Collaboration within Creative Teams

RESEARCH SUMMARY

Collaboration Within Creative Teams Krista Siniscarco SDES 503: Fundamentals of Graduate Research Professor Sara Jo Johnson Fall 2010

Table of Contents

1

Introduction Thesis Statement Research Questions Definitions Collaboration as a Wicked Problem

3

Methodology Scope Revised Plan Data Analysis

4

Findings Summary Case Study Patterns & Trends

8

Conclusions Conceptual Framework Implications

10

Future Study

11

Bibliography Appendix

i iv

Interview Bios

v

Literature Map

vi

Literature Review

xvi

Diagrams

Research Instruments

Research Proposal

2

Figure 1 - Coordination vs Collaboration

5

Figure 2 - Collaboration Definitions

6

Figure 3 - Student Tools for Collaboration

8

Figure 4 - Collaborative Behaviors

9

Figure 5 - Conceptual Framework

v

Literature Map

Introduction Thesis

1

Collaboration is not easy but the payoffs can be great. Each company, team, set of stakeholders, project and process can be unique and may require varying tools and tactics. The people involved in a collaboration often have differences in personality, knowledge, background, experience and culture.

While this can be advantageous, it can also provide many challenges. Because of these sometimes constant-changing variables, collaboration within creative teams is a wicked problem. Collaboration itself needs to be further defined and understood in order to execute it effectively.

Research Questions2

1. What is collaboration? a. How do individuals define collaboration? b. Is there or could there be a shared definition?

2. How can faculty and/or managers encourage and foster collaboration within creative teams? a. What tools and techniques are effectively employed?

3. How can the student’s experience of collaboration translate into business?

4. What are the commonalities and differences between education and business in terms of collaboration within creative teams?

5. Why is collaboration necessary and/or valued?

Definitions

The comparisons made in this paper are based on the following definitions of coordination and collaboration. These definitions were informed by and developed from personal experience along with the interview and qualitative survey data collected during the course of this study.

Coordination – individuals or groups of people working alongside one another and communicating to accomplish a common goal.

Collaboration – individuals or groups of people willingly working together and continuously communicating by sharing knowledge and ideas, learning from each other, brainstorming, and partnering throughout the process to accomplish a shared goal and/or vision. Collaboration is an iterative process that should involve evaluation and assessment.

1 Appendix – Research Proposal: xv 2 Appendix – Research Proposal: xv Siniscarco - Research Summary

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To further ground these definitions a comparative example of each can be provided.

Scenario: A team is charged with the design of a new interactive product that will assist preschool children with reading. The team must work through all phases of the design process from research through implementation.

Coordination – A design team is assembled comprised of design researchers, industrial designers, educators and engineers. The team meets at the beginning of the project to develop a plan and timeline. Each team member is responsible for a piece or phase in the process. They communicate when handing off information from one phase to another or if the timeline shifts.

Collaboration – A design team is assembled comprised of design researchers, industrial designers, educators and engineers. The team meets at the beginning of the project to develop a plan, timeline, shared vision and expectations. All members of the team are active in each phase of the design process, with communication occurring consistently and frequently. All team members participate in evaluation of the product and process through the project progression.

Figure 1 - Coordination Vs Collaboration

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Collaboration as a Wicked Problem

Based on Rittel’s3

and Buchanan’s4

descriptions of “wicked problems,”

collaboration could inarguably be considered such. Wicked Problems are “a class of social system problems which are ill-formulated, where the information is confusing, where there are many clients and decision makers with conflicting values, and where the ramifications in the whole system are thoroughly confusing.”5 Collaboration is not easy but the payoffs can be great. Each company, team, set of stakeholders, project and process can be unique and may require varying tools and tactics. The people involved in a collaboration often have differences in personality, knowledge, background, experience and culture. While this can be advantageous, it can also provide many challenges. Because of these sometimes constantly changing variables, collaboration within creative teams is a wicked problem.6 Because collaboration is a wicked problem, there can only be one attempt to “get it right.” Every instance of collaboration is different and there is no formula or recipe that can be applied universally. This study will make an attempt to create a conceptual framework that can serve as a foundation for collaborative endeavors that can be built upon and modified to meet the specific needs of a particular team or process.

Methodology Scope

Originally, this study was designed to primarily focus on examining environmental factors, strategies, tools and team dynamics under the larger umbrella of fostering collaboration. The information collected will work to build a conceptual framework that can be shared between education and business and serve as a foundation for effective collaboration. Data will be collected from both higher education and business environments through surveys, interviews and observation.7 Upon reflection, the scope of the study needed to be expanded on the macro level to include definitions, expectations and descriptions of what collaboration looks like to specific individuals. This information was used to build a standard definition and shared foundation that served as an independent variable for this study.

(Please see the Appendix for the complete original Research Proposal.)

3 Rittel, Horst and Melvin Webber. “Dilemmas in a General Theory of Planning.” Policy Sciences 4 (1973): 155-169.

4 Buchanan, Richard. “Wicked Problems in Design Thinking.” Design Issues 8, no 2 (1992): 5-21.

5 Rittel: 160.

6 Appendix – Literature Review: xiii.

7 Appendix – Research Proposal: xv Siniscarco - Research Summary

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Revised Plan

The original research plan for this study had to be revised due to time and resource restrictions in addition to a slight modification in scope. The primary research conducted focused solely on collaboration in an academic environment and was as follows: • A mostly quantitative student survey to gather information about tools and environments for collaboration. (43 respondents) • Faculty interviews to discuss definitions, behaviors and expectations.

