1

Directorate General of Citizen AttentionGovernment of Catalonia

Barcelona, July 2010

The future of collaborative work and its tools

Legal noticeThis work is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. It allows the reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation to generate a derivative work, without any restriction providing that the author is always cited (Governtment of Catalonia. Presidential Department) and this licence does not contradict any specific licence that an image within this report might have and the rights of the image prevail. The complete licence can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode

2

IntroductionMethodology and resultsConceptualisationTrendsInternal analysisBenchmarking of toolsConclusions

Table of contents

3

Introduction

The use of current technology, web-based platforms, social software and collaborative environments and their mushrooming in society are having far-reaching changes on the way people work and produce, how we learn and relate to each other and to our environment. The new knowledge economy will transform public and private organisations forever in a necessary adaptation to the new technological contexts, the processes involved and the values that they foster.

SocioculturalTransformation

Sociocultural pressure constitutes a driving force for change for today’s

organisations. The way that individuals relate to the organisations where they

work, to the products that they consume and to the providers of the services that

they use is transforming the current model of public, private and academic

organisations.

This same technological development that is driving these changes enables organisations to consider the use of tools and strategies which until very recently did not exist or

were used for social, entertainment or restricted purposes.

The development of technologies is driving a cultural change based on the collaboration of social networks, active participation and a new way of understanding knowledge management. At the same time, these new paradigms in the way we relate to one another are fostering a

continuous evolution of the collaborative applications and tools within our grasp.

Technology OrganisationalModels

4

Introduction

The aim of this document is to analyse the trends in the development and use of collaborative tools by organisations, in their progress to productive, learning, management and relational environments more aligned with the requirements of the knowledge society.

This document is a reflection on the use of the collaborative tools of the Government of Catalonia and compares current market trends with the analysis of the specific needs of the organisation in these types of environments.

The conclusions set out at the end of this study may act as a guide to help with decision-making with regard to the technological, functional and organisational strategy of the Government of Catalonia in its role as leader in the application of technology in collaborative work.

5

Introduction and results

From a methodology point of view, the study is focused through two perspectives which converge in the aims that we are seeking to achieve.

Internal analysisLooking at

the organisation

We have analysed the trends that mark the accelerated development of collaborative tools and platforms within the current global framework. They will mark the evolution of these platforms and uses that we will make of them in the coming years. We will now look at the

challenges facing organisations in the knowledge society and the needs and specific situation of the Government of Catalonia.

• Metafunctions - Functions Table • Tools - Functions Table

Conceptualisation (prior)Conceptualisation (prior)

Conclusions and recommendationsConclusions and recommendations

TrendsLooking outwards

• Categorised catalogue of tools• List or trends in collaborative

work and their tools

6

Conceptualisation

When we start analysing the collaborative tools and processes, we first need to define the different environments, which, given their characteristics, objectives and needs, require different approaches and specific solutions.

INFORMATIONMANAGEMENTINFORMATIONMANAGEMENT

COCREATIONCOCREATION

COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION DISSEMINATIONDISSEMINATION

LEARNING

We propose a conceptual layout to help us separate (albeit artificially) the different characteristics of the groups that use the collaborative tools for a range of objectives.

7

ConceptualisationINFORMATIONMANAGEMENTINFORMATIONMANAGEMENT

COCREATIONCOCREATION

COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION DISSEMINATIONDISSEMINATION

LEARNING

Cocreation: a set of activities, resources and processes geared towards the collaborative creation of a product or service.

Communication: Interaction between people who share the same interests, concerns and needs and who establish professional or personal links with the main objective of discussion and the development of more or less solid relations.

Dissemination: Activities geared towards promoting, communicating, disseminating and publishing a space, project, product or person. The aim is to secure the attention, adhesion or loyalty to a brand or concept. In the context of this study, we will not be making any reference nor will be making any joint assessment of the external and internal dissemination in the organisation.

Information management: Processes for exchanging, storing, researching and organising information that enable the generation of new knowledge, improve the application of existing knowledge and help users develop or improve skills and abilities.

Learning: Learning is inherent to all the activities described above. However, we will not be making an initial in-depth or specific study of the group, given its general and cross-disciplinary nature.

8

Trends

Cocreation Communication Dissemination

CC BY Jordi Graells ‘Public innovation and collaborative work’. Collaborative Innovation Conference in Osakidetza.Bilbao, 22.04.2009

Informació

Table summarising the collaborative tools

9

Trends

Commitment to digital professional identity: teams that add Facebook-type digital profiles to their directories used to enrich them (digital identity card, Yellow Pages).

