Connected, Distributed Work
As my interest in Wiki grew, I followed the session on Connected World - topic discussed in this years' Supernova. Read the transcript of this session.
80% of my time goes into coordination - communicating with people. The only tools that aid in communication are e-mail, instant messaging and phone. We made an effort to introduce all involved to the concept of Wiki and use it wherever possible to reduce the time and effort spent in writing/forwarding e-mails and communicating the same idea to a million people in a million ways (ok I'm exaggerating here). However all efforts went in vain. A lot of questions have crossed my mind (some of which were addressed in the session) since then. As Peter Quintas points out --
The technology there is the enabling piece of being connected in an effective and productive way. In today's collaborative environment, there are a few things that are missing. The first thing John touched on: security. Enterprises and organizations require that, but we can't let security be prohibitive simple fact is what's driving people to use email more and public instant messaging networks. It's uninhibited. People flock to what is easiest for them.
This is true. People are resistant to change. Changing a natural instinct to communicate an idea on WiKi page instead of drafting a e-mail addressed to 10 people is going to take time. The concerns of tracing an idea to its source will not be as easy as with e-mail. Only a tool that is easy to use e-mail will gain wide acceptance. The other issue I think is a very sensitive one - trust.
Ross states ---
JP mentioned trust. How do you get people to trust one another? If people are able to edit other people's work, that increases the amount of trust. Same with attention management. When people are able to control how they access information, it saves a lot of time. That can mean $1-2 million a year. We need to find ways to unlock all that value.
I beg to differ on this point. I don't think this is completely true. Editing other people's work might only lead to more friction in a diverse work environment than increase the amount of trust. Access control/workflow is the only way to preserve integrity.
I think I agree with Patrick --
Patrick: Another issue is trust. You might trust some of the people you work with, but not all of them. Especially if someone is two or three levels above the people working on a project, if they express themselves, it can be taken as an order, and communication quells that.
This is the best part of the discussion ---
And maybe it's a culture we created ourselves. Just look at email and bcc. Who ever thought that blind carbon copy would engender trust? Look at cc. That's just ass covering.
Now-a-days every time I 'cc' someone on a mail, I'm reminded of the term 'ass covering'. I'm keen to see how and what tools can improve work place communication.
Related Entries:
Wiki - Revolutionizing work place communication!
Connected Distributed Work - Updated (07/30):
This post has been mentioned in a post titled "WhyWikiWorksNot: 2004 Dance Re-mix" on Many to Many. It has spawned an interesting thread of comments. Ross in his post states that he agrees with Adina on how WiKis should have an objective and that it takes time for implementation and understanding. That was exactly my point. WiKi as a concept to be accepted and used is going to take time. Whether or not it will succeed, only time will tell. We had thought through how to use WiKi. Every project during the requirements phase spawns hundreds of e-mails as ideas float. We had setup a WiKi page - give users access, demonstrated how to use and as a proof of concept encouraged them to put in their ideas, so that all the relevant ideas can be collated and presented before the deciding committee. Now the obvious question is why Wiki? Well, so that one doesn't have to go through 10s of e-mails. The thought process is transparent when all the relevant information is on one page and there are no strings attached when a suggestion/idea is just a suggestion/idea without stressing on the source of its origination. Those of you who work amongst diverse functional groups will understand the politics associated and will be able to better appreciate this.