(5 interviews) • A second, more qualitative student survey to discuss definitions, behaviors and expectations. (5 respondents) • Observations of students working in groups on course projects.

• Addition of raw data collected from a project in SDES 502: Human Factors on the redesign of the Gulfstream Center Graduate Space.

Data Analysis

The analysis of raw data collected was done with the aid of visual tools such as word clouds and 2x2s. Quantitative data was graphed directly from the numbers provided. Qualitative data was transformed into quantitative data and also graphed. The diagrams that were produced allowed for easier analysis of patterns and trends in the visual data. The quantitative data was then turned into qualitative and further analyzed and compared to the findings of the secondary research. A mixed method approach to data collection and analysis was used through this study.

Findings Summary

One of the main goals of this study was to create a foundational definition for collaboration. When asked for his or her personal definitions, each faculty member and student had a different answer. The definitions themselves were mostly brief and somewhat incomplete. Several struggled with putting the abstract idea into words. It was not until further explanation and discussion in describing collaborative behaviors and providing examples that a full understanding of the term could be reached. These descriptions served as a basis for formulating the definitions of collaboration and coordination listed in the introduction of this paper. The faculty and students were plotted on a 2x2 matrix based on their definitions compared to the independent variable definitions. The X axis-runs from coordination to collaboration and the Y-axis runs from theory to practice. These results are in Figure 2.

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Figure 2 - Collaboration Definitions

The results show that faculty lean more heavily towards the CollaborationPractice quadrant, while students are clustered around the center axis. The hypothesis is that this is due to the years of experience the faculty have over students in collaborating in creative teams. This experience is also largely in a business environment over an academic environment. The entire faculty interviewed had greater than 5-years of experience in both teaching and business. The students surveyed were in the senior year of their undergraduate program or first year of a graduate program.

The quantitative survey given to students attempted to gather information about tools used by students while collaborating on projects and their satisfaction with those tools. The faculty were also asked about use of tools for communication, document sharing and project management during the interviews. The results of the student surveys can be found in Figure 3. The data showed that students were much more flexible and experimental with the use of collaborative tools, often using multiple tools at the same time and changing from project to project. But the students most often used the tools they felt best met their needs. Faculty were much more consistent in the use of collaborative tools between projects and used a smaller tool set.

This consistency seemed to be more efficient for long-term projects or teams working together on multiple projects over extended periods of time.

Most of the tools referenced by both faculty and students are considered Web 2.0 software. This information reinforces Andrew McAfee’s arguments

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in Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges.8 The survey also asked about tools for brainstorming but the data was not complete enough for analysis.

Figure 3 - Student Tools for Collaboration

Case Study

As part of a project for SDES 502: The Human Factor, Design Thinking with Professor Owen Wilson, the graduate space in the Gulfstream Building came under evaluation for potential redesign. The students proposing the redesign conducted research on learning spaces and collaborative environments, interviewed faculty and students and observed students working in the space.

Pieces of the data collected during that research have been analyzed through the lens of this study as a case study example of environmental factors and how they can contribute to and foster collaboration.

As Lori Gee states in “Human Centered Design Guidelines”, learning spaces need to be healthful and stimulating — taking into account lighting and ergonomics and incorporating sensory cues, elements of surprise, visual access, connection to nature, color, texture and diverse shapes.9 This philosophy combined with Bryan Coffman’s requirements for diverse work surfaces10 and Isabel I-Sha’s recommendations for creating multiple spaces within a space,11 produces a foundation for creating a collaborative environment.

8 McAfee, Andrew. Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your Organization’s Toughest Challenges. Boston: Harvard Business School Publishing, 2009.

9 Gee, Lori. “Human Centered Design Guidelines” In Learning Spaces, edited by Diana Oblinger, EDUCAUSE, 2006: 10.5-10.7.

10 Coffman, Bryan S. and James B. Smethurst. “Seven Basic Concepts of Design for Creating Collaborative Spaces.” Sente Corporation Workshops on Strategic Modeling. 1999: 3.

11 I-Sha , Isabel Yeo-Tang , Douglas Lau Chin Tiong and Hilary Ho Oon Seng. “Designing a Collaborative Learning Space Using Pedagogical Principles.” White Paper Presentation, Library Association of Singapore Conference, Singapore, March 29-31, 2008: 4.

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The graduate space located in the Gulfsteam building is inarguably a grossly underused space with 92% of students choosing to work in the space less than 15 hours per week (the students spend, on average, 40-45 hours per week doing homework outside of class.) The students state the reasons for this are due to the room lacking in resources, not meeting their needs and not being a comfortable, welcoming or stimulating space. The space is lacking in most of the elements that Gee recommends for an effective learning environment.

“The room is cold and sterile, completely unstimulating and boring,” one student states, “I don’t work here if I can help it.” The space does not flow or have designated areas for different types of activities students may engage in.

It is also severely lacking in vertical surfaces for students to brainstorm and reflect on while working together.

