creative remote collaboration

{CREATIVE} REMOTE COLLABORATIONTips and tricks for remote collaboration in the creative industry.

JENIFER VANDAGRIFFEXPERIENCE ARCHITECT

Email & Facetime:

jenifer.vandagriff@iqagency.com

212.699.6488

javandagriff

Skype:

jvandagriff

Twitter:

@jeniferv

BEING CREATIVE IN REMOTE COLLABORATIONRemote collaboration is important for any line of work where people are divided by time and space, but the need is expanded in a creative industry where there is an increased requirement of collaboration, communication, and execution of ideas.

When you work for a creative agency with colleagues and clients around the country (and developers around the world), how can you improve and streamline the creative collaboration process?

CREATIVE SPECIFICITIES IN COLLABORATION

• Sharing, building, agreeing of ideas

• Iteration & revision of design

• Review & feedback of design

• Multiple documents & multiple authors in one project ecosystem

- Requires versioning, access, and documentation

• Improvisation & personality

Same TimeSynchronous

Different TimeAsynchronous

Different PlaceRemote

Same PlaceColocated

Remote Interactionsvideo conferencing, instance messaging, chats/

MUDs/virtual worlds, shared screens, multi-user editors, ...

Communication + Coordinationemail, bulletin boards, blogs, asynchronous

conferencing, group calendars, workflow, version control, wikis, ...

Continuous Taskteam rooms, large public display, shift work

groupware, project management

Face to Face Interactionsdecision rooms, single display groupware, shared

table, wall displays, roomware, ...

Time/Space Groupware Matrix

REMOTE COLLABORATION REQUIRES RECIPROCITY IN ADOPTION OF TOOLS AND PRACTICES BETWEEN THE MOTHERSHIP AND SATELLITE OFFICES

HAVE YOUR TOOLS LOCKED & LOADED

• Have software downloaded and installed (like YESTERDAY)

• Have all necessary accounts set up, signed in, and passwords remembered

• Keep applications in your dock or desktop for easy access and as a reminder

A FEW OF THE TOOLS WE USE IN THE OFFICE

IQ Tools

• iChat

• Skype

• Basecamp

• Fuze

• Server

• Approvals Site

INCLUDE REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOL ACCOUNTS IN YOUR VCARD

• Include remote collaboration accounts in your vCard

• Collect everyones vCards at the start of a project and PING them as a test run...

ALL THE SMALL THINGS... THAT GO ALONG WAY

• Add a thumbnail of your face to your messengers and profiles on tools like Basecamp that help to identify you and put a face with a name, with a voice

• Set up your work address to work with FaceTime on Mac

• Make sure all your contact information is up to date

UP YOUR AUDIO QUALITY

• Remote offices, use a headset and usb computer microphone when possible.

• Motherships, remember to talk loudly and into the mic. If possible pick up a USB conference room mic for better sound quality.

• When possible, use a direct conference line and mute streams to avoid feedback.

SIGN IN AND STAY IN.

• Be accessible all the time

• Use the applications your team is using to avoid time lost switching between other third party applications and to have remote collaboration features ACTIVE

• Use regular chat for quick and informal conversations

{VIDEO CHAT IS} INVALUABLE {BECAUSE IT’S} NICE TO SEE PEOPLE-Mason Poe

I’M NOT GOOD VIDEO MATERIAL-Scott Hickman

I THINK IT'S {VIDEO CHAT} USEFUL TO SEE YOUR COLLABORATORS FACIAL EXPRESSIONS ESPECIALLY WHEN ROUGHLY 90% OF COMMUNICATION IS NON-VERBAL.-Patrick Aguilar

SOME EXPERTS SUGGEST 2/3 OF OUR COMMUNICATION IS NONVERBAL

55%FACIAL EXPRESSION

38%VOCAL

INTONATION

07%WORDS

*Percent of communication sent, by type.

FACETIME ALL THE TIME.

• Increase presence through video chatting

- Facial and hand gestures increase communication

- Increase expression and personality

- I want you to see me as much as I want to see you!

