Different people have different preferences for learning and communicating:

• Some use sounds. If you turn on the sounds of your telephone keyboard to generate different tones for each key, then dialling a number generates a simple tune. A musician I knew used to remember the tune for calling friends instead of the number sequence!
• Some use movement. Hand movements are an important part of person to person communications, although emphasised in some cultures more than others. Many people learn better by making movements, for example to learn knitting, golf or calligraphy.
• Some use pictures. Funny or impressive pictures can stick in our mind and trigger memories for years. Mind Mapping was developed by Tony Buzan and is great for collecting related topics or points in a structured way and an example is shown below. By using Mindmaps to share ideas, we combine the movement and pictures while explaining what we are drawing to our colleagues reinforces the message. This works really well with a flip chart in small group meetings.

Sample Mind Map from Mindblogger

Mind Maps for Web Meetings

The trouble with Web Meetings is that the basic whiteboard tools are usually not very sophisticated and drawing mind maps with them is not very effective. As a result one person tends to monopolise the meeting and creativity is blocked.

A good solution to this situation is Collaborative Mind Mapping Tools. Let’s look at each point in reverse order:

• Mind Mapping Tools: Just as for word processing, it can help to have an electronic version of the Mind Map. This means that it can be saved, changed later and sent around to colleagues.
• Collaborative: In the modern sense of “simple immediate communication” such as Instant Messengers (IM) or  chat, supported by Social Media such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc.

The final element making a mind mapping tool suitable for collaborative working in virtual teams is that they should be accessible via a browser without any downloads.

Which Collaborative Mind Mapping Tools to use?

To get you Mind Mapping collaboratively, here are just four tools which seem to meet the need the requirements.  Remember however that they may not yet be suitable for use in the corporate environment, unless installed behind the firewall:

1. Mindmeister: This tool can export mind maps as a PDF file, which is important as it is most unlikely that everybody in your team will be able to access the tool itself. It can also import Freemind (which I have used for years) and the competition Mindjet (see below). The subscription version can also attach files to topics.
2. Mind42: This is a much simpler basic product, although it meets the basic requirements. In interesting feature is that it links into Skype, so that users can talk about, view and edit a mind map from several locations at once without having to log on to different tools separately.
3. Mindjet: Must be installed on a computer, so this would usually meet corporate security requirements (as long as the application has been approved for use).  The collaborative feature is achieved by a web conference add-on.
4. Xmind: This product must also be downloaded and installed for a subscription. As well as PDF export it has a couple of interesting features:

• The branches of the mind map can be considered to be activities of a project and displayed on a Gantt (bar) chart.
• There is a presentation feature that allows you to animate the build up of the mind map and even record the voice over in mp3 format.

What are your experiences of mind mapping in a collaborative environment? Please add to the discussion!

The choice of applications is wide and should be made to meet technical, organisational and budget constraints.  Here are my personal prioritised preferences for ad hoc teams.  Other types of team, for example within a company, may prioritise this list differently or prefer other applications:

1 st Choice: Skype Version 4

This version includes screen share as well as the voice and chat functions of previous versions.  It is free but may not be allowed in corporate environments for reasons of commercial or technical security.

Verdict: quick, free and reliable for moderate group sizes.

2nd Choice: Yuuguu

The main functionality of this application is the screensharing, for which the originator must install an application.  For readers however, NO installations are required, only a browser.  This is ideal for supporting instant discussions e.g. with prospects as the link can be sent by messenger or e-mail and can be used immediately.  There is a monthly limit of 100 minutes for the free version, but this limit does not apply between people who have signed up.

The voice communication is integrated with Skype and uses its list of contacts.  If however you want telephone contact (for better, more reliable voice support), then Yuuguu provides dial up numbers (via a service called PowWowNow, although it is not necessary to set up a separate log-in) in several countries, which uses the same PIN code as the screen meeting. The cost is moderate for the host, however callers pay for access, unless in the USA where the access is free. Depending on your telephone subscription, it may be cheaper to dial into the USA number, even if you are located somewhere else.

You can also give over control of your application to another person in the conference, whose mouse and keyboard will then work on the computer of the person originating the screen share.

The Plus version has a meeting participation limit of 30.

Verdict: Useful screenshare functions, linked in with both VoIP and Telephone for voice. Screeshare originator must load application, but basic version is free.

3rd Choice: LotusLiveMeetings

This provides full screen share functionality, including chat and hand raising.  The link can be sent to readers who only need a browser, but originators must install a substantial add-on. There is also an Event Management option for controlling invitations, registration etc.  Subscription service.

