Using Persistent Chat to Build Cross-Team Collaboration Best Practices Forum 2017 Julian Y

Using Persistent Chat to Build Cross-Team Collaboration Best Practices Forum 2017 Julian Y. Koh Scott A. Pitts Outline

• Persistent chat basics • Evolution of chat application usage in Northwestern IT • Futures • Demo/walkthrough • Questions welcome throughout!

1 Persistent Chat Basics

• Persistence refers to preservation of content across clients and over time • Distinct from traditional one on one or group chat (AIM, Skype, Yahoo Messenger, iChat/iMessage, IRC) • Newer offerings characterized external application integrations and bundled collaboration features

2 Northwestern IT Chat, pre-2014

https://xkcd.com/1810/

3 Northwestern IT Chat Evolution

• Initial Cyberinfrastructure core requirements – Single platform for all groups – One on one, group, and private group conversations – Mobile, desktop, and web clients – Notifications – Common usage expectations • Not as important – Audio/video – Integrations/bots

4 Northwestern IT Chat Evolution

• Slack chosen as CI chat platform in early 2014 • 151 total members, 76 “active” – Standard Paid Plan with EDU discount • https://northwestern-it.slack.com • Usage guidelines available at https://northwestern.box.com/s/zbtvoi5qx6 ehpq6m9ge3g4fpc2d1fuev

5 Key Usage Guidelines

• Chat is not a replacement for formal incident reporting and response • All operational users are expected to monitor notifications in the #incidents channel • Individual group dynamics should inform usage patterns/requirements

6 Realized Benefits

• Faster and coordinated incident recognition, analysis, and response • Increased volume, speed, and efficiency of communication between groups • Reduction in email • Increased camaraderie and casual communication, especially among geographically separated groups

7 Persistent Chat Futures

• Other Northwestern groups have established Slack teams – Slack Enterprise? • Northwestern IT investigating: – Cisco WebEx and Spark – Microsoft Teams • Potential for rich integrations with local applications and environments

8 Demo! Questions?

• [email protected] • [email protected]

10 References and Useful Info

• http://www.networkworld.com/article/31777 07/collaboration/how-to-manage-group- chat-in-the-enterprise-hint-lightly.html • https://xkcd.com/1810/ • https://slack.com/ • https://www.ciscospark.com/ • https://products.office.com/en- us/microsoft-teams/group-chat-software