• Get use to seeing yourself on camera to get more comfortable until it becomes second nature

• Plan and be prepared to do video chat in all group meetings

SCREEN SHARE IS YOUR FRIEND

{SCREENSHARE} ALLOWS US TO SHARE A FOCUS VISUALLY-Scott Hickman

IT'S OFTEN HARD TO GET THE OTHER PERSON SET UP (IF THEY HAVEN'T EVER DONE IT)-Mason Poe

I USE SCREEN SHARE ON SKYPE, WEBEX AND FUZE MEETING... I USE IT FOR PRESENTING THINGS TO PEOPLE AND COLLABORATING ON IDEAS-Marina Filiuhina

IT’S {SCREENSHARE} EXTREMELY USEFUL BECAUSE IT ALLOWS BOTH COLLABORATORS TO NOT ONLY TALK ABOUT THE CONTENT, BUT IT ALSO HELPS TO FACILITATE USE OF LOCAL LANGUAGE.

-Patrick Aguilar

SCREEN SHARING IS YOUR FRIEND.

• Screen Share in the draft phase to eliminate extra time needed to export and send works in process

• Use real-time editing to work through and finalize ideas

- Similar to Pair Programming in the Extreme Programming practice

THE WHITEBOARD IS THE DINNER TABLE OF DESIGN

I ALWAYS FAVOR USING A WHITEBOARD. PEOPLE ARE VISUAL, IF THEY CAN SEE ABSTRACT IDEAS SKETCHED OUT IT GIVES A BETTER STARTING POINT FOR DISCUSSION. SEVERAL TIMES I'VE BEEN IN MEETINGS WHERE WE TALK ROUND AND ROUND. AS SOON AS SOMEONE JUMPS ON THE WHITE BOARD TO EXPLAIN, THERE IS USUALLY CONSENSUS AT LEAST ON WHETHER IT'S RIGHT OR WRONG.

-Chesley Lowe

I LIKE TO WORK OUT IDEAS QUICKLY IN GROUPS... THE WHITEBOARD HELPS FACILITATE CONVERSATION... -Mason Poe

I USE THE WHITEBOARD TO HELP FACILITATE BRAINSTORMING AND THE EXCHANGING OF IDEAS.I ALSO USE IT AS A PLACE TO PUT IDEAS AND LATER REFER TO THEM.-Patrick Aguilar

USE YOUR COMPUTER AS A WHITEBOARD CAMERA

• At a minimum dedicate a computer as a camera to capture the whiteboard

• Use dark colored markers to help with contrast and draw big!

SCREENSHARE YOUR WHITEBOARD

• Recreate the whiteboard session for those remotely through a recursive screen share of the whiteboard environment

• Screen share a video stream of the whiteboard back to the whiteboard location. The remote office can use the mouse or other desktop drawing tools to illustrate and point out ideas to the mothership

AS A PM YOU NEED TO DOCUMENT EVERYTHING. I THINK IT {RECORDING} IS AS OLD SCHOOL AS MEETING MINUTES.-Marina Filiuhina

ROBUST REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOLSFUZE, GOTOMEETING, ETC.

• Set up a video conference meeting to better accommodate multiple remote parties

• Send out meeting invitations with web meeting directions to streamline process

• Record sessions to capture and playback important details (especially client feedback!)

BE ON THE SAME VERSION OF VERSION CONTROL.

• Post files to base camp and server (follow instructions from project manager during a project kickoff)

• Explain your versioning and documentation method to those you hand off to

• I typically use a 1.0 for the first client deliverable, make internal updates 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, and deliver the second client version at 2.0

HOW REMOTE COLLABORATION CAN HELP STREAMLINE COLLOCATION HABITS

Do you ever feel like you are caught in too many meetings?

• Adhoc or poorly planned brainstorming sessions are counterproductive.

• Using the same remote collaboration tools can be used even between collocated individuals to increase time at the desk expanding and executing ideas.

• Using remote collaboration tools allow users to quickly call on another persons opinion in real time and contextual to their work, instead of planning and/or waiting for a future meeting.

REMOTE COLLABORATION TOOLS ARE ALSO IMPORTANT FOR BUILDING OFFICE PRESENCE AND PERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH COLLEAGUES!-Jenifer Vandagriff

THANK YOUATLANTA, NORTH CAROLINA, NEW YORK!

QUESTIONS & DISCUSSION

creative remote collaboration

remote collaboration

remote collaboration

screen share

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mason poe

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