Linear vs. iterative models of implementation

Morten Hansen did the opening talk at yesterday’s Virtual Enterprise 2.0 Conference – and I must admit not everything resonated with me.

For one this linear process of 1. get clear about your business case, evaluate opportunities, 2. identify barriers 3. tailor a solution, ie. “get a grip on the levers and pull” is only sounding easy – in real life these mucky Enterprise 2.0 implementations are rarely linear, clearly set out and easily manageable, ie. easy to plan for, to control and to measure.

Mostly I’ve seen iterative and “perpetual beta” initiatives – and that’s not a bad thing to have at all. Ideally it allows for rapid learning from pilots and prototypes, and the gradual emergence of patterns of collaboration that make sense to the organization (be it a team, a department, whatever). In my mind this freeform, emergent and adaptive approach is also instrumental in “instilling both the capabilities and the willingness” in people – after all Enterprise 2.0 is not a classic IT-project that can be rolled out – and it’s complementing the freeform and emergent nature of many of the tools, systems and environments we employ to meet business objectives. A linear model of implementation might be good for selling and appear rational at first sight, but it’s not realistic and – I really hate to say that – merely academic.

Anyway, most of his other thoughts and ideas are vastly agreeable (“bad collaboration is worse than none”; his advice on evading collaboration traps like over-collaboration, the underestimating of costs, hostile cultures, solving the wrong problems et al.; the meme of disclipined collaboration as a whole; his focus on nimble interpersonal networks and the advantages of T-Shaped people) and are of value and interest to Enterprise 2.0 people of all kinds. So, yes, seems I have to get me the whole book after all, for now check out the (a bit sales pushy) video with Morten from BNet below:

It’s the dream of any organization to have all of its departments working together harmoniously for the greater good of all. But is collaboration within a company always a good thing? Author Morten Hansen thinks not and provides a guide on how to avoid common collaboration traps and how to create an environment in which collaboration can thrive.

Virtual Enterprise 2.0 Conference (notes and agenda)

It’s about to start underway now, the Virtual Enterprise 2.0 Conference, live on24.com – and I need a place to tweak, extend and comment on. While this could be Google Wave, like at the last e2conf in San Francisco, a nice little blog post might do the trick for the moment as well.

So what’s on the slate? First it’s the opening keynote with Morten T. Hansen, Author of Collaboration: How Leaders Avoid the Traps, Create Unity, and Reap Big Results.

Then at 6pm my time it’s Oliver Marks & Sameer Patel discussing “Accelerating Business Performance with Enterprise 2.0” – see their video here

[…] the stages from inception to completion that form the gateways to successful justification, budget allocation and roll out. The session will provide guidance on how to plan, internally sell, design, develop and launch Enterprise 2.0 initiatives that will provide tangible business value to your organization.

7pm my time it’s Building an Interactive Enterprise with Louis Richardson, IBM:

[…] he reviews what IBM is doing to challenge people to think differently and do business differently. Learn how to create an interactive office environment with enterprise 2.0 capabilities that can bring people and content together quickly, integrate them into existing business processes, support high performance teaming, and drive faster decision making across the value chain of your organization.

Hey, did I notice I’ve been to Lotusphere? Nice to have a recap anyway 😉

9 pm my time it’s Social Software Tools: A Critical Evaluation with Tony Byrne:

[…] To date, technology analysts have quite properly focused on the social and business aspects of social software. And yet, social software tools (including collaboration suites, pure-play blog / wiki / social-networking products, and revamped portal products from major vendors) differ quite substantially in maturity, approach, and support. This session will share customer research from noted evaluation firm CMS Watch on leading social software technologies, and provide a framework for customers to evaluate the marketplace based on their own needs.

10 pm it’s the Microsoft Keynote with consecutive Q&A Session

11 pm The Evolution of Hello.bah.com with Megan Murray :

In this session, learn how Booz Allen’s Hello.bah.com platform is evolving. From the tools leveraged to their approach to policy, governance, and user support, Hello, like many Enterprise 2.0 implementations, is changing as it is integrated into the fabric of the organization.