The proposed redesigns of the space takes all of this information into account, employing a user-center design philosophy to create a space that is ergonomic, healthful and stimulating — to encourage collaboration and meet the needs of the graduate programs.

Patterns and Trends

Several patterns emerged while analyzing the data, but three in particular are concrete enough to discuss at this time. The first of which is how collaboration is learned or modeled. Across the board students stated that they have never had a conversation about the definition of collaboration, or its associated expectations or behaviors. Collaboration was learned through experience. “It’s one of those things you kind of just pick up as you go,” said Greg. While working on a group project, students never discuss what collaboration means to them and what they expect from each other going through the project process. Greg adds, “faculty tell us we are going to work on a group project and we just do it. We don’t really think or talk about how to work together.” On the reverse side, with the exception of one, the faculty all stated that they do not talk about collaboration or their expectations of working as a team with their students.

Samm says, “I guess I assume that by the time they get to this level [junior/ senior undergraduate] they know what they’re doing.”

The second pattern concerns when and how a collaborative endeavor can falter. Universally the faculty and student respondents included communication as being a fundamental ingredient in effective collaboration. All of the faculty and three of the five students described a breakdown in communication as being a leading factor in negative collaborative experiences. Janet reinforces this sentiment, “I’ve found that usually when there is a breakdown, it happens within communication and usually in the very beginning of the process.”

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The last strong pattern to emerge was in the respondents’ attempts to define collaboration. When asked, “What is your definition of collaboration?� ten different answers were given. While there was some overlap, most respondents struggled to articulate their thoughts around collaboration. It was not until they gave lengthy descriptions and provided examples that an understanding of the term began to surface. Collaboration is an abstract concept difficult to describe in simple terms.

Conclusions

Conceptual Framework

In both the faculty interviews and qualitative survey of students the respondents were asked to describe collaboration in terms of behaviors. Figure 4 is a word cloud depicting most commonly mentioned behaviors.

Figure 4 - Collaborative Behaviors

This data along with additional information collected from secondary research informed the design of a theoretical conceptual framework for collaboration (see Figure 5.) The foundation for collaboration is communication. Communication needs to be consistent and relevant and must occur in a timely manner throughout the process. If communication breaks down everything built on top of it will crumble. Once communication is established the next factors to consider are willingness, candor, flexibility and trust. Collaboration must be willing; it cannot be forced or mandated. Leadership and roles can and should change throughout the process; trust and flexibility are necessary for these things to occur seamlessly.

The next level of the framework is a shared understanding of goals, process and expectations. These should be established and agreed upon at the beginning of the collaboration. Shifts and changes of these entities need to be discussed and communicated in a timely and appropriate manner. Once the groundwork is laid, appropriate tools, activities and environmental factors can be overlaid to encourage the collaboration. The collaborative space should Siniscarco - Research Summary

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be a healthful and stimulating environment with the appropriate resources for group work as discussed in the “Case Study� section of this paper. Tools and activities for collaboration are dependent on the needs of the specific team or project and can change over time.

Figure 5 - Conceptual Framework

Implications

Working from a conceptual framework for collaboration can have positive implications for both education and business. A recent trend in education is a move from individual to group work on both the primary and secondary school levels. Faculty can use the framework as a way to teach and model collaboration to their students. If the students are introduced to this framework early in their academic careers they can grow and modify their view of collaboration through personal experience. The collaboration and efforts around it become transparent and second nature. The students can then carry that experience to higher education and into the business world. True collaboration does have a considerably higher overhead and time investment associated with it, but with experience the learning curve disappears and does not hinder creativity.

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Future Study

The research conducted in this study was just the beginning stages of a larger investigation into collaboration within creative teams. The data collected can be further analyzed, the samples expanded and deeper research conducted.

The research can also be expanded to include collaboration in the business world as originally suggested. The original research plan proposed conducting surveys, interviews and observations similar to those conducted in academia to compare the two organizational structures and discover overlap, similarities and differences; the ultimate goal being to develop a conceptual framework for collaboration that could be shared and carried from academia into business.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Buchanan, Richard. “Wicked Problems in Design Thinking.” Design Issues 8,

no 2 (1992): 5-21.

Callaghan, Emily. “Personalities of Design Thinking.” Design Management Journal 4, no 1 (2009): 20-32.

Coffman, Bryan S. and James B. Smethurst. “Seven Basic Concepts of

Design for Creating Collaborative Spaces.” Sente Corporation

Workshops on Strategic Modeling. 1999.

Gee, Lori. “Human Centered Design Guidelines” In Learning Spaces, edited

by Diana Oblinger, 10.1-10.12. EDUCAUSE, 2006.

I-Sha , Isabel Yeo-Tang , Douglas Lau Chin Tiong and Hilary Ho Oon Seng.

“Designing a Collaborative Learning Space Using Pedagogical

Principles.” White Paper Presentation, Library Association of

Singapore Conference, Singapore, March 29-31, 2008.

Jung, Mi-Jin and Ki-Young Nam. “Bottom-Up Design Leadership as a

Strategic Tool.” Design Management Review 19, no 3 (2008): 59-67.

Kim, Yong Se, Myung Sook Kim, and Douglass J. Wilde. “Toward the

Management of Design Creativity: Personal Creativity Modes,

Design Activity, and Team Interaction.” Design Management Review

supp (2008): 45-52.