The most successful corporate blogs are the ones with content written by their managing directors (CEO, chief executive officer).

A successful practice is for employees to add their own videos to the corporate TV.

Interactive forums for critical situations, specific knowledge management, specific community support.

Personalised environments for all workers (we will look at this important aspect at the end).

The most widely used platform is Microsoft’s SharePoint and in particular the MOSS platform (Microsoft Office SharePoint Server 2007), which constitutes the basis for half the most successful intranets. Autonomy, Google Search and WebTrends are applications that are also very widely used as complementary platforms.

Studies into improved usability have linked up with the most successful collaborative environments, as this is considered a fundamental issue.

Collaborative toolsCollaborative tools

10

Trends

Ubiquity, mobile devices, increased reality

Cloud computing

Importance of advanced analyses

Languages and web semantics

Digital identity, social networks

Real time web

Ecological IT (IT for green)

User-friendly, contextual web, personalisation

General technologyGeneral technology

11

Trends

General technologyGeneral technology

12

Internal analysis

CocreationCocreation

Structure of the informationRules of participationRoles and responsibilitiesDivision of workMonitoring progressDecision-makingDebates and proposalsIntellectual propertyRemuneration

Shared and displayed editingDiversity of formatsTraceability of changes (who, what, when)Subscription, alerts about changesVersion managementDocument repositoryLabelling/Taxonomies (folcsonomies)Content assessmentSearch enginesAccessibility / Connectivity with standardsOpen dataDiscussion forumsSynchronous communication Calendars, chronograms, filesTasks and teamAssociating documents with tasks

Processes Functions

13

Internal analysis

CommunicationCommunicationProcesses Functions

People do not talk if they do not know each other. Any system that publicises who’s who in the organisation, who knows what, who has taken part in which project...Displaying interests, concerns, needs, challenges... to help people identify people who have the same or complementary ones to theirs, with whom they can establish a connection.Not penalising interdepartmental relations. Corporate policy has to incentivise exchanges and relations between people irrespective of the organisation chart.Physical conversation spaces. Despite the stimulating and multiplying effect of (ICT) technology on communication between people, ICT are no substitute for physical relationships, which serve to establish genuine links of trust and understanding

Immediacy: synchronous communication (instant messaging, IP telephony)Multiformat (video, voice, chat)MultideviceExchange of information during the conversationLogs of conversations (Minutes, recordings)User concurrenceAlerts of lost communicationsUser and profile managementProfile visibilityWho’s whoCommunity and group designCreation of new links for presentation or invitationDesign/Interface (simplicity/usability)

14

Internal analysis

DisseminationDisseminationProcesses Functions

Conceptualising a message (constructing a narrative) specifically designed for the objective we are working towards.Creating contents that reinforce this message clearly and coherently.Clearly identifying the target public of this message and contents.Deciding which are the best channels to get this across to the public.Defining content publication spaces (public and other private zones). Considering multimedia, possibility of transferring products into different formats.Integrating contents that are shared in social media 2.0.Creating support communities. Contact external communities.Publishing data in as open formats as possible.

RSS, content syndication systems

Productive dissemination tools (from the Administration to different services)

Channels to 2.0 media or social media

Content dissemination tools (multipurpose buttons from own environments to social media channels)

Widgets, Twitter, Slideshare, Youtube, etc., integration scripts

Social network functions

Blogs, open wikis, collective microblog, collective tumblelogs

Individual – institutional portfolios

Tools for monitoring the conversation in external communities

15

Internal analysis

Information managementInformation managementProcesses Functions

Researching, analysing and synthesising the information that we need at all times.

Identifying and locating relevant and reliable information sources.

Finding the necessary information in the sources.

Assessing the quality of the information and its suitability according to what we in fact need.

Classifying, organising and structuring the information to facilitate the processes above and make management of them easier.

Socialising and making individual tools for organising information efficient.