For the moment I think I will follow the tweet stream, favourite some of the better ones (they will get syndicated into my tumblr lifestream here) and make some scribbled notes on plain paper …

Lotusphere 2010, Project Vulcan und #LJC

Eingezwängt zwischen Arbeit und der virtuellen Enterprise 2.0 Konferenz in Boston auf meinem Desktop finde ich etwas Zeit zum bloggen und nutze das zum verlinken: Zum einen auf die Videos in denen Stefan Pfeiffer, Peter Schütt und René Werth auf die Lotusphere 2010 zurückschauen – mit besonderem Augenmerk auf den angekündigten Roadmaps und Initiativen wie Project Vulcan:

Natürlich ist Project Vulcan zuallererst einmal eine Vision, ein Blueprint, eine Roadmap – aber OK, ohne Visionen und Pläne ist ja alles nichts … im Ernst, die Integration verschiedener Technologien und Clients auf Basis offener Standards wird ja nachgefragt – zum einen weil die Geschäftsanforderungen eben genau das fordern (übergreifende Kopplung und Abstimmung von Anwendungssystemen und Geschäftsprozessen, Einbau von kollaborativen Funktionalitäten an geeigneten Stellen), zum anderen weil die Cloud bzw. das Aufkommen neuer Endgeräte (Smartphones, Blackberrys, iPads …) miteinander verbundene Plattformen fördern: “[…] blend collaboration, social, and business applications into a useful, productive experience, and to deliver it in Lotus Notes, a browser, and mobile devices”, wie Chris Reckling hier kommentiert).

Project Vulcan wird so sicher auch auf dem kommenden Lotus JamCamp diskutiert, das heute offiziell angekündigt wurde:

Auf dem JamCamp diskutieren Vertreter aus Unternehmen und Verwaltung, Digital Natives, Studenten und Professoren sowie Business Partner und IBM Mitarbeiter, wie Web 2.0 Technologien, Cloud Computing, Enterprise 2.0 oder Open Source den Arbeitsplatz von heute und morgen beeinflussen und verändern:

– Wie sieht der innovative Arbeitsplatz der Zukunft aus?
– Was heißt Enterprise 2.0 aus Unternehmenssicht und aus Sicht der jungen Generation?
– Wie bette ich Social Media-Tools wie Wikis, Blogs, soziale Netze, etc. organisatorisch im Unternehmen ein?
– Wie sehen Erwartungen, aber auch Anforderungen der Digital Natives aus, wenn sie in die Berufswelt einsteigen?

Ja, ich wusste davon schon etwas früher – der Grund dafür ist dass ich das Team um Stefan Pfeiffer bei der Organisation des Events unterstütze. Das hier nur als erster Disclaimer und zur Offenlegung der Beziehungen, ähnliches habe ich ja bereits zur Lotusphere geschrieben.

Ich werde daher in den kommenden Wochen noch den einen oder anderen ausführlicheren Beitrag zum Lotus JamCamp schreiben – heute will ich nur meine Freude ausdrücken dass sowohl Nicole Simon als auch Jörg Kantel mit Impulsvorträgen dabei sein werden. Mit Nicole habe ich das bereits bei der LeWeb besprochen, mit Jörg erst diese Tage – und es ist sehr schön dass die beiden an Bord des #LJC sind.

The social Web in 2010

via blogs.zdnet.com

Dion nails some of the (pressing) problems we face with “social web in 2010” – and it informs us as well “in the enterprise”, if only because it’s related with the common response “No, we don’t have time for engaging in this”.

To me it’s a mix of perceived information overload, filter failure, acquired incompetencies and the overwhelming complexities of choosing from a plethora of singular channels competing for attention (when some of them are trying to lock their users in) that is making it hard – to “coherently [engage] in social activity”, to separate the wheat from the chuff, to know whom to “go to and ask” etc.

Dion presents an overview of the things in the making – from PubSubHubBub to OpenID, so check them out for an overview on what will hopefully ease the pains of “enterprise knowledge workers” in the future, err 2010 and on (Open activity streams; Portable identity, contacts, and data; Better social and location capabilities added to the core of mobile devices; Better distributed models for the social Web).

Posted via web from stirring the frogpond

10 Levels of Intimacy

via 1.bp.blogspot.com

Found this picture via Oscar Berg (Common and real concerns about internal micro-blogging) – originally it’s a real continuum, going from 10 to 1 in one straight line … good question included here:

“The digital age has transformed the ways in which we communicate with each other. The combination of technology and power of information brings new ways on HOW, WITH WHOM and WHY we communicate. We are connected with more people than ever before. Do more options to communicate with each other connect us or alienate us more?”

Yet, I wouldn’t say that Twitter is confined to level 1 light-weight “broadcasting” – as it allows for a myriad of individual uses that might entail a high dose of “ambient intimacy” too.

Posted via web from stirring the frogpond