From MIKE2 Methodology
Activity: Collaborative Framework Design
Objective
The User Collaboration Design activity defines the collaborative technology environment that brings together users, enables dynamic content generation and integrates this content around a common theme. Although it is part of design phase it should be kept very interactive with users and prototyping-oriented. The goal is not to produce a lengthy design document, but instead a translation of business requirements and the overall architecture into a solution that can be quickly prototyped and then implemented as a working system. Although the design can take place rapidly, it should make sure to make use of the architecture framework, Information Standards and Information Governance Policies defined earlier in the project. Although expressed in general terms, the collaborative design techniques expressed in this activity can be applied to new techniques and technologies such as Web2.0/Enterprise2.0.
Major Deliverables
- Design for a user-driven collaborative system
- Collaborative prototype
Tasks
User Collaboration Conceptual Design
Objective:
This task defines the overall approach for how the user will interact with the system and the experience they will have in working with others in a collaborative fashion. It is effectively the conceptual design for the collaborative environment. At this stage decisions may also made on the appropriate technology to be used for collaborative content. This builds off the baseline defined in the Technology Blueprint and existing Information Standards and Information Governance Policies.
User interactivity is about designing the most effective mechanism for users to work with one another to build content and increase knowledge capital. It may apply internally or externally to the organisation.
This task may be moved into the Solution Architecture Definition/Revision activity.
Input:
Output:
- User Collaboration Conceptual Design
User Driven Content Design
Objective:
User-driven content design defines the appropriate mechanism for adding user-driven content through mechanisms such as blogs, wikis, polls]], forums or email. This task helps to define the following:
- The scope of content that will be user-driven. For example, will policy documents be created in a collaborative, user-driven fashion or will most users just off feedback on this content?
- The boundaries for information delivery. When should user-driven content be used within the Enterprise, when should it be pushed?
- Protection policies for user-driven content. Should any content in a wiki, for example, be protected?
- How content will be associated with one another. What are the mechanisms for associating collaborative, user-driven content through Data Classification?
Input:
Output:
- User Driven Content Design
Corporate Driven Content Design
Objective:
The Corporate content design relates to how more formal content will delivered across the organisation. It relates to a traditional Intranet design where much of the content is pushed to users.
Input:
Output:
- User Driven Content Design
Content Integration Design
Objective:
This task defines the model for how "top down" content can be integrated with content developed in an informal fashion. For example, how can corporately-delivered content be integrated with content developed organically by users? Bridging between these formal and informal networks is essential to enable a collaborate framework within an organisation.
Input:
- User Driven Content Design
- User Collaboration Conceptual Design
Output:
- Content Integration Design
User Signaling Design
Objective:
This task provides the design approach for making users aware of content changes so that they can retrieve it as needed. Through the use of notifications such as emails and RSS feeds, users can be alerted when content has changed. Key aspects of the design include:
- Providing the users with the capability to make their own judgments on what they would like to receive through alerts.
- Balancing the need for users to be alerted with content changes and overloading users with too much
information.
- Setting notification priorities so that users can prioritise their most critical notifications.
- Defining the technology mechanism to be used for for signaling.
Effective signaling provides the balance between making users aware of changes and letting them focus on their other activities.
Input:
Output:
Social Networking Design
Objective:
This task defines a mechanism for how users will join up to work with others in a collaborative fashion. Through the use of Social Networking techniques, users may involve others to join the system and be able to find other users like themselves with common interests. By creating user-driven communities within the collaborative environment, it is often easier for users to work towards a common purpose when developing collaborative content.
Commons considerations in the design process include:
- Whether users will be able to invite others through the system
- Whether users be able to self-organise through common interests
- How much information users will be able to see about one another
Through this task, the design is being defined for how individual communities with grow.
Input:
Output:
- User Interactivity Design
Content Integration Design
Objective:
External aggregation involves bringing together information from multiple sources in a fashion that is consistent with the goals on the solution. The approach may include direct integration to internal systems, external partners or content from the internet. Techniques may involve RSS feeds, mashups or social bookmarking. A key aspect of this task is being able to coordinate the information together for an end user. These aspects of the task are essentially about linking in content but not necessarily integrating it into the system.
This task may also define Data Integration of interfacing from differernt systems that is decribed in more detail in Data Integration Logical Design and Data Integration Physical Design.
Input:
- Detailed Business Requirements for Increment
- Overall Blueprint Architecture
- Solution Architecture Definition/Revision
- User Collaboration Conceptual Design
Output:
- Information Aggregation Design
User Driven Classification Design
Objective:
User-driven classification allows for content to be grouped and identified in a simple, collaborative fashion. Users make use of tagging to organise content and follow a folksonomy approach to collaboratively classify content. Unlike the use of Categories, tagging tends to be more personalised and subjective in its association. In some cases users may make use of the formal categories established in the Taxonomy Design. It should be noted that there are some differing viewpoints on the techniques as described in the Comparison Between Tagging and Categories.
Input:
- Detailed Business Requirements for Increment
- User Collaboration Conceptual Design
Output:
- User Driven Classification Design
Prototyping and Usability Improvements
Objective:
This task is used to try and engage a prototyping-oriented development style, which is especially important for the collaborative framework. Users are engaged in the processes to determine improvements that can be made to the design.
Through lessons learned in prototyping, the system is refined to provide the most engaging system for users. This design should ideally go through an iterative process where users work interactively with the development team. System usability shouldn't just be measured during prototyping. This information should be gathered from the live production system through user feedback on system capabilities.
Input:
- User Signaling Design
- User Interactivity Design
- Information Integration Design
- Information Aggregation Design
- User Driven Classification Design
Output:
Core Supporting Assets
Yellow Flags
Areas to look out for include:
- Strong resistance from the organisation to follow prototype-based development techniques
- Strong resistance from the organisation to allow users to help create and drive core content
- Poorly formed information standards and policies, especially those related to security and information sharing
Key Resource Requirements
Potential Changes to this Activity
This activity is still being defined and will likely undergo a number of changes. Changes include:
- Need for references to document management within this activity or should it be covered in other activities
- Need for references to search within this activity or should it be covered in other activities
- A better definition for external content aggregation
BlogMarks
del.icio.us
digg
Furl
Simpy
smarking
