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12
The overlapping nature of roles, responsibilities and obligations
felt by individuals within organisations and groups often leads
to a kind of personal triage method being applied to m
anage
competing directions of im
petus. This could becom
e a productive process w
hen undertaken collaboratively rather than just on an individual basis.
Responsibility and E
xpectation
1
Draw
ing Insight is a visual journey through some of the key
observations, insights and ideas generated during the scoping, exploration and reflection phases of Proboscis’ research on groups and group behaviours in the context of the U
niversity of C
ambridge and its institutional I.T. system
s. The project has
been a collaboration between Proboscis, the C
entre for Applied
Research in E
ducation Technologies (C
AR
ET
) and Crucible.
It is one of four books by Proboscis outlining the methods
(Method Stack), approach (Project Account), observations and
insights (Draw
ing Insight) and suggestions for new engagem
ent m
ethods that can inform co-design and user-centred design
practices in software developm
ent for collaboration tools and services (C
atalysing Agency).
The first part of this book is a series of illustrations of nine key
observations and seven insights generated during our research. T
hey lead on to three further illustrations of principles derived from
the ‘disruptive hypotheses’ which Proboscis developed
and tested during the project. These in turn are follow
ed by illustrations of a proposal for a C
atalyst to work alongside
CA
RE
T in brokering new
kinds of ways of engaging w
ith groups and individuals across the university – m
ore fully explored in the com
panion publication, Catalysing Agency.
Throughout this project w
e have employed visual notation,
drawing and m
ark-making as a central processes in engaging
with people, recording ideas, interactions and behaviours, as
well as to analyse the results. M
andy Tang has been the project
artist, acting as both an illustrator of concepts back at the studio and doing live visual notation during brainstorm
ing meetings
and workshops. M
andy’s work has given us a rich seam
of draw
ings to help make sense of the com
plexities of engaging both w
ith individuals and groups in a context such as a university. H
er sketches have helped us reconstruct connections and m
ake sense of ideas that are born and become entangled
in the fluid space of brainstorming, w
orkshopping and group discussions. In an iterative process of reflection and analysis they have been crucial for honing in on the essential.
The book is intended as a guide for others interested in
engaging with their ow
n comm
unities – indicating some of
the comm
on factors, needs and issues they may encounter.
By flow
ing together observations, insights, principles and suggestions in this w
ay, we aim
to demonstrate the value of
engagement as a dynam
ic process itself.
Giles L
ane, Hazem
Tagiuri &
Mandy T
ang
Introduction13
Ope
rati
ng U
nder
the
Rad
ar
‘Ope
ratin
g un
der
the
rada
r’ c
an b
e a
usef
ul ta
ctic
for
orga
nisa
tions
se
ekin
g to
ret
ain
a de
gree
of
latit
ude
in th
eir
activ
ities
that
wid
er
atte
ntio
n to
thei
r w
ork
mig
ht c
onst
rict
. How
ever
, it m
ay a
lso le
ad
to a
deg
ree
of in
sula
rity
thro
ugh
redu
ced
oppo
rtun
ities
for
wid
er
affil
iatio
n an
d th
e co
sine
ss o
f w
orki
ng w
ithin
trus
ted
dom
ains
and
co
mfo
rt z
ones
.
12
3
45
6
2,4,6,8,10,12
made w
ith ww
w.bookleteer.com
from proboscis
22 Catalyst
The C
atalyst should not act purely as a detached envoy but w
ould need to encourage their host organisation and their collaborators to explore unfam
iliar and potentially uncom
fortable ways of w
orking. The C
atalyst should be
able to gather people together and broker relationships, to create new
spaces for dialogue and co-discovery that generate insight and opportunity. T
he role would be to
precipitate active, positive change.
3
Our everyday lives are now
deeply saturated w
ith a diverse array of analogue and digital tools. M
any of these tools blur the distinctions betw
een work, hom
e, professional and private interests. T
here is a grow
ing spectrum of options for
comm
unication and connecting w
ith others, sharing and making,
archiving and analysing, discovering and learning. People now
join com
munities w
ith a rich personal m
edia ecology that may extend
beyond the kinds of tools and services offered by their institutions.
