Space Details
Key: thecampaigncompany
Name: thecampaigncompany
Description:
Creator (Creation Date): admin (Feb 21, 2007)
Last Modifier (Mod. Date): admin (Mar 02, 2007)
Available Pages
• Improving how we work
• How we build knowledge
• How we communicate with each other
• How we manage projects
• Working with clients
Document generated by Confluence on Mar 11, 2007 16:33 Page 1

Improving how we work
This page last changed on Mar 09, 2007 by ben@thecampaigncompany.co.uk .
Improving how we work at The Campaign
Company
An introduction to Social Software - This article is interesting but might be a bit impenertable.. feel free
to skip it we'll cover this in the meeting on monday.
Areas of how we work:
Communication and collaboration with clients
How we communicate with each other
How we build knowledge
How we manage projects
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How we build knowledge
This page last changed on Mar 09, 2007 by ben@thecampaigncompany.co.uk .
How we build knowledge
Current
Currently projects are discussed and expertise shared in 'brain showers', e-mail threads and phone
conversations
Limitations of this approach
• Much of the experience and knowledge gained through research and project work isn't captured is
lost
• The information which is captured is difficult to find and access
• Our knowledge and expertise isn't well demonstrated to the outside world
Alternatives
Project wikis - Back here again, project wikis would capture the discussions and ideas that arise in
project work. That knowledge would be accessible and searchable
Case study - Ben learns about recycling
First a confession when Anna passed the Wakefield project to me I didn't know much about re-cycling. So
what's the first thing to do I think? Find out what internal knowledge there is I can tap into. Well Anna
mentioned the EC1 project so clearly thats my first point of call, I phone Nick, he tells me some useful
stuff and points me too the server where I find some documents. It's a bit tricky to identify the relevant
(general) docs so I spend a while sifting, having found the few docs I thing will help I read them, much of
the docs isn't relevant to me. At the end of this process I've gained (patchy) knowledge of one relevant
TCC project taken up a fair bit of my time and some of Nics.
Imagine this scenario if all the TCC projects were on wikis, I log in, type 'recycling' in a search field in a
few seconds all TCC documents, blog entries and on-line conversations which mention recycling are
returned. I've got a far more comprehensive picture of TCC experience and knowledge of recycling in a
fraction of the time.
Any old wiki! - They don't have to be for project work, they could be for something internal (like this
one), or a conference report back a summery of an interesting report. All of this captures easily
accessible knowledge
Social Bookmarking - Bookmarks are an important source of knowledge, however they are hidden
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away on each persons browser, social bookmarking simply a way of sharing bookmarks... sounds simple
but is surprisingly effective
Ben's bookmarks on Delicious
Imagine I need to know about a particular foundation trust, rather than googling and getting 100,000
hits, some useful some not, I can search the shared bookmarks of everybody in TCC and their
accumulated bookmarking over years of working with trusts.
RSS Feeds - A simple way of seeing whats new on a given web site
So at the moment some people have feeds, we recieve google alerts in to our inboxs. A company wide
library of feeds, people could pick the ones they were interested in and aggregate them so that all the
information was arriving in one accessable flow. I'd suggest that this replace google alerts, unclutting
inboxs.
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How we communicate with each other
This page last changed on Feb 25, 2007 by ben@thecampaigncompany.co.uk .
How we communicate with each other
What we do now
Talking on land lines and mobiles, in meetings and in e-mails
Limitations of this way of working
• Take time
• Doesn't allow multi tasking
Alternatives
Instant Messaging (i.e. MSN or Skype)
Some benefits:
• Easy to hold multiple conversations
• Free
• Allows transfere of files
• Doesn't take up other peoples time tranfering calls
Voice over IP (Making phone calls over the internet, Skype)
Some benefits:
• Free
• Don't have to do tiresome dialing!
• Did I mention it's free
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How we manage projects
This page last changed on Mar 09, 2007 by ben@thecampaigncompany.co.uk .
How we manage projects
What we do now
• Documents stored on the server
• GANTT charts in excel
• Personal to do lists
• Excel time sheets
Limitations of this approach
• Poor accessibility of informaton
• Poor document control
• Confusing
Alternatives
Again, again with the Project Wikis
• Excel sheets can be embedded in a wiki, so people can still use that tool but it'd be more accessible
• To do lists can be added to Project spaces, these can then be shared... for example when Hannah
handed over B&D to me on Friday she wouldn't have had to write me an e-mail of outstanding jobs
it would have been apparent from the Project Wiki
• Time sheets and Expenses forms could be on wikis, avoiding having to send them by e-mail
Document generated by Confluence on Mar 11, 2007 16:33 Page 6

Working with clients
This page last changed on Mar 09, 2007 by ben@thecampaigncompany.co.uk .
Communication and collaboration with clients
How things are now
We use phone calls, e-mails and meetings to develop ideas with clients. We have tried offering online
resources to clients inc YouTube and MySpace with limited success.
Limitations of this way of working
• These conversations are difficult to access for all the people at TCC or the client who may have
contributions to make
• It's difficult to trace decisions or conversations
• It results in alot of unfiltered e-mail traffic
• Most of the ideas and dialogs are never recorded (those in meetings and on the phone) and those
on e-mail are difficult to find or store
Alternative approaches
Project Wikis - You're looking at one!... simple a online space (web page) with an easy to use interface
and can be edited by us or the client
Some benefits:
• Can be branded however we want i.e. one could be added to the NDC network to discuss a
particular project or issue and it could have NDC network branding
• We can choose what each Wiki can do depending on the project. So for the Maidestone Youth Board
we might create a simple Wiki were people could use a forum to discuss ideas and upload and
download bits of video.
• All ideas, conversations, documents, brainstorms, succeses, feedback etc etc about a project would
be gathered in one place
• All of the information would be easily and quickly accessible from anywhere in the world (with a
internet connection of course)
• Less e-mails
• Less meetings
• Project status could be checked on mobile phones (via RSS feeds on WAP phones)
• Clients would have more immediate feedback and a greater sense of ownership of the projec
Case study - The NDC Network
The NDC network is a great example of a network of people with a set of common interests who could
benefit from having a an on-line space to communicate, collaberate and network. A forum for dicussing
ideas, a blog for more soap box stuff, a library of documents could all easily be offered. With a wiki this
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would differ to what we currently offer in several key ways. It'd be easy to use and add stuff (currently
notices and docs have to e-mail to TCC), it'd be owned by the NDC network, they could add content,
change the structure as they saw fit,NDC chairs and chief execs could subscribe to an RSS feed of the site
enaling them to see when things were added without having to check the site. Even if this functionality
wasn't used at least TCC would be providing a user friendly, upto date platform.
Case study - Maidestone Youth Board
The youth board are developing a DVD. With a project wiki we could easily provide them with a platform
to discuss ideas, upload video and documents. Note that even when a system like this is being used
exclusively by the client, we still capture their knowledge, we end up with a great example which can
easily be shown to clients of how we are using technology to facilitate interesting organisations and
exciting projects.
Another point - The Northern Office
Soon to consist of three people working in an actual office. If project documents are attached to a project
wiki, if the brainstorming and conversations about a project are happening on that wiki then it will be far
easier for all the people not in the Croyden office to fully engage in that process. We won't be accessing
documents and e-mails through a ropey 'Remote Desktop connection'. There will be less meetings for us
to miss beacuse they're in London.
Comments
Look see you can leave`comments against wiki pages too....
Posted by ben@thecampaigncompany.co.uk at Feb 23, 2007.
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Document generated by Confluence on Mar 11, 2007 16:33 Page 8