Verdict: Offers the security required for corporate environments associated with rich functionality for the ad hoc team environment.

4th Choice: Webex

This is a comprehensive and stable environment for web meetings.  It supports screen sharing, chat and hands up, as well as both VoIP and Telephone access. The meeting host can also control the audio environment, eg mute microphones.  Participants can be offered a toll-free access and these costs are carried by the host.  It is widely used in corporate environments and has a corresponding monthly subscription in addition to the call costs of the participants.

Verdict: Reliable and comprehensive for the corporate environment, where the costs are borne by the host.

Humans are creatures of habit.  We do not often review our working methods nor where they originated.  This results in carrying on with old habits, even when they are out of date.  An example I heard of was at the beginning of the (was it?) second world war, the British Army was reviewing its processes for firing artillery.  Just as everything was ready, four soldiers stood in a rectangular formation around the gun, then stood still until after the shell was fired.

The reason?  Apparently this was a hangover from earlier times when the guns were pulled into place by horses.  The four soldiers used to hold the horses reins, to calm them as the gunshot noise occurred.

Another example is the design of railway coaches based on compartments.  At the time when the first railways were built in the 1830′s, horse drawn coaches were common.  These had a door on each side and bench seats facing forward and backward, at right angles to the direction of travel.  It was quite natural that the same format was used for railway coaches.  To make the coaches longer, several compartments were constructed, each remaining inaccessible from the others.

When I was young this arrangement was still in use.  It is however inefficient, as passengers could not move around to find unused seats.  This resulted in some parts of the train being overcrowded, while elsewhere there was room.  Most modern trains are designed so that the passengers can move through from one coach to the next.  Some designs, such as the S-Bahn trains in Germany, the entire length of the train is open.

It seems that sometimes a habit or tradition results in inefficient use of resources, just because nobody stopped to think of better ways.

Traditional E-mail reflects older Work Patterns

E-mail has been available for several decades.  At the time it was invented, the usual way of conveying written text to a business associate was in a letter, which was delivered by the postal service.  Two key features were that the delivery time was anything but instantaneous, while the writer often used assistants to actually prepare the page.

E-mail resolved the delivery delay issue:  e-mail is delivered effectively instantaneously.  With the arrival of the PC (Personal Computer, as it was called) the originator of the mail also typed it him or herself.  All the other work patterns remained:

• A message is sent from one person to another. A reply, possibly with comments and changes, is sent back.
• If a message is sent to several people at once, the responses are not necessarily coordinated and the result is several versions of the same document.
• The reader has to interpret the context of the e-mail from a (sometimes very) long inbox.  This involves opening of mail, then opening other documents.  To respond the writer has to make reference to the context in addition writing any responses.

I could go further, but anyone whose daily inbox is out of control will recognise the feeling! This is quite different from the comments made about a Facebook photograph, where the comments and context are presented together.

Working with Business Objects instead of Messages

The number of e-mails and the time needed to digest and reply to them can be reduced dramatically by reversing the pattern of communication by working with Business Objects.  By this I mean that the focus of the work becomes the reference point for discussion and feedback, not the e-mail system.

Examples of business objects include:

• Projects
• Documents
• Reports
• etc

to which comments are attached (see figure).  Instead of sending messages to an inbox, the link to the message is sent.  This means that the time consuming mental process of working out the context of each message is completely avoided.

Sample Applications for Object Oriented Messaging

Although successful virtual working depends first and foremost on how people interact (“business process”), the tools themselves have a huge influence on many processes.  The format of traditional e-mail has already been mentioned and its influence is clear.

There are many tools that demonstrate the object oriented approach to a greater or lesser extent:

• LotusLive is “a collection of integrated, online collaboration solutions and social networking services”.  Among the functions offered are messaging, file sharing and project management. Activities, for example, can be communicated using RSS feeds which show the reader the content headlines, without logging on.  This is the same technology used to read news from online newspapers.
• The interface for Basecamp supports project management and assignment of activities to milestones.  Comments and replies can be attached to the activities.  These comments are e-mailed automatically to the intended reader with a link direct to the relevant object, as well as a photograph of the author.  This means that the process of finding the context is completely automated and far less time consuming.
• Google Wave carries this approach further by allowing comments within the text and even comments about comments! It also supports chat-type messages in both directions at once and real-time multi-lingual communication.

