11 October, 2011

Understanding & Enabling Collaboration in 21st Century Teams

Dr. Noshir Contractor, Northwestern University:

Substitution is a natural first stage of technology adoption. Expansion reflects the intermediary stage when a tool has proven its value and may be heavily used, but largely using the old analog methodologies, or a developing hybrid. The final stage is the reconfiguration or replacement of old methodologies and strategies with new ones that actually reflect the new capabilities and strategies that make good use (and improve on) what new technology is capable of. This all strikes me as very cyclical.

Consider that models of doing work that were effective with analog tools may be less effective or even backwards when dealing with digital tools. Simply using technology is not equal to using it well or effectively. Technology can just as effectively make things worse as it can make things better.

Tangentially, consider that the diversity of teams helps research or other disciplinary efforts. The introduction of different backgrounds and disciplines produces more novel and wholistic results. Technology is an effective tool for breaking down barriers and bridging gaps.

Consider MMORPG's like World of Warcraft and the teambuilding and collaborative activities inherent in the genre. The interplay of different classes is critical to the success of any raid, etc. CTSI provides a recommender tool that can researchers, based on many factors that have been developed by researching NSF proposals and projects, including relationships (past research partners), citations, publications, etc to help to encourage some of this diversity in research proposals.

A meta issue would be the interplay between teams, and how to strike a balance between the health and well-being of an individual team and the well-being of the overall effort or organization. How to manage these teams (exploration teams, exploitation teams, mobilization, bonding, swarming [more loose emergency response or scrambling] or hybrid teams) and to keep them together and in line with the overall vision and direction.

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