McAfee, Andrew. Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative Tools for Your

Organization’s Toughest Challenges. Boston: Harvard Business

School Publishing, 2009.

Poggenpohl, Sharon and Keiichi Satō. Design Integrations: Research and Collaboration. Chicago: Intellect Ltd, 2009.

Rittel, Horst and Melvin Webber. “Dilemmas in a General Theory

of Planning.” Policy Sciences 4 (1973): 155-169.

Rizal, Sebastian. Managing Collaborative Design. Delft, NL: Uitgeverij

Eburon, 2007.

Vice, Christopher. “Learning to Work in Teams.” Design Management Review

18, no 3 (2007): 75-81.

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Research Instruments

Survey Questionaire

The following questions refer to group project work.

1. What tools do you use most often for communication, file sharing and project management when working on group projects? (Check all that apply)  Email  Facebook  Google Docs  Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)  Dropbox  Blog  Wiki  Project Management Software  Shared Calendar  Website  Other: 2. How satisfied are you in the effectiveness of each of these tools to meet your needs.

Not Satisfied Somewhat Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied

Email

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Facebook

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Google Docs

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Microsoft Office

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(Word, Excel, PowerPoint) Dropbox

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Blog



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Wiki

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Project Management 



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Software Shared Calendar

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Website

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3. What functionality, if any, is missing in the above-mentioned tools that would better meet your collaborative needs?

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4. What tools do you use most often for brainstorming, idea generation and concept mapping when working on group projects? (Check all that apply)  Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint)  Google Docs  White boards  Post-Its  Easel Pads  Concept Mapping Software  Other: 5. What physical resources do you need in a space to make it conducive to working on group projects?

6. What environmental factors are important for a space to make it conducive to working on group projects?

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Faculty Interview Questions

1. What is your definition of collaboration?

2. What do you consider collaborative behaviors?

3. What are your expectations for students in working on group projects?

4. How do your expectations differ between undergraduate and graduate students in terms of group work?

5. How do you encourage and/or model collaboration for your students?

6. How do you evaluate group work in terms of the team as a whole, individuals, process and outcomes?

7. If a group does not meet your expectations, where in the process does the breakdown usually happen?

8. Are there specific tools for collaboration that you use and/or recommend to your students? Project management, document sharing, communication?

9. Does collaboration differ between business and educational environments?

If so, how? (If applicable) 10. Good and bad, personal examples of collaboration?

Student Interview Questions

1. What is your definition of collaboration?

2. What do you consider collaborative behaviors?

3. What are your expectations of your group members when working on course projects?

4. How did you learn how to collaborate? Has anyone modeled collaborative behavior for you?

5. How do you evaluate your team members when working on a group project? How frequently are you asked to evaluate group members by your faculty? What is your comfort level with this evaluation?

6. Are there specific tools for collaboration that you use when working with a group? Project management, document sharing, communication?

7. What differences (if any) do you anticipate between collaboration as a student working on class assignments and collaboration as a professional in the industry?

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Interview Bios

Faculty

Students Janet Instructional Technologist Hamilton College

Collaboration is a process by which people with complimentary skill sets work together to achieve a common goal.

Bob Professor Design Management SCAD

Collaboration is an event where two or more people produce an idea which would not have occured to any one of them by themsleves.

Owen Professor Industrial Design SCAD

Collaboration is working within a community of professionals or education and sharing knowledge.

Samm Professor Music Hamilton College

Collaboration is when you have a project that is bigger than any one person’s skill set and you seek out people with complimentary skill sets and form a team.

Joe Professor Graphic Design SCAD

Collaboration is like-minded or divergent disciplines or people working together to solve problems.

Sam Psychology/ Digital Arts Hamilton College

Collaboration is when a person or group works together with another person or group to combine ideas and utilize each other’s specialties to accomplish a common goal.

Greg Graphic Design SUNY IT

Collaboration is a group of individuals coming together to contribute towards a common goal.

Triona Studio Art Hamiton College

Collaboration is people working together on a task or project.

Tiffany Graphic Design SCAD

Collaboration is when a group of things or people work together to achieve a goal.

Moises Studio Art Hamilton College

Collaboration is working together to achieve a shared objective.

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Reporting!

Approach!

Iterative Process!

Team Dynamics!

Tools!

Strategies!

Foster Collaboration!

Project Role!

Job Function!

Project Management!

Communication!

Communication!

Brainstorming!

Productivity!

Personality!

LITERATURE MAP Environment!

Measures of Success!

Design Firms!

Collaboration within Creative Teams!

In-House Design Teams!

Assessment/ Evaluation!

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LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction

When discussing broad terms such as “collaboration” and “creative teams” it’s often best to start with defining those terms. The creative teams that are examined in this paper are cross-disciplinary teams comprised primarily of designers but often including members of other fields. The teams can be part of a design firm, such as Pentagram or IDEO, working on a specific project or projects or an in-house creative team that is part of a larger corporation, such as Google or Apple. This review will focus on collaboration within teams that are localized and co-habitated as opposed to groups working across distances.

Within this context collaboration is defined as individuals or groups of people willingly working together towards a common goal. Collaboration differs from coordination in that coordination can be forced from the top down. However, in order for a collaboration to be effective there must be mutual, voluntary investment and buy-in from all key participants. All team members must be open to sharing knowledge and ideas in a timely manner and partnering through all aspects of the project. Collaboration is an iterative process.