Research systems

Managing sources of interest

Labelling, folcsonomies, social marker services

Real-time web: antenna - Deep web: research

Multiformat and multidevice

Advanced data display systems

Personal learning environments

Access to contents through RSS

Sharing RSS readers’ folders

Specialisation in search syndication

Sharing bookmarks

16

Internal analysis

Metafuncions COCREACIî COMUNICACIî G.INFORMACIî DIFUSIîCatàleg FuncionalUsuaris i Perfils X XGestió d'usuaris i perfilsConfiguració permisos d'usuarisVisibilitat dels perfilsPersonalització entorn de treball (escriptori virtual) XQui es qui - Directoris d'usuaris XDisseny de Comunitats i Xarxes socialsMicroblogging X X XGrups XCorreu electrònic XConnexions XCreació de nous enllaços per invitació / recomanacióVisualització gràfica de relacions XProducció Col·laborativa XBlogs X XWikis X XEdición compartida y visualizadaVersionatDiversitat de formatsTraçabilitat de canvisForums de discusióFormularisGestió del Coneixement XOrganitzador de feeds X XRepositori de Documents XCompartició d'arxius X XEtiquetació/taxonomies/Tagging X XMotor de recerca / Metacercadors XRSS-Suscripció/Alertes sobre canvis XValoració continguts/Votacions(filtres i promoció social de continguts) X XContinguts a FAvorits XCompartició de Favorits XWeb semánticaQüestionaris XBotons multiservei (de entorns propis a canals social media) XComunicació Síncrona X XMissatgeria Instantˆnea - XatIntercanvis d'elements d'informació durant la conversa XTelefonia IPLogs de les conversa (possibilitats d'actes o archivament del contingut)Avisos sobre comunicacions perdudesVideoConferencia X Xvisualització videopissarra virtualEnregistramentZoomCompartició de documents (visió/edició) integradaEntorn especial per dispositius mobilsConcurrència d'usuarisSales Virtuals X XVisualització Comuna Escriptori (sala)Notes col·lectivesBreakoutsMultivideo

GESTIÓ DE PROJECTES XCreació de projectesSeguiment de projectes Documentació associada al projecte XAssociació d'elements documentals a tasques XEquip - ComunitatGestió d'usuaris i perfils Agenda per cada usuari i compartida per grups de treballCalendari compartitGestió de reunions/ConvocatoriesEines de Comunicació de dades rellevants del projecte XElaboració d'informes i estadístiques X

17

Internalanalysis

MetafunctionsCOCREATIONCOMMUNICATIONINFORMATION.MDISSEMINATIONFunctional CatalogueUsers and ProfilesUser and Profile ManagementConfiguration of user licencesProfile visibilityPersonalisation work environment (virtual desk)Who’s who – User directoriesCommunications and Social networks designMicrobloggingGroupse-mailConnectionsCreation of new links by invitation/recommendationGraphic display of relationsCollaborative ProductionBlogsWikisShared and displayed editingVersionDiversity of formatsTraceability of changesDiscussion forumsFormsKnowledge ManagementFeed organiserDocument repositoryFile sharingLabelling/taxonomy/taggingSearch engine / Metasearch enginesRSS-Subscription/Alerts about changesContent assessment/Votes (filters and social promotion of contents)Contents in BookmarksSharing BookmarksWeb semanticsSurveysMultipurpose buttons (from own environments to social media channels)Synchronous CommunicationInstant Messaging – ChatIP telephonyLogs of conversations (possible Minutes or content filing)Notifications of lost communicationsVideoConferencingvideo displayvirtual blackboardRecordingZoomIntegrated document sharing (vision/editing)Special environment for mobile devicesUser concurrenceVirtual RoomsCommunal Desk Display (room)Collective notesBreakoutsMultivideoPROJECT MANAGEMENTProject creationProject monitoringDocuments associated with the projectAssociation of documents with tasksTeam – CommunityUser and profile managementCalendar for each user and shared for work groupsShared calendarManagement of Meetings/Calls Communication tools for data relevant to the projectDrafting reports and drawing up statistics

Itemstranslation

18

Benchmarking of tools

CriteriaCriteria

Functional cover - Functions - Tools Matrix

Software quality metricsModularity ScalabilityPerformanceAccessibilityEase of useMaintainabilityDesignIntegrityReliabilityPortabilityInteroperability

Level of serviceStrategic planningTechnological supportTrainingChange management

19

Conclusions

Common languageCommon language

Processes

Functions

Indicators and metrics

Strategicvision

StrategicInvestment

plan

Acceleration ofobjectives

Work groups

Technology

Management

20

ConclusionsManagement Work

groups

Technology 1. Aligning the operating and strategic processes

The management needs to be able to convey the collective project to the organisation that binds them together.

