Best practices for using collaborative software

Online software platforms like Google, Basecamp, Asana, and many others can be great tools for managing your project, but they are only effective if used consistently by the whole team. Here are some best practices for figuring out which platform is the best option for your team.

● Determine the communication and collaboration needs of your team. Do they need to collaborate on product or document development as part of their work? Is it okay for their work to be asynchronous, or does it need to happen in real time? How do they typically communicate at work? Are some team members in remote locations? Do they really need a centrally accessible archive of all project related documents? Do they have experience with a process or online platform already? ● Discuss whether the team really needs to use an online collaborative tool as the central hub for communicating, collaborating on product development, and storing all project related information. Discuss the pros and cons of using this platform and come to an agreement about next steps. ● Find an application that works for the size and engagement level of your group. For example, Basecamp may be more effective with a small, actively engaged team than a larger group of occasional interactions. Bring a few options to the team and decide together which features, user interface, and technical requirements are the best fit. ● Build in time to train and support team members in using the software. A few people may refuse to use it and that might be fine. Work with them to develop a parallel process to keep them involved. If it’s more than a few people, however, it may be better to adopt a less technical approach. Online software is only a good option if (almost) everyone on the team uses it. ● Identify a team member (probably the project manager) to oversee the use of the platform. This person will manage the calendar, messages and files, help team members if they have problems, add new members, make sure organizational processes are consistent, and encourage people to use the system. ● Managing versions of group-edited documents can be a challenge in any software. A team at the Wells reserve addressed this issue by posting documents within message threads (rather than just uploading files). Whenever someone was editing the master version, the editor posted a “version control alert” in the message thread to indicate that others should wait until the next version was uploaded.

For more information about how to plan, do, & wrap up a collaborative project, visit http://www.nerra.org/how-we-work/collaborative-project-toolkit ● The Wells team also found it useful to create a “Start Here” message category where participants should start each time they log in to their Basecamp site. The team posted updates there about the active areas of discussion or editing to help guide users to the messages or files that needed their attention. ● If the team is large and there’s concern about being overwhelmed by too many project-related emails, look for applications that allow the user to “opt-in” to certain message threads. Participants can choose which posts are most relevant to them and then log in and catch up with other messages when they choose. ● Also consider how collaboration technology can be used for engaging end users of your work and other stakeholders. For example, it is becoming more common for reserves around the system to use Turning Point Technology to engage workshop participants and quantify real-time feedback. Participants and teams on several collaborative projects found this to be an effective tool for scoring options from a list of management applications and potential tools.

For more information about how to plan, do, & wrap up a collaborative project, visit http://www.nerra.org/how-we-work/collaborative-project-toolkit