Around 2 years ago, we wrote about the 24-hour book project, an ambitious initiative bringing people together to collaboratively write, edit and publish a book in just 24 hours. They succeeded back then, and now they’re back with a similar challenge for the South Asian Literature festival – this time with a South-Asian theme and working with contributors from both London and Delhi.

 ”On Saturday 15th October, writers armed with their bare imaginations, a lot of digital ink, and an industrial quantity of coffee, will commence the writing process. Then, on Sunday 9th October, a group of volunteer editors will move in to make the story ready for publication in the final 12 hours. The book will be printed using the latest print-on-demand technology and published under a Creative Commons license.”

It’s an interesting and exciting way of working, and also reminded us of the project that produced the Collaborative Futures book over a week in January 2010. The team have also gone on to create Booki, a downloadable platform which encourages others to produce and publish books using a similar open model. They call this the ‘book sprint’.

The ‘sprint’ has evolved from the technology community, where a group of developers come together over a specified time to develop software projects. Media Lab Melbourne, who have taken the concept to a wider creative community including artists, designers, scientists and technologists, describe the sprint as “short periods of intense project development based on a theme”.  Although there is a large emphasis on producing digital content, working collaboratively in this way also naturally lends itself to using online tools for participants to collaborate. The 24-hour Book Project and Collaborative Futures shows that it works in book publishing, and there are certainly other creative disciplines that could use this format too.

Would you attempt a ‘sprint’ for a project that you’re working on? Do you already work in this way? Let us know.

The 24-hour book project will be taking place at Rich Mix, Shoreditch on 15^th October from 10am. It is run in partnership between The Literary Consultancy, the Society of Young Publishers, CompletelyNovel, if:book, German Book Office New Delhi and the Young Indian Publishers.  They are still looking for experienced writers, proofreaders, copy-editors, and typesetters to participate, so if you’d like to get involved, check back for more details. View the flyer (PDF)

Planning isn’t just about setting out the tasks and timeline – in fact, if you start off from here, you’re missing a big trick of making the project the best it could be.  It’s actually a great stage of exploration, research and entrepreneurial thinking about how you’re going to make the project happen.  Start thinking BIG and WIDE by bringing together the knowledge of everyone involved, and gradually honing the project down into what’s possible within the resources and the time available.

This ensures that all the team members are setting off in the same direction, and builds stronger foundations from the start.  It’s not about setting everything in stone from the beginning, but developing a framework and guide to fill in and shape as you go along.

Image from MyTudut on Flickr

Some questions to ask:

What is the idea? A simple question, but important!  Team members may have different views and understanding of what the project is, or will be.  Clear this up by ensuring everyone has a chance to air their ideas at the beginning, and then shape the project based on this.

What are you aiming towards? Visualise what the project outcome could look like when it’s finished and how you will know that it’s been successful.  Rather than developing in-depth creative ideas (that’s for later), again, this is bringing together the thoughts of team members of what they see as important for the project.

Who is it for? Consider the end users of the project, and those that might be involved along the way.  Pull together a good idea of their characteristics and needs, and what should be included in the project on this basis.

What’s happening? Bring together the team’s industry knowledge on external trends and factors (this might require further research).  Think about how these factors support your idea and could have an impact on it.  Learn from previous projects and identify how you could make yours different and unique.

What do you have? Build your project around the resources, skills and expertise that exists within the team.  This gives everyone an opportunity, at the beginning, to identify what they can contribute.  Also think about any gaps that exist and whether they need to be filled, or whether you need to re-think the structure of the project based on this.

The next stage will be to discuss project budget (both income and expenditure) timeline and tasks.

Our next post will provide some tips on running meetings to kick-start creative projects and pull ideas together.

In this practical guide, Harrin explores every corner that a project manager should consider when introducing their team members to social media – from the different types of tools available, all the way through to making the case to senior management for those using them within organisations.

