise.OnceSeekersfindanexpertviaProfiles,theyareableto
consumesomeoftheirknowledgeandexpertisewithoutdisruptingthem.
Thenatureoftheremainingemail/IM/phonerequestsfromSeekerswere
abouttheirdeeperexperience,theirknowledgethatwillalwaysremain
tacit.Ineffect,Contributorssharingtheirmore‘basic’expertiseonlineenabledSeekerstoacceleratewhatevercollaborationtheyfurther
requiredfromContributors. 38
OncewegaveContributorsthechoiceabouthowtosharetheirknowledgeandexperience,wefoundthattheyweremorelikelytocontributeusingthesesocialoptions,sincetheyrealisedthattheresultwouldbefeweremails,IMsandphonecallsaskingfortheirbasicexpertise.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �88
CollaborativelyAuthoringDocuments
Preparingadocument—asnapshotintimeastothecurrentthinkingofateamorgroup—isafrequentprocessforinformationworkers.Thestandardworkpracticetodayrevolvesaroundaleadauthordraftingthedocumentontheircomputer,attachingittoanemailmessage,andsendingitouttootherpeopletoreview.Oncetheotherpeoplehavemarkedupthedocumentwiththeircomments,theleadauthorgetsnumerouscopiesbackwhichtheyhavetoreconcileandcollateintoanewauthoritative“master”copy.
Thankstonewcollaborationtechnologies,therearedifferentwaysofcollaborativelyauthoringdocuments.
UsingawikilikeSocialtextorAtlassianConfluence,theleadauthorcanstartwritingusinganonlineweb-baseddocument.Whentheyarereadyforotherstoaddtheirinputandfeedback,theysendalinktothewikipage.Theotherauthorshavetheabilitytochangethetextdirectly(withroll-backcapabilitiesinawiki,theleadauthorcanroll-backtoanearlierversionifrequired),orleavecommentsonthebottomofthepage.
WithatoollikePleaseReview,thedocumentcanbeuploadedtoacentralserverandallthereviewerscanbeinvitedtoseethedocument.AlleditsandchangesarecarefullymaintainedonthePleaseReviewserver,andreviewersareabletoseeeveryoneelse’schanges,thusleadingtoareductionintheduplicationofthesamecomment.Finally,becauseeveryoneisworkingdirectlywithinthemastercopy,albeitinacontrolledway,theintegrationofmultiplecopiesintoanewmastergoesawayforgood.SeeFigure4-4.
Atamorebasiclevel,ratherthanthedocumentbeingsentoutbyemail,theleadauthorcanstorethedocumentinaMicrosoftSharePointteamsite,andwhentheyarereadyforinputandreviewfromothers,canstarta“CollectFeedback”workflowprocess.Thispromptsreviewersforfeedback,andallin-lineeditsandout-of-linecommentsaresavedintoasinglecopystoredinSharePoint.Theleadauthornolongerhastocorrelatemultiplecopies,andreviewerscanseethecommentsandinputofothers.
Inessence,therearemanynewanddifferentwaysofcollaborativelyauthoringdocuments—andthethreeexamplesabovearebynomeansexhaustive. It’sadifferentworkpracticefromwhatmostpeopleareusedto.39
Theleadauthornolongerhastocorrelatemultiplecopies,andreviewerscanseethecommentsandinputofothers.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �89
Changingthewayteamsworkondocumentscanhavesignificantadvantages.WhenIdiscussthecollaborativeauthoringscenarioinaworkshop,weinvariablygetasavingofatleast50%inprocesstimeacrossthetargetcollaborativeteam.Thisisaresultofeliminatingtheneedtomergecommentsintothemasterdocument,makecommentsthatotherpeoplehavealreadystated,andgivingquickeraccesstoeachteammembertoreviewandcommentonthedocument.PleaseTech,thevendorofPleaseReview,saythattheirclientsareseeingsavingsofupto65%.
Figure4-4.DocumentCo-AuthoringwithPleaseReview
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PleaseReviewfromPleaseTechisacollaborativedocumentauthoringandreviewingservice.Itenablesmanypeopletoworkonthesamedocumentsimultaneously.Seewww.pleasetech.com/pleasereview.aspx.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �90
CollaborativeIdeaManagement
Creating,collectingandrankingideasforprocessimprovements,newproductsandservices,andmanyotherareasofbusinessandorganisationallifearegreatwaystomakecontinualinnovationapartofthefabricofhowworkgetsdone. Todoso,youneedsomeway40
ofcollectingtheideasinthefirstplace.Thiscanbedonebyemail,wherepeoplesendtheirideastoaparticularaddress([email protected]),butthentheideasarehidden,notavailableforeveryonetosee,andgenerallygetforgotten.Thisleadstocynicismamongemployeesbecausetheyneverhearbackabouttheirideas,andtheorganisationmissesoutonapotentialtreasuretroveofinsightsandmotivationforimprovingoperations,technology,andcustomerservice.
Newcollaborationtechnologyprovidesamuchbetterapproachtoideamanagement.Ideasaresubmittedinanopenforum,allowingforeveryoneinsidetheorganisationtoseewhatisbeingproposed.Anyemployeecancontributetheirperspectiveonanidea,providingawayformanagerstogaugethemotivationandfeelingbehindspecificideas.
