How can IT leaders focus collaboration on people?

Getting collaboration right is crucial

Thanks to Web 2.0, enterprise collaboration applications are about to take a giant leap forward ­- if we can figure out what they are. Why is it that we know so much about collaboration technology, but so little about how to use it to build business applications?

Most experts answer the question with technical observations concerning Web 2.0 maturity, reliability or scalability. But the real answer is more basic -­ Web 2.0 is
social technology, and businesses still do not know how to manage the required social changes.

The rules for using most business applications are embedded within the software. Decisions regarding functional access and administrative control are usually baked deep into the application.

Web 2.0 collaboration applications, in contrast, presume people are not users of systems, but critical system components, free to alter the structures governing system behaviours in significant ways.

Gaining insight into how best to manage the social change associated with enterprise collaboration technologies will be a major challenge for business
technologists during the next few years. Here are five important tips to using Web 2.0 technologies to collaborate:

Trust matters
“Garbage in, garbage out” is one of the few universal truths in IT. But when it comes to collaboration we should update the truism to “distrust in, distrust out”. The key to collaborative applications is to keep providing information regarding the status of participants.

Encourage simple methods
Collaboration works best when all parties have a clear understanding of common purpose. Technology implementation is never automatic, but successful
applications of collaboration technologies inevitably start with a well-articulated set of simple objectives.

Let change bubble up
The most successful principles for collaboration system design, implementation and operation have emerged from highly decentralised systems. Over time, the professionals that engage in and administer collaborative systems find and connect with other groups, swapping best practice. You can guarantee such connections are happening in your organisation, even if the effort is unseen.

Intercept and guide
The viral nature of many collaborative applications means use might scale faster than implementation. “Radical maintenance”, which involves overhauling a system
without disrupting it, is a critical competence for any Web 2.0 technology specialist ­ and must be mastered by IT professionals.

Leave your systems open
Where trust, simplicity, a sense of shared ownership, and respect for community use exists, keeping collaboration systems open to alteration is both possible and preferable. Such an open approach affords greater flexibility in use and agility in implementation.

Are the above tips sufficient to create a tipping point regarding business collaboration? Perhaps not, but they are necessary. However, if nothing else, we need to learn how to use collaboration to foster better business working.

Peter Burris is principal analyst at Forrester Research