Introduction to Online Team Collaboration
Introduction and motivation
Meetings
Group Charter
Co-located and Distributed Teams
Tools and Trackers
Motivation
The goal is for all individuals to have an exceptional online collaborative experience.
This is only possible when:
Shared Etiquette
Shared expectations
Common intent/aim
Work in the same manner (shared tools)
Objectives
It is important that:
All team members know where the team is in terms of progress
All team members know what the next actions are
Team members need to know what was discussed in meetings.
Team members are very efficient with the use of their own time and that of the team
Value of this method
This method allows team members:
To execute what really needs to be done instead of something that people like doing
Work at very high speeds – be more productive and hit deadlines with higher quality materials
Peace of mind – Everything is organised on the cloud and nothing gets lost
Team Organisation
Teams will meet via video conferencing for meetings
Notes need to be taken during all meetings
Three stages of a meeting:
Before
Schedule using a meeting schedule tool
Agree on schedule times for meeting
Decide who will Chair for a fixed period
Decide who will take notes for a fixed period
Chair cannot be note taker
Chair will send out a call for agenda items
Team members send agenda items
Create a Google doc that contains the agenda and the previous meeting notes
Place the document in a shared folder where each member has access to it
During
Start at the time the meeting is scheduled
People who are late have to clue in
When the audio fails show a thumbs down
How meeting notes look
Date: 02.04.2016
Location: Physical location or Hangout, Skype, Webex
Present:
Not present:
Chair:
Note-Taker:
Notes:
The Group Charter
Contact details
Meetings: An agreed approach
Where to put what files
How to name files
Tools used
Decision making process
Co-location
In the past teams were co-located
Nowadays this is not common anymore
Distributed teams are common. Novel ways of working are required
Distributed Teams
Recommendations in communication:
As much bonding in real life or online as possible at the beginning
Video conferencing with live video, not audio only
Regular video-conference meetings (Stand-ups)
Don’t skip or rush meetings (especially planning-meetings)
Periodically reflect on how the team is doing (Retrospectives)
Agreed follow up between team members after meetings
Tools to support communication:
Online Task Boards with Comments
Avoid using too many tools
Tools
Show where your team is
Show who does what
What is next (Don’t make me think)
Focus on execution
Choose boards where you can comment on threads or on tasks
Taskboard (Trello)
To do – In progress – Done
Trackers