Here’showthisdifferentapproachworks:
Aspacefornewideasiscreated,mostlikelywithsub-spacesfordifferentgroupingsofideas(anideaspaceforaproduct,oneforaparticularclient,anotherforacertainprocess,andsoon).Thisneedstobesetupsopeoplecanseerelatedideastogether,withouthavingtowadethroughideasthatareirrelevanttothem.
Peopleareinvitedtovisittheideaspace,andtypeintheirideas.Theideaspacedisplaysanup-to-datelistofalltheideaswhichhavebeencontributed.
Otherpeopleareabletobrowsethroughtheideasintheideaspace,andreadwhatothershavewritten.Theyhavesomeoptionsforcontributing:theycanaddanewideathemselves,theycancommentonsomeoneelse’sidea(“Ithinkthisisgreat,andwouldreallyhelpSalesmovemoreofthese,”forexample),andtheycanvote.Ideaswithgreaternumbersofvotesmovetothetopofthelist,whilethoseideaswithfewervotesmovetothebottom.
Ideasaresubmittedinanopenforum,allowingforeveryoneinsidetheorganisationtoseewhatisbeingproposed.Anyemployeecancontributetheirperspectiveonanidea,providingawayformanagerstogaugethemotivationandfeelingbehindspecificideas.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �91
Whenit’stimetomakedecisionsaboutwheretoinvestinnewproducts,howtoserveclientsbetter,andhowtoimproveprocesses,theunderlyingcontributionshavebeenmade,andthepersonresponsiblehasagoldmineofthinkingtohelpguidetheirdecisions.
Peoplecansearchforideasonparticulartopics,relatedtoparticularproductsandservices,orwithparticularkeywordsinthetitleordescription.Inveryactivecollaborativeideamanagementsystems,thishelpspeoplequicklyfindideasthatarerelevanttotheirwork.
CollaborativeideamanagementissupportedbycollaborationtechnologyfromElgujiSoftware(seeFigure4-5),NewsGatorinSocialSites,andKindling,amongothers. 41
Whenit’stimetomakedecisionsaboutwheretoinvestinnewproducts,howtoserveclientsbetter,andhowtoimproveprocesses,theunderlyingcontributionshavealreadybeenmade.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �92
Figure4-5.IdeaManagementwithIdeaJam
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IdeaJamfromElgujiSoftwareenableseveryonewithinagroup,teamororganisationtoseewhatideashavebeenproposed,togivemoredetails(viacomments),andtovoteforideas.Seewww.elguji.com.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �93
MakingGroupDecisions
Afinalexampleofchangingworkpracticeishowdecisionsaremadeinagroup.Todayacommonworkpracticeisthatthegroupmeetsonceamonthandreviewsthevariousideasandrequeststheyhavereceived.Somedecisionsaremade,andthemeetingdisbands.Thisapproachleadsto“decisioncrawl,”asittakestoolongfordecisionstobemade.
Thereisadifferentworkpracticeinhowgroupscanmakedecisions.Thisinvolvescreatingacollaborationsitewhereallinputsforthedecisioncanbelocated,combinedwithanewworkpracticewhichseesthedifferentmembersofthedecisiongroupvisitingthecollaborationsiteonaregularbasistoreadandreviewtherequestsorideas.Whensomeonehasapointofviewtoshare,theytypetheirreactiondirectlyintotheappropriateplaceinthecollaborationsite.Wheneveryonehashadsufficienttimetoreviewthematerials,everyoneisaskedtovotefortherequeststheythinkarebest.Mostdecisionsgetmadeoutsideofatraditionalmeetingassuch,leavinganyactualmeetingtimetodebatingparticularlydifficultissues.
Collaborativedecisionmakingcanbeundertakenusingarangeofcollaborationtechnology:
ASAPStreamWorksitecouldbesetupforaparticulardecision.Dependingonthenatureofthedecisionneeded,varioustools—anAgenda,aPro/Contable,aSWOTanalysis,aQuickPoll,andothers—canbeaddedtothesitetoprovidestructureandfocusfortheteammembers.SeeFigure4-6.
AMicrosoftSharePointsitecouldbesetupwithaCustomList,whereeachitemisadecisionrequest.Membersofthedecisiongroupcanrevieweachdecisionrequest,anddiscussandvoteonthevariousmatters.ThisapproachtodecisionmakingisquitepopularamongsomelargeorganisationsusingSharePoint.
GroupSystemsThinkTankisanothercollaborativedecision-makingtool.ThinkTankoffersavarietyofdecision-makingtools—forstructuringideas,forcommentingonideas,andforvotingonideas,amongothers.ThinkTankisalsoavailableasahostedservice,calledThinkSpace.