Collaboration within creative teams can be examined across three topics — fostering collaboration, assessment and evaluation of project process and collaboration itself, and measuring productivity of a collaborative team. This study will primarily focus on examining environmental factors, strategies, tools and team dynamics under the larger umbrella of fostering collaboration. These sub-categories have been studied individually but not in a holistic manner. This study will provide a more complete picture of how to foster and encourage collaboration within creative teams.

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Abstracts Coffman, Bryan & James Smethurst

In Seven Basic Concepts of Design for Creating Collaborative Spaces,

“Seven Basic Concepts of Design

Coffman & Smethurst advocate moving away from a model of separate

for Creating Collaborative Spaces”

planning, design and strategizing through the development of collaborative

Sente Corporation Workshops on

spaces. There are three types of collaborative spaces: war rooms for side-

Strategic Modeling

by-side, real-time presentation and information sharing; creativity centers for play, visualization and out-of-box thinking and collaboration centers which are a combination of the other two. Coffman & Smethurst discuss the key considerations when designing collaborative environments.

The authors state that within any given project the size of the group or team will vary depending on the stage in the process. A space (physical or virtual) needs to be able to accommodate these ever changing shifts. The team needs to have tools for face-to-face and virtual real-time collaboration. They also need to agree upon consistent modes of communication outside of scheduled meetings. The physical environment and tools should be able to accommodate various types of group and individual activity and allow a smooth transition between said activities for group member. In addition to virtual spaces for communication and collaborative authoring, the physical space should have three types of vertical surfaces for communication of information — “surfaces for sketching, displays for communication and computation, and surfaces for posting of large documents or complex images for reference.” Furniture and space configuration should be conducive to collaboration, small and large group work. The traditional classroom and office setups are inadequate.

Teams should have a defined process from the beginning of a project to take them from problem definition through implementation. And lastly, teams should have appropriate technology tools for supporting their ideas and collaborative process.

While collaborative teams should consider all of the above concepts, the implementation will differ depending on the mission and needs of the company or group. And environment can support collaboration and inspire creativity if it is designed with those ideas in mind.

Siniscarco - Appendix

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Gee, Lori

Learning Spaces is a publication on examining and designing learning

“Human Centered Design

spaces for education, edited by the President of EDUCAUSE, Diana Oblinger.

Guidelines”

Oblinger invited Lori Gee, head of Herman Miller’s Education Solutions Team,

In Learning Spaces

to discuss human-centered design in education. Human-centered design is a

edited by Diana Oblinger

philosophical approach to design in which the needs, wants and limitations of the users are given substantial consideration.

Gee states that learning and collaboration happen in different ways therefore design solutions for space can be numerous and a non-linear approach to solving the problem is required. The foundation for defining the space should be considering basic needs of physical and psychological comfort and the acknowledgement of diverse learning and teaching styles.

Gee then goes on to outline the key characteristics of human centered design.

The spaces should be healthful, stimulating, contain a balance of community and solitude and be adaptable. Healthful considerations include things such as lighting and ergonomics. Stimulating spaces “attract people and spark creative thinking.” Therefore multisensory cues, elements of surprise, visual access, a connection to nature, color, texture and diversity in shape are important elements to include. The space should allow for social interaction and group activity as well as individual, quiet reflection. The space should be welcoming and flexible to accommodate different types of activities and collaboration.

The goal of designing these spaces should be in support of collaboration and creating a positive, stimulating environment. Learning spaces can transform an educational experience and encourage richer, more effective interactions among students and teachers.

The authors of this paper discuss the creation of collaborative learning spaces I-Sha , Isabel Yeo-Tang , Douglas Lau

within a library environment. The library at this institution is a hub for student

Chin Tiong & Hilary Ho Oon Seng

activity across disciplines, particularly for students engaged in group work.

“Designing a Collaborative

Though the physical building is a library, it should not be viewed as the

Learning Space Using Pedagogical

traditional quiet space for individual work and thought.

Principles” Library Association of Singapore

I-Sha, Tiong and Seng examined the features of collaborative learning as a

Conference

basis for designing the physical spaces. Those features include face-to-face promotive interaction (students activity engaging in dialog and discourse to learn from one another), interpersonal and small group skills, group processing and reflection, positive interdependence and individual accountability. The authors also studied the well-documented benefits and challenges of Siniscarco - Appendix

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collaborative work in education.

Four separate spaces were designed to accommodate different activities associated with group work. A SMART room was created with technology for small group work, presentation and collaborative authoring. The room also had flexible seating and furniture configuration. There is a main lounge with comfortable seating for informal group discussion and screens for video or computer display. A technology-free second lounge acts as a space for quiet discussion and brainstorming. And finally, a café that acts as the center activity hub, which several different furniture configurations suited for different activities.

A group of professionals from the library surveyed students and did observational studies to determine patterns of activity and student needs.

Those survey and ethnographic results along with research on collaborative space design greatly informed the design of these spaces. Since the creation of these spaces, activity and traffic in the library has greatly increased. The professionals continue to solicit feedback from student to plan changes for the future.