Rich P
ersonal Media E
cologies
2In
divi
dual
Wor
king
and
Lea
rnin
g P
ract
ices
The
gre
at v
arie
ty o
f in
divi
dual
wor
king
and
le
arni
ng p
ract
ices
bec
omes
imm
edia
tely
app
aren
t w
hen
enga
ging
with
any
gro
up o
f pe
ople
. Thi
s un
derl
ines
the
diffi
culty
and
nee
d fo
r se
nsiti
vity
to
diff
eren
t con
text
s w
hen
desi
gnin
g sy
stem
s or
pr
oces
ses
for
colla
bora
tion.
Draw
ing InsightG
iles Lane, Hazem
Tagiuri & M
andy Tang20
11-11-10 &
Creative C
omm
ons BY-N
C-S
A
Published by Proboscis
Agencies of Engagem
ent
A creative thinking and doing tool - four books to inform
and inspire, authored as part of a collaborative research
project by Proboscis, CARET and C
rucible.
proboscis.org.uk
http://bkltr.it/otLl3W
20
collaboration tools require a different developm
ent model placing greater em
phasis on co-creative com
munity facilitation during
the process. This could help site them
within
the wider context of personal online ecologies
to hopefully streamline traditional user
support requirements
Hypothesis : Com
munity Co-D
esign
5
Com
munication m
ethods are also impacting on people’s
behaviours and patterns. Context, m
ood and other factors feed into choices of w
hether to use synchronous or asynchronous m
ethods, as well as com
municating directly
(person to person) or using methods m
ore like broadcasting.
Managing Com
munications
21
Cata
lyst
For
co-d
esig
n to
wor
k w
ithin
a c
ompl
ex a
nd fr
agm
ente
d st
ruct
ure
such
as
a un
iver
sity
, new
eng
agem
ent m
etho
ds
may
nee
d to
be
iden
tified
and
dev
elop
ed. A
n in
term
edia
ry
agen
t, or
Cat
alys
t, lo
cate
d on
the
peri
pher
y of
an
orga
nisa
tion’
s co
re a
ctiv
ity c
ould
act
on
its b
ehal
f,
trav
ellin
g be
twee
n di
ffere
nt g
roup
s, pa
rtne
rs a
nd d
isci
plin
es
to d
isco
ver
new
opp
ortu
nitie
s an
d es
tabl
ish
new
link
s. T
his
agen
t cou
ld a
dditi
onal
ly p
rovi
de a
n ob
ject
ive,
con
text
ual
stan
dpoi
nt fr
om w
hich
to r
evie
w e
xist
ing
met
hods
and
pr
actic
es to
gua
rd a
gain
st s
tagn
atio
n.
4
Des
pite
peo
ple’
s ri
ch m
edia
eco
logi
es b
egin
ning
to
blee
d ac
ross
diff
eren
t fac
ets
of li
fe, p
eopl
e st
ill fe
el th
e
need
to c
ompa
rtm
enta
lise.
Alo
ng w
ith th
e tr
aditi
onal
wor
k /
pers
onal
life
bal
ance
, the
re a
re n
ew fo
rmul
atio
ns
of c
onte
xts,
laye
rs a
nd th
e di
ffere
nt m
odes
, tim
es a
nd
mea
ns in
whi
ch th
ey w
ish
to e
ngag
e w
ith th
em.
Com
part
men
tali
sing
18
consensual models of behaviour driven access to collaboration platform
s (like, for instance C
ARE
T’s C
amTools service) m
ight better reflect the needs and practices of collaboration than the existing top dow
n, hierarchical system
of permissions.
Hypothesis : Consensual B
ehaviour & A
ccess
7
Com
munities and institutions like
Cam
bridge are complex w
ith overlapping and nested relationships, in w
hich individuals them
selves have complex
relationships, interests and feelings of attachm
ent that form part of an intricate
and tangled structure. This presents
considerable problems w
hen trying to engage broadly or design system
s to engage w
hole comm
unities.
Complexity of R
elationships19
Hyp
othe
sis
: Med
ia B
agga
ge
peop
le co
me w
ith d
igita
l med
ia ‘b
agga
ge’,
i.e
. oth
er se
rvice
s and
tool
s with
whi
ch th
ey
are f
amili
ar a
nd co
mfo
rtabl
e, es
pecia
lly w
here
th
ey a
re g
loba
l or u
nive
rsal s
ystem
s (i.e
. not
lim
ited
to
their
rela
tions
hip
to C
ambr
idge
). T
he ‘e
nclo
sed’
na
ture
of
stand
alon
e col
labo
ratio
n to
ols i
sn’t
refle
ctive
of
the f
ree fl
oatin
g na
ture
of
how
peo
ple n
ow sh
are
and
colla
bora
te on
line.