These tools are selected as examples because they give an idea of what is possible when traditional e-mail is replaced by an object oriented approach. Making this fundamental change to old habits requires both communication tools which implement these ideas AND a decision to change the ways of working.  The payback is a very worthwhile reduction in the time merely spent on sorting and interpreting messages.  In other words, they reduce your Inbox Overload.

It took a century for railway coaches to leave their horse-and-coach origins but things change faster these days!

Clipart: Acknowledgements to FCIT.

Mature technology “just works” without users needing a second though and this is essential for the Virtual Workplace, otherwise the users are burdened with learning how to use it and sorting out the details.

Fixed line telephones are a good example, where the business culture of the providers ensures near total reliability.  Another example is steel hammers.  The technology evolved a long time ago and the carpenter must merely use the tool.

An example of technology which is useful for virtual working but not standardised is Net Meetings and VoIP (voice over Internet protocol).  Yes, most of the technology works but the lack of standardisation and the availability in many configurations makes it necessary for users to devote extra time and effort to familiarisation. Standardisation contributes to technology maturity as this reduces the amount users have to learn.

On the other hand, market fragmentation and technology diversity generates a need for different versions of user manuals, training courses and so on.  An example of this is the windows interface of our computer.  The broad standardisation of interface facilitates the usage, although there is some fragmentation, eg Microsoft vs. Apple operating systems and user interfaces.

Data backup technology is an essential technology in the virtual workplace,  but is not standardised.  In addition, data backups may be made regularly (e.g. daily) but restoring data is much less frequent.  There is a tendency not to test the restore process thoroughly because it does not seem to have an immediate payback.  The result is that the process checking and familiarisation are not carried out until a data loss occurs. Virtual workers cannot afford for the backups not to work, particularly in inter-company teams.  In-company teams should be able to rely on internal solutions.

Data Backup Applications need familiar interfaces

One solution to the data backup issue for inter-company virtual teams is to select technology for which:

• the user interface is intuitive, because it is similar (or identical) to widely used environments (eg Windows).
• the use is automated.
• data retrieval does not require new skills or know how.

Two applications meet these requirements and are ideal for the “road warriors”, doing their business wherever they are: hoteling as it is called:

• Bonkey
• Wuala.

Both of these solutions set up a location for the backup data.  The user then selects a folder to be backed up from the explorer window and sets the back up parameters, such as frequency.  Once the data has been backed up and the process is running, the user can relax, knowing that all data is automatically copied to the backup. Here’s a tip: set the system up when you do not need your computer, as the first backup can require a lot of data transfer and reduce performance.

The main difference between these two applications from a user viewpoint is that Bonkey uses any location for the backup (eg a hard disk), while Wuala uses storage accessed over the Internet.  This appears as a disk drive which can be viewed with the explorer window, and so is fully intuitive.  This is ideal for teams whose members are constantly on the move, as users can be given access to shared areas.

Wuala is also interesting technically, as it trades unused disk space of subscribers against online storage space.  This makes it possible to spread the physical location of the stored data around several machines.  This, together with the encryption, makes this solution particular interesting where confidentiality is essential. Event the provider does not keep a copy of the encryption key.

The Good News

Setting up and using these applications is very simple and can reduce dramatically the risk of data loss for virtual working.  A big reduction in risk for moderate effort is not always as easy as this to implement!

This old saying was again demonstrated when the Iceland’s Eyjafjallajökull volcano erupted under a glacier, turning  the ice explosively to steam. This shattered the molten lava into the fine dust that stopped northern European air traffic for most of a week. Air travel is usually regarded as “essential” but as soon as it had to stop, alternative arrangements were made.

This time it was different compared with other stoppages in recent decades when air travel has been severely restricted, because of the significant developments in Virtual Meeting technology.  Examples include Webex, Web Office or GoToMeeting.  Even the European Union transport ministers had to use virtual meeting technology to hold their conference to decide what steps to take.

This demonstrates that evolution often takes place under pressure.  Without a complete ban on flying, the ministers would almost certainly followed their normal methods and travelled from the four corners for a face to face meeting.  Now they are also talking about accelerating the merging of nearly thirty national air-spaces into a single European Airspace, to improve the management of future similar travel disruption.

