Online Collaboration Project Process

Online Collaboration Projects are delivered in two main phases:

• establishment - planning and initiating the project
• support - supporting the ongoing development of participation

This diagram provides an overview of an Online Collaboration Solution:

Establishment Phase

The establishment phase has these four steps, completed in sequence:

• Assessment - an analysis of the requirements for Collaboration
• Collaboration Plan - a definition of specific goals and targets for the project
• Design - a specification for the 'virtual architecture' and technical configuration of the Collaboration Site
• Site Implementation - configuration and commissioning of the Site as defined in the Design
• Launch - a structured process that introduces the project to the Participants, generates enthusiasm for collaboration and teaches basic participation skills

Collaboration Plan

The Collaboration Plan is based on a detailed assessment of the requirements of the organisation and participants in the project.

The Collaboration Plan establishes the feasibility of the project and defines targets for:

• Participation - what participants will do
• the knowledge that will be created and shared as a consequence of that participation
• how that knowledge will be applied in the context of the organisation
• the benefits that will result for the participants and for the organisation

Collaboration Site

Collaboration Sites are designed and implemented to meet the requirements defined in the Collaboration Plan.

The design process defines the 'virtual architecture' (governance) of the Collaboration Site. It defines an Online Group or set of Online Groups with appropriate names and definitions of purpose, goals, membership and participation protocol.

Project Plan

The Project Plan defines and schedules actions for:

• the participants to learn to participate effectively in Online Collaboration
• a participation coach whose role it is to initiate and develop effective participation
• a project manager who maintains the momentum of the project towards the targets defined in the Collaboration Plan
• the project owner who ensures that the benefits to the participants and the organisation are maximised and measured

Support Phase

In the support phase, GroupSense provides all the services required to support successful collaboration:

GroupSense provides three types of services in the support phase:

• Basic Support
• Active Support
• Custom Support

Basic Support

Includes:

• Launch - a structured email-based process that makes the participants aware of, and able to access, the Collaboration Site
• Site Hosting - provides access to the Collaboration Site for all participants; it includes all data traffic and storage (effectively with no limit), security, backup and high levels of availability and performance
• Administration - enables the project owner to add or remove participants, when required
• Participant Support - provides email and telephone support for participants in the Collaboration Site
• Participation Coach Support - support the participation coach/es via an online Community of Practice where they receive assistance and support with initiating and developing participation in their Online Groups

Active Support

The Active Support service includes:

• Participant Training - face to face group training or individual telephone training for participants in participation basics and effective participation
• Content Management - structured and formatted publication of documents and other content in the Collaboration Site, gradually added to over time, as required
• Participation Coach Performance Management - regular telephone-based meetings with participation coaches to review and plan initiatives to develop participation
• Participation Reporting - a regular report on posts per group, posts per person and access to the web interface
• Project Management - maintenance of the impetus and direction to the project to ensure that the participants and project owner achieve the benefits they are seeking
• Project Review - a regular review of participation and benefits with respect to targets set in the Collaboration Model

Custom Support

Custom Support Services are tailored to meet the specific needs of your organisation and participants. They can include publishing of structured content such as assessment results, invoices and newsfeeds, or collecting and reporting on information from surveys and questionnaires.