It has to share the strategic plans and provide departments, areas and work teams with the necessary information to create a common vision of the objectives and strategies to be achieved.

We often find that groups work efficiently, that they are capable of measuring their performance, but that they are disconnected from the overall strategy and that they are unaware of how their results contribute to the common objectives of the organisation as a whole.

Not only is this demotivating for groups, but it also has a negative effect on management support and involvement, which, in the best scenario, becomes inhibited and ceases to function with an attitude that is more in common with acquiescence than any necessary involvement. The correct attitude, however, would be to make good use of the enthusiasm and channel the groups’ energy towards the strategic objectives of the organisation that they lead.

21

ConclusionsManagement Work

groups

Technology

2. Measuring with quantitative and qualitative criteriaCollaborative work processes cannot exist outside these objectives and we need to be able to respond, in an understandable language from a managerial point of view, to a series of indicators that allow us to assess how their results support the organisation’s overall objectives.

Historically, return on investment in technologies was measured primarily by reduced costs or work posts (measures similar to traditional managerial practices). In the era of collaboration, technology is used differently, as it increases the number of interactions and expands the abilities of knowledge workers. These new uses of technology indirectly help improve productivity, the speed at which products and services are developed, the acceleration of innovation processes, improved socio-employment climate, improved relations with their agents...

An initial precedent can be found in the ‘e-Catalunya: boosting eGov innovation by Communities of Practice’ candidacy, data that can be consulted on the gencat Slideshare, which assesses the impact data of the CoP on the Government of Catalonia.

22

ConclusionsManagement Work

groups

Technology

Classification of workers by the type of work that they are undertaking.

Identification of which processes are involved in these groups.

That these processes be compared with the technological tools that we can contribute to help improve their development.

3. Technology applied to real processes and specific needsBetween technology and work groups there is a strong necessary relationship between the processes that these groups need in order to work and the functions that the technological platforms contribute to help cover the needs of these processes.

Throughout this study, we have tried to establish a model which aids the assessment of the different collaborative platforms based on the functional cover in these groups and in accordance with their main objectives.

The technology used must form part of the workflows in the users’ daily activity and not instead be a task that is added to the work being undertaken.

The quality of the collaborative processes and the rationalisation of the application of technologies require:

23

ConclusionsManagement Work

groups

Technology

4. Coherence and strategic vision in technology adoption policyWithin its strategic plans, the management will have to define the technology investment criteria that correspond to each context and situation:

Balance and integration of applications geared towards the automation of transactions with the emergence of social software and collaborative work. This combination of technology and sociability will be key in future decision-making regarding investment in the technology of organisations.

We also need to assess the balance between investing in a corporate platform, or in market tools or a combination of both strategies. Corporate platforms ensure privacy and security to reside in an environment that is secure and free from advertising. They are better at meeting the specific needs of the organisation and implementation is normally accompanied by advice, helpdesk and tutoring. EXPENSIVE.Free platforms provide critical mass and much higher levels of participation. Interaction with communities outside the organisation is easier and greater dissemination is achieved. However, we cannot control the development of new features and the capacity of the service is limited. COST-SAVING.

With regard to methods in level of service. One aspect to consider are the consolidation of trends, such as SaaS (Software as a Service) and cloud computing.

24

ConclusionsManagement Work

groups

Technology

5. The organisation as an ecosystem

Lastly, the management is responsible for creating a cultural and operating environment, where collaborative work dynamics can emerge:

We need to provide people with the skills not only for the tools but also the attitudes that will make collaboration possible.

Creating spaces for sharing experiences.

Fostering investigation, innovation and research, without penalising errors, encouraging the people involved in the different projects to experiment and innovate.

We need a clear policy on the use of tools (corporate v. open) to ensure departmental coherence and operational coordination among teams. Creating communication protocols and training in the adoption of corporate tools.

Determining the organisation’s technical data that have to be available to the organisation itself and externally.

Criterion for selecting specific tools for specific problems, in the same way as we have set out in this document (metafunctions).

1

The future of collaborative work and its tools

Barcelona, July 2010

Thank you!

María Jesús SalidoDolors ReigJordi Graells

Legal noticeThis work is subject to a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. It allows the reproduction, distribution, public communication and transformation to generate a derivative work, without any restriction providing that the author is always cited (Governtment of Catalonia. Presidential Department) and this licence does not contradict any specific licence that an image within this report might have and the rights of the image prevail. The complete licence can be consulted at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/legalcode