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Working Together Apart
Gary M. OlsonUniversity of California, Irvine
May 2011
…is done by• Judy Olson• Gary Olson• Steve Abrams• Matthew Bietz• Julia Haines
…and supported by• Army Research Institute• National Science Foundation• Google• Donald Bren Foundation
Distance
T. Allen, 1977
30 meters
“Distance Matters” -- Some Overarching Issues Ease of communication -- common ground Nature of the work -- How tight the
coupling Readiness to collaborate Technology readiness -- personal,
infrastructure
Trust Culture Time Zones
The first concept
The longer the distance between people, the less common ground they have– Definition: what is assumed to be shared
between two people who are communicating
– If you don’t have natural common ground, you have to work at it, discover what each other knows in common and build from there.
Second key concept Tightly coupled work requires
collocation Work gets reorganized so that tightly
coupled is in one location, loosely coupled crosses locations
Coupling, continued
Coupling -- extent of dependence between team members, and the ambiguity of the work, requiring high degree of interaction– loose
• an overall plan divides the work, occasional coordination checks (e.g., large scale routine design)
– moderate• more spontaneous divide and conquer
– tight• high mutual dependence for advancing the work (e.g.,
early planning of a project)
Collaboration readiness The community has to have a spirit of
collaboration. Motivation to work together:
– Mix of skills– Greater productivity– Like working together– Something in it for everyone– NOT
• Mandate from the funder• The only way to get the money• Asymmetries in value, etc.
Trust– Reliable– Produce high quality work– Have their best interests at heart
Goals aligned Group self-efficacy
Fourth key concept
Different organizations are at different developmental stages in using technology of all sorts
Collaboration Technology Readiness (both individual & infrastructure)
email attachments using repositories calendaring creating repositories Need training in hand-off collaboration technologies AND synchronous collaboration how to collaborate
Fifth key concept
Added in J. Olson et al, 2008 Distance work requires good
management and decision making principles– Cummings & Kiesler (2005) studied NSF
KDI collaborations• Collocated more successful than distributed• Distributed success associated with good
mnagement
Management plan Project manager is respected and has
project management experience Communication plan Plan has room for reflection and
redirection
No legal issues remain No financial issues remain Knowledge management system Decision making is
– Free of favoritism– Fair and open– Everyone has opportunity to influence
MIT Press, 2008
“Distance Matters” a decade on Have things changed?
Much has happened in a decade– A large amount of research on the issues
most relevant to distance work– An array of new or improved technologies– Big changes in the experience base of
those who might work at a distance
Distance Work will Only Increase 67% of companies anticipate
increased reliance on virtual teams– 80% for companies with 10,000+ employees
35% of respondents rated difficulty of management as top challenge for virtual teams
92% said trust is critical for virtual teams
• Survey by Institute for Corporate Productivity
Survey of “Hopeful Signs”
Research or technology developments that might ameliorate some of these challenges
Not all of these are yet backed up with careful evaluation
Common Ground
Routinization of knowledge management– Creative incentive schemes
Awareness support– Social computing, sharing– IM, awareness tools– Audio, video options– Social proxies
Common Ground
Workers who are always on line– More mobile options
Nature of the Work
Increased realization of need for divide and conquer
Use of face-to-face meetings to kick of a project– Organize the work
Collaboration Readiness
Better understanding of the role of incentives– Explicit contracts with
financial incentives
Importance of trust– Interventions to establish &
maintain
Collaboration Technology Readiness Many new widely
used technologies– Increased
sophistication Wider array of back
channels– IM, SMS, mobile
phones
Collaboration Technology Readiness
Technologies better designed– Easy to use– Reliable
Management and Decision Making Boom market on books,
articles on how to manage virtual teams
Recognition of leadership skills for virtual teams
Trust
Promising results on establishing & maintaining trust at a distance– Informal social interaction a key
Better support for awareness, presence– Overcome attribution errors
Culture
More awareness of the nature of cultural differences– E.g., increased sales of
Culture Shock books– New university programs
Job rotation in multinational companies
Time Zones
Adjusting work hours Routines for shift
changes Exploration of
asynchronous awareness tools
Early Progress in Climbing Himalayan Giants First 8000 meter peak climbed in 1950
– Annapurna Everest (8850 meters) first climbed in
1953 Other 12 8000 meter
peaks climbed between 1953 and1964
Characteristics of Early Climbs
Huge logistical support required– Long ascents with numerous camps
– Long preparation period
Large climbing parties– Up to a score of climbers
– Hundreds of support porters
Dominant use of oxygen Climbs confined to spring, early summer Many failures, including fatalities
Since the 1950s
Exploration of many new routes, many that were thought to be “unclimbable”
Small parties with rapid ascents Solo ascents Ascents with no oxygen Hundreds of ascents
in a given season Still dangerous
What Changed?
Better knowledge of the Himalaya– Maps, aerial surveys– Weather
More experience with climbing– New techniques– Better understanding of physiology
New, improved equipment But, still very difficult
Analogous to Distance Matters
More knowledge, experience– Organizations– Individuals
Better tools
But still difficult