Business Continuity Planning for Virtual Meeting Processes

Happily the technology for virtual meetings is widely available so Business Continuity Planning should focus on:

• Changes to how people work (“business process re-engineering“). A Virtual Teamwork approach can save a lot of time travel and result in taking decisions sooner, which increases the business tempo while reducing the effort. How people work is key, not the technology itself.
• Making sure that everyone understands the changes to the ways of working (supported by training). Reluctance to change results in unwilling participants finding lots of reasons for sticking to the old methods.
• Making sure that the systems work technically.  Yes the technology exists, but it needs to be tested in use.  For example
  • business travellers may find that their Internet access is poor.  I stayed recently in a business hotel in Switzerland where the only way to get WiFi access was to lie on the floor near the bedroom door, because of poor positioning of the antenna in the corridor.  Not an ideal way to hold confidential business meetings!
  • multiple e-mails are often needed to set up the time for a simple meeting, even when using polling software with time zone correction, such as Doodle or Timebridge. The start of summer time/ daylight saving time is different for North America and Europe, so the problem arises twice at both the beginning and end of the summer.

Most of us find risk, continuity or contingency planning to be less urgent than current commitments, but the developments of virtual meeting technology should make it much easier and the payback more immediate. In big companies this is built in to the IT services, but there are plenty of inter-organisation situations where ad hoc solutions are worth using, because they can be set up rapidly and accessed via the web:

• Industry and professional associations involving members in different companies.
• New Consortia during the early stages of formation.
• Mergers involving companies with very different IT infrastructures, such as consultancy firms or banks.
• Task groups charged with industry-wide assignments, such as registration of use of chemicals.
• EU Project proposals
• Clinical Trials for pharmaceutical companies
• etc.

Please add to this list based on your experience where virtual meetings replace or supplement face to face events. What benefits did you get?

Of these two areas, Virtualization relates to the efficiency of the IT service, whereas Cloud Computing affects strongly how users can interact with the IT service.  Cloud Computing is therefore of particular relevance to Scatterwork clients.

On a scale of 1 (just started) to 5 (completely implemented), over 85% report implementation levels 1 and 2.  This means that the survey results about the drawbacks are particularly relevant:

• 65% report that their company does not have the in-house competence.
• 27% have data security concerns, 22% think the concept of Cloud Computing unproven, and nearly 17% because of the demand on management. Together this represents two thirds of all respondents who are not convinced by Cloud Computing.

Food for thought!

Although these ideas are not new and which ones to use use depends on your situation, I hope you will find something useful here and add your comments to this post.

Establish & Maintain the Team

• Start with face to face meeting.

• Maintain regular formal and informal interaction.

• Supplement face to face meetings with interaction, eg with video conferences, skype etc.

• Support ongoing face to face interaction with business trips, eg of project manager to maintain relationship.

Define Working Processes

• Hold regular meetings.

• Clarify agenda and document the meeting minutes.

• Ensure meeting hygiene: no typing in background, on time participation etc.

• Establish standard terminology.

• Speak often.

• Set rules.

• Use preferred communications hierarchy, eg phone rather than mail.

• Ensure clear roles and responsiblilities.

• Understand culture.

• Agree which languages to use.

Teambuilding Styles

• Add time to meetings for chat.

• Hold virtual coffee breaks.

• Organise off site meetings.

Information Sharing Tools

• Internet groups

• Forums

• Blogs

• Discussion groups

• Wikis

• Chat rooms

Communications Tools

• e-mail

• Video conferences

• Telephone conference calls

• Web meetings, Webex etc

• Instant messengers

• Skype

• Sharepoint

Autumn Colours

The same applies within teams.  When trust is lacking, the capacity of the team drops significantly.  Cooperation is limited by protective agendas and the result is less than optimal. Trust is also very delicate, is easily broken and very difficult to repair.

These considerations apply particularly to the relationships within virtual teams where the members rarely, if ever, meet.  It therefore makes sense for managers of new projects which use virtual teams to be very active to assist the build up of trust.  Traditionally a team has a kick-off meeting where people get to know each other, either in a business or informal setting, such as activity course.  Virtual Teams need to find a way to compensate for the fact that such events are impossible.

This is the purpose of the new webinar from Scatterwork^® entitled Teambuilding for Virtual Teams. This event is similar to a project kick-off meeting but focuses on inter-personal issues as a basis for the technical kick-off.  It provides a structure for the participants to introduce each other and set ground rules for team communication.  This is the foundation of all of the subsequent technical work.

This event can be integrated in a traditional project kick-off meeting instead of being held as a free standing event.  Either way this event helps the build up of trust and reduces the risk of uninintention, but damaging, reduction of trust during the delicate team forming stage.