Bottom-Up Design Leadership as a Strategic Tool was written by two Jung, Mi-Jin & Ki-Young Nam

professors of Industrial Design at KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science

“Bottom-Up Design Leadership

and Technology), a university recognized as a leader in the ID field. Bottom-

as a Strategic Tool”

up leadership is a fairly new management model in which employees at all

Design Management Review

levels start asking questions, pushing boundaries, and making suggestions leading to innovations. Leadership and management are different but related concepts. Anyone, regardless of his/her/their position within an organization, can exhibit leadership. In a bottom-up leadership model they are encouraged to do so.

In this study, three teams were tasked with examining the strategic market diversification within a company. The teams were given the strategies of the company on four levels — corporate, business, product and design. The corporate and business strategies are considered “higher level” strategies.

The product and design strategies are considered “lower level” and are aimed at the more operational side of the business.

The first two teams worked under the existing corporate strategy but expanded upon the business strategy, thus affecting product and design. The two teams aligned the project with the corporate objectives while still expanding the Siniscarco - Appendix

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business model. However, the third group suggested expanding the corporate strategy and as a result expanding the company’s target market. Using the bottom-up leadership model the teams applied design thinking at a strategic level to a design problem in order to propose a new direction for the company.

Rizal, Sebastian

Rizel begins Managing Collaborative Design by suggesting that collaborative

Managing Collaborative Design

design is necessary and inevitable when trying to tackle a wicked problem.

The collaborative design process itself is very complex, often involving several key players from different organizations and/or having different competencies.

Therefore managing the process from conception though implementation becomes very important.

Rizel describes in detail the design thinking process from problem definition though implementation. He also states that the process is iterative and we must assess and learn from it. Rizel argues that the collaborative process must start with the formulation or expansion of the “master plan” by the design team.

He talks about “informal design leadership” within multi-disciplinary teams.

Though there may be a team leader, it is important that all team members feel they can question each other and push boundaries. The leadership on a project may shift several times during the design process. That flexibility is necessary and can prove effective.

Collaborative design is described as “an interplay of cognitive, social and project frames.” These frames cannot be standardized and shape differently depending on project, context and stakeholders. The design process must be approached using a balance of emotion, intuition and logic. Collaborative design ensures that all of these will be brought to the table.

Research on managing collaborative design is important and changing every day, but still incomplete. Rizel almost suggests that managing collaborative design is in of itself a wicked problem. A greater understanding and definition is still needed to look at the problem from all aspects and study it holistically.

Vice, Christopher

Vice, a Professor at Indiana University, opens Learning to Work in Teams

“Learning to Work in Teams”

by stating, “A diverse group of people can simultaneously work on the same

Design Management Review

problem, but that can be quite different from working together.” He talks about the challenges educators have in adapting their teaching to reflect the ever changing demands and expectations of the world. One of those recent changes is the move to a more collaborative work model in business.

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Faculty at Indiana University started to rethink the traditional studio model and began incorporating more collaborative learning and group projects into their curriculum. Undergraduate students are partnering with other students, within and outside of their discipline, and with real-world clients to take a team-based approach to creative problem solving.

In the first iterations of this approach, faculty did not see the exact results that they had hoped for. Students were working along side one another but not really collaborating. There was a lack of trust and no foundation or shared process from them to pull from. Due to this feedback, faculty restructured the program to include a conceptual framework of teamwork, collaboration, communication and creative problem solving that would give the students a shared understanding to build from. People need to be prepared to work in teams, they cannot just be thrown together and expected to be a highfunctioning group. Difference in opinion, approach, and perspective should be embraced and foster as they add to a richer more complete experience.

Poggenpohl, Sharon & Keiichi SatĹ?

In Design Integrations: Research and Collaboration, Poggenpohl and SatĹ?

Design Integrations: Research

focus the second section of the book on design collaboration, which is written

and Collaboration

mostly by Poggenpohl. Poggenpohl argues that everyone seems to agree that collaboration is necessary in design but no one has taken the time to develop the theories behind it. She also states there is a problem with the word itself, having found at least thirteen separate definitions for collaboration.

Poggenpohl suggests that a collaboration start with a collective understanding of the scope of a project, who is involved and how and what a collaboration looks like as a team.

Poggenpohl also talks about the difference between contribution and collaboration. In a contribution, one’s role is narrowly defined and they can come in and out of the collaboration. In collaboration, team members do not simple work together they also think together through all steps of the process; there is shared decision-making and exchange of ideas.

Collaboration is complex and can contain many variables. Each collaboration can be approached and tackled differently depending on the stakeholders, scope, variables and goals. Greater exploration of theoretical limitations and collaborative patterns is needed to develop a richer theory behind collaboration.

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McAfee, Andrew

Enterprise 2.0 or enterprise social software is social software used in business

Enterprise 2.0: New Collaborative

or commercial context. According to McAfee, in order for social software to

Tools for Your Organization’s

be usable for businesses it must have the following functionality: tools for

Toughest Challenges

searching content, the ability to link or group content together, collaborative authoring (i.e. blogs and wikis), tagging of content, channels for user feedback and subscription to content.

Design teams can use Enterprise 2.0 tools as a way to communicate, collaborate and manage multiple projects through the design process. They can also be used as a way to convey and collect information from users once a design solution has been implemented. Though the information collected can be useful, it is often unstructured and may be difficult to distill. Therefore, the structure of the content and use of the tools can be different for each project.