The book emphasises collaboration throughout, identifying how technology and societal trends are changing the way we work together, including in project management. This is ‘Project Management 2.0′ where we’re moving from command-and-control methods to more open and transparent modes, with one of the main roles of the project manager now being to encourage and facilitate collaboration amongst the team.  This not only makes social media a perfect tool, but means that existing project management technologies might not work so well in the current day.  We’re used to accessing real-time information flexibly and freely in many aspects of our lives, and this is now spilling over into our work.  Using social media within projects means that those involved can access the status of the project at any time, rather than waiting for the project manager to report back.  However this also, Harrin highlights, shifts the role of project managers who are now not the sole holders of information, which could be uncomfortable for some.

Social Media for Project Managers is a perfect introduction for those that are new to social media – it starts by explaining the 7 C’s of community, collaboration, communication, constraints, connectivity, channels, content (and an eighth – cloud computing, which relates to software that can be accessed through the web without a need for downloading it) and a thorough explanation of the array of tools that are available (blogs,  collaboration tools, instant messaging, micro-blogs, podcasts, RSS, social networks, vodcasts, webinars, wikis).   Harrin demonstrates how social media can work perfectly in line with all stages the project management life cycle (initiation > planning > delivery > final) and provides plenty of examples and case studies of how they are implemented successfully (Bracket is found in the section on managing teams where we discuss how we used Google Sites to support Field).

It also works well as a handbook for those that are keen to use social media but are perhaps meeting some resistance from others.   Harrin raises awareness of all the common worries and challenges of implementation, particularly within organisations – such as concerns about lost productivity, security, information overload and managing the ‘always on’ culture with mobile devices.   You will be provided with tips on how to overcome these challenges (e.g. clarify boundaries and dispel myths) and even given an example list of risks and contingencies that can be presented to senior management that are expressing concern.

Social Media for Project Managers is extremely comprehensive, accessible and easy-to-digest – a must read for those working in this area!

Find out more on the book’s website or order your copy from Amazon.

Although the web is allowing people to connect with others despite time and their location, many companies still seem to be sticking to the notion of the ‘nine-to-five’ office.  The event looked to explore this and whether real opportunities for enhancing collaboration through online tools were being utilised.

DEGW, an architectural firm, and co-authors of “Working Beyond Walls” hosted the event, with contributions from Arup.  Discussion focussed on how workspaces and buildings have developed through the decades, with design mainly being based around synchronicity – everyone starts work at the same time and works in the same space.  They concluded that work spaces will always exist as offices give individuals a sense of identity, people to connect with and a culture to grow within.

However, in contrast, we have a wave of mobile/freelance workers that travel around, work when it suits them and connect flexibly with others using online tools.  We can’t ignore the fact that the nature of work, particularly knowledge-based work, is changing dramatically.  Furthermore, we have a generation of people growing up with social media and the culture that it brings, expecting that to be reflected in the workplace.    So, how are organisations going to respond to this?

Physical spaces are important, even for the individual entrepreneur.  Co-working spaces such as The Hub (for social entrepreneurs) and THECUBE (for creative entrepreneurs) have shown this.  They provide a sense of identity and social connections, but they are more fluid than the traditional office.  However, although people come and go as they please they are fertile environments for collaboration and connections.  There is a great energy and buzz as people from different areas meet and generate new ideas together.

It would be great to see more organisations adopting some this culture – beginning to encourage employees to connect around interests and motivations (some of which can be facilitated by online tools), rather than the fact that they happen to be located in the same space:

-          Encourage staff across departments to share best practice and working practices on areas of common interest, by using a wiki.  This can make up-to-date information easy to find and reduce duplication in output.

-          Develop a project-based culture, where staff work according to the tasks they need to complete as opposed to time they spend in the office.  Using online project management tools, teams communicate effectively with each other outlining what tasks they need to complete and by when.  Open and transparent communication can lead to greater personal responsibility and motivation.

-          Find ways of enabling staff to share bits of information and pose questions with a wide range of people quickly and easily (e.g. a micro-blogging tool such as Yammer) helping them to find answers quickly and increasing productivity.

