Team Collaboration

• User Scenarios … Paul argues that the poor adoption of portals and similar systems is because they aren’t designed according to the way people think and work. He wants to see user scenarios drive design, not software requirements. “One method for shifting the focus from requirements to real-life system context is to incorporate user scenarios into the design process. User scenarios are realistic stories that describe how a person who is representative of an important user segment would go about using the system to accomplish specific goals. User scenarios should not be confused with use cases. User scenarios describe how someone who is representative of a large or important segment of the user population will accomplish high-frequency or high-value tasks, using features of a system that will become available at a future time. Use cases are scripts for testing every facet of a system’s functionality after it has been developed.” Intranet Journal
• On Unified Communications … David tries to make sense of the buzz around unified communications, and asks when the change to unified communications will occur (backwards compatibility with telephony infrastructure is a potential hold-up), and secondly whether the technology is up to it (specifically networks — are they fast enough to handle the voice and video demands?). One of the key ideas of unified communications is that individuals can set their contact preferences that are enforced on others. ComputerWorld
• Thomas Nelson Goes from Static Intranet to Wiki … Michael writes about how the Thomas Nelson IT people have replaced Thomas Nelson’s static intranet with a wiki-powered one. Any authenticated user can change anything. “We want to harness this same power of collaboration for our Company. As a result, we are beginning with an IntraWiki. We want to turn our Intranet into an encyclopedia of sorts for “all things Thomas Nelson.” We want it to be a helpful resource that our employees will turn to again and again for important, up-to-date information. We also want it to be an orientation tool for new employees. But that will only work if our employees take the initiative and become active participants in the brave new, collaborative world.” Michael Hyatt
• Domino or SharePoint … Karen takes on the question of “Domino vs. SharePoint”, arguing that it comes down to an informed decision because both products are different with similar aspects. She also responds point-by-point to a commenter outlining what he likes about SharePoint. Although this is Karen’s personal blog, she is an analyst with the Burton Group. Karen Hobert

Productivity

• Focus on the Work … Keri contemplates a “go-natural” approach to life as an artist, rather than being frantic and frenzied in finding “the next gig”. Her advice: Focus on the work and the good stuff will happen naturally. Wish Jar
• Write Down Your Response … When you are taking part in a meeting and think of something to say when it’s your turn to speak, write it down rather than trying to keep it in your head. PastorHacks
• Coping with Overwhelm … Michael outlines six things he does to cope with an overwhelming number of requests and possibilities: (1) acknowledge that you can’t do it all, (2) accept the fact that some things won’t get done, (3) practice workload triage, (4) categorize your tasks by priority, (5) practice “intentional neglect”, and (6) do the next most important thing next. Michael Hyatt
• Think Less … Don’t over-think. Productivity Goal
• Ask “Why?” To Get Perspective … Susan’s #1 productivity tip: when you are contemplating doing something or interested in something, step back and ask “why?” It will help you clarify your priorities. Productivity Cafe

Other Stuff

• Video in Education … Steve writes about how low-cost and ubiquitous communications offerings — like Skype — could be used in a classroom situation for introducing students to thoughts leaders around the world. Connecting the Dots