Often there is no single tool but multiple tools that can be used in conjunction with each other. Examples of enterprise 2.0 tools can include wikis, blogs, vlogs, social bookmarking, RSS feeds, collaborative planning software, idea generators, social networking, mashups, prediction markets and social profiles. Each tool has its own challenges and advantages. With literally hundreds of options on the market, the specific tools should be chosen based on the particular needs of the business or project.

Callaghan, Emily

In Personalities of Design Thinking, Callaghan discusses a study she conducted

“Personalities of Design

examining the relationship between personality types and performance in

Thinking “

brainstorming and idea generation. The inter-disciplinary teams involved in

Design Management Journal

the study each consisted of an Industrial Designer, Visual Communication Designer, Engineer, and Businessperson. Each individual completed a personality assessment to determine his or her MBTI (Myers-Briggs Type Indicator). MBTI is a personality inventory that measures psychological preferences in how people perceive the world and make decisions.

MBTI measured along four dualities — Extroversion (E) versus Introversion (I), Sensing (S) versus Intuition (N), Thinking (T) versus Feeling (F), and Judgment (J) versus Perception (P). Callaghan only took into account the E/I and J/P factors during the course of the study. Extroversion/Introversion focuses on whether overall attitude towards the world is oriented outward or internally.

Judgment/Perception is an indicator of decision making preferences; planning and organizing versus flexibility and spontaneity.

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Callaghan asked the groups to brainstorm ideas using two different techniques and then assessed performance in terms of involvement, satisfaction and actionability. Involvement and satisfaction were individual, where as actionability was defined by how many ideas the group generated that were worthy of further development. The first idea generation technique used was NGT (Nominal Group Technique) which is highly structured and involves silent, individual idea generation followed by a round-robin style of idea sharing orchestrated by a facilitator. The second technique was IDEO-Inspired which is much more loosely structured. Group members contribute ideas out loud as they are thought of, write the ideas on Post-Its and offer them to the facilitator.

At the end of the brainstorming sessions, Callaghan asked each individual team member to report on his or her satisfaction with the two separate sessions.

An observer recorded involvement of each member within each session. And actionability was assessed by a group of professionals. Callaghan found that individuals with Extroversion and/or Judgment factors were more comfortable and satisfied with the NGT model of idea generation. However, the IDEOInspired model allowed maximum performance for all personality types and produced the most actionable ideas.

Kim, Yong Se, Myung Sook Kim,

In our society, creativity is essential. “Creative activities reflect an individual’s

& Douglass J. Wilde

cognitive, emotional, and cultural characteristics.” The authors of this article

“Toward the Management of

study the cognitive preferences and creativity modes of individuals to gain a

Design Creativity: Personal

better understanding of interactions within creative teams and group dynamics.

Creativity Modes, Design Activity, and Team Interaction.”

The authors used Jung’s cognitive theory to define eight modes of creativity

Design Management Review

divided along perception, judgment and motivation. Personality tests such as the Personal Creativity Mode Test (PCMT) or Myers-Briggs (MBTI) can be used to categorize individuals into theses modes. Effective design thinking processes implore teams of people with diverse perspectives and knowledge to collaboratively problem-solve. Therefore, designing a team with multiple creative modes can be helpful, stimulate more interaction within a team and make for more complete design solutions.

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Summary

Innovation is the result of collaborative work. Collaboration is becoming a well-documented, leading trend in both business and education. However, the research and theory behind collaboration is still lacking. Most experts agree that collaboration is necessary to produce better results but no one quite has the one recipe for success. A collaborative team is one that learns from one another through the design process. Business and education need to work together and learn from each other to apply strategies and tools for fostering high-performance teams.

Within the four subtopics this study set out to explore, there is some agreement among experts, but many more areas of vagueness. There are many similarities in the articles that discuss the design of a physical space that fosters collaboration. The space needs to be stimulating, flexible and have large space to display and collectively author work. The specific look and feel of each space will differ from one to another based on company, team, and/or project. When a team first comes together, there needs to be a shared understanding of expectations and process in order for the team to move forward and work together effectively. Brainstorming techniques that can engage and encourage all team members should be applied. With such a wide range of technology tools available for collaboration, the tools that could and should be used are based on needs of the team and project.

The tools or combination of tools can differ from team to team or project to project with varying demands. It is widely agreed that diversity within a team is necessary and should be taken advantage of. But understanding individual differences and working with people’s strengths and comforts can only help the collaborative process.

Collaboration is not easy but the payoffs can be great. Each company, team, set of stakeholders, project and process can be unique and may require varying tools and tactics. The people involved in a collaboration often have differences in personality, knowledge, background, experience and culture.

While this can be advantageous, it can also provide many challenges. Because of these sometimes constant-changing variables, collaboration within creative teams is a wicked problem. Collaboration itself needs to be further defined and understood in order to execute it effectively.

The research on collaboration within creative teams is currently divided between education and business. These two entities should not be examined separately but in parallel and stronger connections between them need to be made. In addition to collecting data on the environmental factors, strategies, tools and team dynamics that have been applied, successfully Siniscarco - Appendix

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or unsuccessfully in both business and education, this study will also solicit information on individuals’ definitions of collaboration, collaborative behaviors and expectations, and modeling effective collaboration. Qualitative and qualitative data will be collected though surveying and interviewing educators and leaders of creative teams. Interviews of students and team members will also be conducted in addition to observing the teams working as groups. The information will be used to develop a conceptual framework that can be shared between education and business to foster highly-functioning collaborative teams.