-          Enable people to make connections, based on their interests, outside of their department, perhaps using an internal social network.  These conversations can encourage sparking of new ideas and innovation and potentially create new projects.

Then the role of the physical workspace begins to change – becoming more about supporting collaboration and connections – which could be reflected in its design and layout (see Bene’s trend report New Work Spaces on the changing office and work environments) but most certainly in its culture – a change in thinking, mindset and approach by the organisation, its managers and its staff to how work is carried out.  And that could be the most challenging part.

One of the breakout sessions was Developing Successful Partnerships, run by Red Ochre’s own Penny Daly.  The aim of the session was to help social enterprises start thinking about how they might form consortiums in order to access projects.  It was even suggested that forming partnerships to respond to tenders might soon no longer be an option but a necessity.

As well as the advantages of collaboration (efficiency, improved thinking, diversity, wider reach), the session looked at the ways people form partnerships – sometimes because it feels right, sometimes because they’ve been forced upon us.  But either way they can be both chaotic and powerful. If you get the right people and processes in place, partnership working can be successful, but it takes trust and preparation at the early stages.    Attendees were advised to start thinking now about who they might like to partner up with and start networking to develop those contacts.  To help with this, Red Ochre has developed a Cultural Diagnostic which asks 100 questions around 9 key dimensions (such as communication practices, vision/mission/values, and decision processes) to help identify an organisation’s culture and suggest who they should be working with.

The session also covered the different structures that partnerships might work under – from setting up a separate legal entity to give the collaboration it’s own identity, to having a lead contractor, or even an external non-delivering organisation that manages the partnership.  But overall, the workshop emphasised the importance of understanding the ‘people’ element of collaboration, as this is where most problems arise.

For more information on Red Ochre, visit www.redochre.org.uk

Here is who is involved (in order of how far the network spread):

Laura North – copywriter (a previous colleague)

Emily Wilkinson (Empathi) – graphic facilitator/illustrator (introduced through a mutual friend)

Naomi Ray (Studio Pixie) – graphic designer/illustrator (met through Twitter)

Matthew Smith-Stubbs – front-end web developer (fellow member of THECUBE, co-working space for creative businesses)

Andrew Davey (MediaBandit) – web developer (responded to a call put out through the Open Coffee mailing list)

Joel Somerfield (Order) – filmmaker (was passed on by someone through the Open Coffee mailing list. But turns out he has done work for mutual contacts also).

So we all know how important it is to stay networked to stay in the loop, but if you want to build a collaborative team quickly – it’s essential.

Stay tuned for the progress of BracketLab, which will be taking place on 2^nd and 3^rd June at THECUBE.

Creative Boom London kindly wrote a fantastic review of the workshop which covers all of these points (and more) in detail.

Bracket’s session at Media Camp London 4 during Social Media Week generated lots of discussion about the best methods and tools for helping groups of creatives to get things done.  It looked at how social media could be used to support collaborative working between artists and designers etc that are used to working independently, usually have autonomy over their work, are characteristically busy, and highly skilled in generating ideas. The aim of the session was to develop solutions for how to channel that creativity into tangible outcomes and how social media can be used to support the process along the way.

The word ‘collaboration’ is often used freely without consideration for how complex it can actually be. Not only does it require a set of skills to do it effectively, but also a different mindset and culture to adapt to a new way of working.  An ‘online project hub’ can be used to provide a central point to bring everyone together, but technology should actually come last after two other factors – people and process.

People

The set of skills and awareness that is needed by the individual before starting the project. Effective collaboration requires tolerance of other working styles,  a willingness to share and a commitment to open and frequent communication with other team members.

Process

The part that should happen with the team in place, to plan how the collaborative project might work. Individuals need to identify what they are bringing and hope to get out, the team needs to look at the overall aims of the project and roles should be allocated according to key skills and personalities to ensure a good spread of what the project requires (Belbin is a good tool for profiling this). Time must also be allocated to planning, scheduling and organisation, which many online tools can help with.