6
Dic
tatin
g w
hich
tool
s an
d se
rvic
es a
re a
ppro
pria
te fo
r w
ork
and
for
the
task
at
han
d, im
pede
s on
indi
vidu
al n
eeds
and
pre
fere
nces
, and
may
lead
to
unfa
mili
arity
and
uns
uita
bilit
y. T
he is
sue
of a
void
ing
top-
dow
n im
posi
tion
in
favo
ur o
f a
mor
e co
llabo
rativ
e ap
proa
ch to
cho
osin
g ap
prop
riat
e to
ols
and
serv
ices
is fr
eque
ntly
hea
rd w
hen
enga
ging
peo
ple.
Dev
elop
ing
proc
esse
s of
ne
gotia
tion
and
sele
ctio
n ca
n be
em
pow
erin
g an
d co
hesi
ve, b
oth
in e
ngag
ing
team
s an
d m
ore
disp
erse
d gr
oups
.
Neg
otia
ting
App
ropr
iate
Too
ls &
Ser
vice
s
16A
ggregation
The evolving and increasing ecology of tools
and services available presents opportunities for system
s that can aggregate across them.
These could help align people, content and
comm
unication methods in tem
porary or dynam
ic formulations that interface betw
een the different choices of individuals, groups or institutions.
9
Reputation M
anagement
Reputation m
anagement is an im
portant factor not just in assessing w
hat risks to undertake, but more
generally across all aspects of how an organisation
operates; who they choose to w
ork with, w
hat kinds of new
ventures they participate in, the degree of perceived innovation or established excellence they offer are all key considerations in negotiating institutional standing and public perception.
17
Cura
tion
The
abi
lity
to a
pply
form
s of
cur
atio
n to
th
e m
ultiv
alen
t sou
rces
, filte
rs a
nd m
eans
of
wor
king
and
com
mun
icat
ing
will
bec
ome
incr
easi
ngly
nec
essa
ry. T
ools
or s
ervi
ces
w
hich
ass
ist i
n he
lpin
g in
divi
dual
s to
cur
ate
thes
e ‘c
hann
els’
cou
ld b
e hi
ghly
des
irab
le.
8
The
pro
ject
hig
hlig
hted
the
impo
rtan
ce
of th
e ro
les
of b
oth
gate
keep
ers
and
cham
pion
s in
suc
cess
ful e
ngag
emen
t: of
ten
mul
tiple
s of
bot
h m
ight
be
need
ed to
acc
ess
broa
d co
mm
uniti
es.
Lac
k of
cer
tain
gat
ekee
pers
and
ch
ampi
ons
can
stym
ie th
e br
eadt
h
of e
ngag
emen
t and
lead
to a
lack
of
bal
ance
.
Gat
ekee
pers
and
Cha
mpi
ons
14
Recognising w
hen your engagement w
ith people outside of your ow
n group or sphere of activity has become overly
narrow and relies on ‘usual suspects’ is vital to avoiding
unrepresentative samples and instrum
entalised results.
Usual Suspects V
ersus Co-Design
11Validation of Individual Choices
An im
portant aspect of building a vibrant and cohesive group dynam
ic is how an individuals choices
of tools, services, practices and places are respected and given validation. T
he self confidence and recognition of their initiative that this brings, in turn helps create m
ore permeable boundaries to the group’s activities.
15
Dis
cove
ry
The
re a
re o
ppor
tuni
ties
for
crea
ting
disc
over
y se
rvic
es d
esig
ned
to in
crea
se a
war
enes
s of
wha
t to
ols
and
serv
ices
are
alr
eady
ava
ilabl
e an
d he
lpin
g pe
ople
mak
e in
form
ed c
hoic
es a
bout
whi
ch o
nes
are
appr
opri
ate
to th
e ta
sk.
10In
sula
rity
and
Wea
k L
ink
s
Hig
hly
focu
sed
grou
ps a
nd
orga
nisa
tions
tend
to h
ave
wea
k lin
ks w
ithin
wid
er
com
mun
ities
they
are
pa
rt o
f. T
hey
can
easi
ly
beco
me
insu
lar,
with
just
a
few
str
ong
links
to r
egul
ar
part
ners
and
col
labo
rato
rs.
Thi
s lim
its th
eir
capa
city
fo
r en
gagi
ng w
ith m
ultip
le
and
less
obv
ious
act
ors
and
can
rein
forc
e a
sens
e of
dis
conn
ectio
n in
bot
h di
rect
ions
.