Thesetoolscanalsobeusedbypeopleduringface-to-faceorvirtualmeetings.Theyprovideawayofstructuringandvisualizingthedecisionbeingdiscussed.DirectReliefInternationalusesSAPStreamWorkinthisway: 42
“Wewerelookingforasolutionthatcouldhelpusdriveprojectsforward,”saidRossComstock,ITdirectoratDirectRelief.“Ithelpsus
quicklygetagroupofpeopletogetherandfocusedonworkingthroughaproblem,evenifthey'reindifferentcountries.Forthatpurpose,
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �94
SharePointwastoogeneral.SAPStreamWorkwasmuchsimpler,withalotoftoolsbuiltintoittodrivedecision-making.WhenIhavea
meetingwithstakeholders,IcanpopintoSAPStreamWorkandillustratewhereweareonaproject.Itoffersasimplewaytotellastory,
andithelpsourcommunicationwithstakeholders.”
Figure4-6.CollaborativeDecisionMakingwithSAPStreamWork
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StreamWorkisanonlinecollaborativedecision-makingservicefromSAP,whichenablespeoplefromoneormoreorganisationstoworktogetherondecisions.Seewww.sapstreamwork.com.
Chapter4 NewWaysofWorking �95
OtherCollaborationScenarios
Thereareothercollaborationscenariosnotcoveredabove,butthatdoesn’tmakethemanylessvalid.Forexample,changeofworkpracticecanbeexploredfor:
Holdingmeetings.Travelisfrequentlyusedasawayofbringingpeopletogetherformeetings,orthemeetingisheldbyphone(one-to-one,oraconferencecall).Newtechnologycanbeusedtoreplaceorenhancebothtypesofmeetings—videoconferencingandTelePresenceinsteadoftravel,andscreensharingasacomplementtophone-basedinteractionsandmeetings.
Requestingfeedback.Askingotherpeoplewhattheythinkaboutaparticularworkitem—areportforaclient,aquotationfromapotentialsupplier,ablogpostfortheoutsideblog—isacommoncollaborativescenario.Emailisfrequentlyusedtodayasthemeansofsharingtheworkitemandseekingfeedback.Inthefuture,thereisanopportunitytousenewtoolswhichofferbettersupportforthisscenario,suchasworkflowroutingsystems,screensharing,andquicksurveys.
Sharingbestpractices.Beingconsistentinservicedeliveryisessentialtowinningthereputationofbeinggreatatwhatyoudo.Itcanbehardenoughforonepersontodelivertothesameconsistentstandardday-after-day,butit’sevenharderwheremanypeopledosimilarjobsfordifferentclientsorsegmentsofthemarket.Howdogoodideasgetdebatedandbroughtintocommonpractice?Today’sapproachisusuallybasedonemaildistributionlistsandtheoddface-to-facemeeting.Newtechnologycansupportsharingbestpracticesusinggroup-editablewebpagesinawiki,withtiestothegroup’scoremethodology.
Summary
Technologyisimportantwhenitcomestosupportingcollaborationbetweenpeople.Thetechnologycreatesopportunitiesfornewwaysofworking,butdemandsanalignmentbetweenwhatthegroupneedstogetdone,andthenuancesoftheworkpractices.Wehavelookedatanumberofcommoncollaborationscenariosinthischapter,andexploredhowcurrentscenarioscanbecarriedoutinnewandbetterwayswithnewcollaborationtechnology.
Wehavecoveredalotofgrounduptothispoint,allaimedatsettingthecontextandgettingourthinkinginlinefortheuseradoptionchallengeahead.Chapter5marksasignificantshiftinfocus.TheFourStagesModelofUserAdoptionisintroduced,followedbyextendeddiscussiononeachstageinchapters6-9.
AbouttheAuthor �293
AbouttheAuthor
MichaelSampsonisaCollaborationStrategist.Headvisesend-userorganisationsaroundtheworldonstrategiesformakingcollaboration
work.HeisthePresidentofTheMichaelSampsonCompanyinNewZealand.
Beyondconsultingengagementswithclientsandin-houseworkshops,Michaelshareshisresearchonstrategiesformakingcollaboration
workthroughmultipleavenues:
• Michael’sblogoncurrenthappeningsinthecollaborationworld,coveringcollaborationthinking,philosophy,approaches,and
technology.Seemichaelsampson.net/currents/.
• Booksonstrategiesformakingcollaborationwork,withafocusonculture,governance,andadoption.CurrenttitlesareSeamlessTeamwork(2008),SharePointRoadmapforCollaboration(2009),andCollaborationRoadmap(2011).ThissecondeditionofUserAdoptionStrategiesisMichael’sfifthbook.Seewww.michaelsampson.net/books/.
• Presentationsatconferencesaroundtheworld,bothin-personandremotely.MichaelhaspresentedatconferencesintheUnited
States,theUnitedKingdom,Netherlands,Belgium,Denmark,Australia,andNewZealand.
MichaelholdsaMasterofCommencewithfirstclasshonoursintelecommunications-basedITfromtheUniversityofCanterburyinNew
Zealand.
Tostayfit,Michaelenjoyscycling,running,andswimming.
MichaellivesinNewZealandwithhiswifeKatrina,andtheirtenchildren—David,Matthew,Philip,Daniel,Timothy,Susanna,Jonathan,
Elizabeth,Joseph,andJoshua.MichaelandKatrinahomeschooltheirchildren.