Technology

Time or cost spent developing an online tool doesn’t guarantee that people will use it. It is often difficult to get people away from using e-mail to communicate in projects, because on a basic level, it works!  But social media can add much value by keeping ideas in one place (particularly when team members tend to go off in different creative directions), making this easily searchable,  providing a record of what has already been discussed/agreed and therefore reducing duplication of work and effort.

So the perfect online tool, for groups of creatives short on time is something that requires little or no training, is intuitive and is flexible to the initial needs of the type of project and as it develops. And a big challenge throughout the project is maintaining focus without killing creativity.

On first impressions, the pieces in the exhibition seem to be un-related.  There are no visual or obvious themes running throughout.  But with a little time, the connection becomes more apparent.  There is a real depth and mystique to each piece, created by knowing that there was more than one individual behind it.  You find yourself stopping to imagine the conversations, the disagreements and the laughter that put each piece together.

And for the creatives, the final product is just a small part of a larger process.  They’ve had the opportunity to think about what they can do, and how much further they can stretch their practice by getting together with someone else.  They’ve been encouraged to be critical of themselves and each other, and think outside their usual realm of what is creatively possible.

Calligraffiti: Craig Ward/Sean Freeman/Alison Carmichael

There are the collaborations which provide a solution: Fred Butler/No Days Off’s campaign for an 8-day week, BCMH/Smith & Weightman’s alternative currency, and Praline/The Model Shop’s new font based on architectural shapes.  There’s the conceptual and abstract, where you’re keen to be let in on the ‘secret’ between the collaborators, or at least part of the conversation – when did Job Wouters/Roel Wouters decide what to wear for their film about numbers and the Rainbow spray-painting machine?!

Some collaborations are more practical, where artists chose to combine their specific technical skills: the illustrative Rob Ryan/Michael Marriott chair, Sam Messenger/Bart Long’s abstract canvas in vinyl and timber, and Jim Stoten/Andy Rementer’s series of illustrations.  And then there are the collaborations where it looks like a whole lot of fun was had developing the ideas: With Associates/Anthony Dickens interactive timepiece, Chrissie MacDonald/Marie O’Connor playful figures in wood and scrap material, and Karlssonwilkier/FrankDeRose music track (this is BRILLIANT!).  Details of all 33 collaborations can be found here.

The exhibition catalogue (available for £15) includes interviews with all the creatives and looks at the collaboration processes in detail (interesting to know that the most common challenge for the collaborators was managing their time).  The exhibition runs until 23 January, and it’s an essential visit if you want clear examples of the potential of creative collaboration.

www.ifyoucould.co.uk/collaborate

A group of writers have set themselves up with the task to write and publish a book in just 24 hours using online tools to work together.  The group has been using Google Docs to write and edit the document, as well as using Skype and face-to-face conversation to communicate, and have been updating us on their progress through their twitter profile.

The 24-hour book project

The group consists of one lead writer and ten other participants, and they also opened up part of the book on Google Docs to invite contributions from the wider public.  As well as this, they’ve been gathering photos, illustrations and other snippets of media for use in the book or inspiration over on their Ning platform (Ning enables you to create your own social networks).

The final book will be available online and in hard-copy (produced by web-based print-on-demand services) and sold at £4.99 a piece, with profits going towards future collaborations.

Briefly looking at the elements that contributed to getting this project going.  The team:

1. agreed on the focus of the story (“based around a group of city centre allotments and the story will explore ideas of shared and private space and the real and imaginary barriers between a range of different city characters”)
2. identified the desired outcome (an online and printed novel)
3. gave themselves a clear deadline within which to complete the project – they have a launch party on Monday 5^th October.
4. clearly outlined the tasks that need to be completed – writing, editing, proofreading, images, publishing etc – and who will do them – lead writer, participants, professional volunteers and the public.

(Check out Bracket’s toolkit for collaborative projects to see how it matches up)

And the intellectual property?  The group have been careful to inform the public contributors that they must own any material they submit, and will retain ownership but give permission for it to be used within the project.  The book itself will be distributed under a Creative Commons license.

A great example of what online creative collaboration can achieve!