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RESEARCH PROPOSAL Thesis

Collaboration is not easy but the payoffs can be great. Each company, team, set of stakeholders, project and process can be unique and may require varying tools and tactics. The people involved in a collaboration often have differences in personality, knowledge, background, experience and culture.

While this can be advantageous, it can also provide many challenges. Because of these sometimes constant-changing variables, collaboration within creative teams is a wicked problem. Collaboration itself needs to be further defined and understood in order to execute it effectively.

Research Questions

1. What is collaboration? a. How do individuals define collaboration? b. Is there or could there be a shared definition?

2. How can faculty and/or managers encourage and foster collaboration within creative teams? a. What tools and techniques are effectively employed?

3. How can the student experience of collaboration translate into business?

4. What are the commonalities and differences between education and business in terms of collaboration within creative teams?

5. Why is collaboration necessary and/or valued?

Scope

This study will primarily focus on examining environmental factors, strategies, tools and team dynamics under the larger umbrella of fostering collaboration.

The information collected will work to build a conceptual framework that can be shared between education and business and serve as a foundation for effective collaboration. Data will be collected from both higher education and business environments though surveys, interviews and observation.

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Strategy

Qualitative, qualitative and mixed data will be collected though surveying and interviewing educators and leaders of creative teams. Interviews of students and team members will also be conducted in addition to observing the teams working as groups.

The quantitative data collected through surveys will include collaborative tools that are used, team makeup, type of team and function. The qualitative data will include opinions on the effectiveness or these factors and how collaboration could be improved. Mixed data will come from the relationships between the qualitative and quantitative data collected in the surveys and any patterns that may emerge.

Qualitative data will also be obtained through one-on-one interviews and group observations. The interviews will be a conversation between the interviewer and faculty or team leaders regarding individual definitions of collaboration, expectations and how collaboration is modeled or encouraged. During the observations, group dynamics, interactions and behaviors will be documented.

The observer will not interact with the group.

Methods

The surveys will be conducted using an online tool (Google Forms or Survey Monkey) and will be distributed through email. Every attempt will be made to conduct face-to-face interviews that will be video taped and transcribed at a later date. The interviews will be recorded using a microphone and webcam built-in to a laptop. If a face-to-face interview is not feasible, the conversation will be held over video chat and recorded using screen capture tools. A last resort for interviews is a phone conversation with the interviewer taking notes during the conversation. The group observations will be documentation through photos and note taking. Video recording may also be used.

Form

The raw data that will be collected from the survey will be amounts and frequency that can be graphed and compared in addition to narrative statements and opinions on collaboration. The interviews will be conversational dialog documented through video and transcribed to text. The observations will have visual and textual data.

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Specifications

Faculty Interviews Faculty from both the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) and Hamilton College will be interviewed. The faculty will be selected based on discipline, course offerings and course assignments. Faculty should be teaching within the design or fine arts disciplines and group projects should have a significant role in their classroom pedagogy. Recommendations for faculty will be made from personal experience and guidance of other faculty.

Professional Interviews Team leaders and managers of creative teams in the Savannah and/or Atlanta areas will be interviewed for this study. The professionals can work in design firms or in-house design departments. The professionals should be leading teams that work in a strong collaborative environment throughout the design process. Professional will be found based on recommendations from faculty and internet research.

Student Interviews Students at SCAD will be selected from the Design Management and Industrial Design graduate programs. Students should be enrolled in a course with a group assignment and actively working on a collaborative project with other students. Recommendations of students to interview will be made by faculty in these programs.

Group Observations Student groups in the Design Management and Industrial Design graduate programs at SCAD will be observed. The students should be enrolled in a course with a group assignment and actively working on a collaborative project. The active working and brainstorming sessions will be observed and documented. Attempts will also be made to observe professional groups working in the same manner if time and resources allow.

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Checklist

Interviews

Observations

Que Cards / Outline

Que Cards / Outline

Notebook

Notebook

Pen / Pencil

Pen / Pencil

Sketch Pad

Sketch Pad

Laptop (web cam)

Laptop (web cam)

Laptop Charger

Laptop Charger

Still Camera

Still Camera

Professional Attire

Casual Attire

Directions

Snacks / Water

Contact Information

Release Forms

Snacks / Water

Incentives

Release Forms

Surveys

Data Analysis

Google Form

Microsoft Word

Email

Microsoft Excel

Microsoft Word

Microsoft PowerPoint Final Cut Pro PhotoShop

Visuals

Milestones

Illustrator

2-by-2s

Sketch Pad

Ecosystems

Pens / Pencils

Quotes

White Board

Interview Profiles

Markers

October 28

Survey Questions Developed

October 28

Interviews Scheduled

October 28

Interview Questions Developed

October 29

Surveys Dispersed

November 4

Interviews Completed

November 4

Group Observations Completed

November 7

Transcription of Interviews

November 7

Visuals/Diagrams of Findings

November 7

Research Summary - Draft

November 11

Research Summary - Final Report

November 18

Research Summary - Presentation

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