Creative Remote Collaboration

Copyright © 2010 by IQ Agency
{CREATIVE}REMOTE
COLLABORATION
Tips and tricks for remote collaboration in the
creative industry.

JENIFERVANDAGRIFF
EXPERIENCE ARCHITECT
Email & Facetime:
jenifer.vandagriff@iqagency.com
Desk:
212.699.6488
Aim:
javandagriff
Skype:
jvandagriff
Twitter:
@jeniferv
2

BEING CREATIVE IN REMOTE COLLABORATION
Remote 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?
3

CREATIVESPECIFICITIESINCOLLABORATION
• 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
4

Copyright © 2010 by IQ Agency 5
SameTime
Synchronous
DifferentTime
Asynchronous
DifferentPlace
Remote
SamePlace
Colocated
RemoteInteractions
video conferencing, instance messaging, chats/
MUDs/virtual worlds, shared screens, multi-user
editors, ...
Communication+Coordination
email, bulletin boards, blogs, asynchronous
conferencing, group calendars, workflow, version
control, wikis, ...
ContinuousTask
team rooms, large public display, shift work
groupware, project management
FacetoFaceInteractions
decision rooms, single display groupware, shared
table, wall displays, roomware, ...
Time/SpaceGroupware
Matrix

REMOTECOLLABORATIONREQUIRES
RECIPROCITYINADOPTIONOFTOOLS
ANDPRACTICESBETWEENTHE
MOTHERSHIPANDSATELLITEOFFICES

HAVEYOURTOOLSLOCKED&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
7

AFEWOFTHETOOLSWEUSEINTHEOFFICE
IQ Tools
• iChat
• Skype
• Basecamp
• Fuze
• Server
• Approvals Site
8

INCLUDEREMOTECOLLABORATIONTOOL
ACCOUNTSINYOURVCARD
• Include remote collaboration accounts in your vCard
• Collect everyones vCards at the start of a project and PING them as a test run...

ALLTHESMALLTHINGS...THATGOALONGWAY
• 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
10

UPYOURAUDIOQUALITY
• 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.
11

SIGNINANDSTAYIN.
• 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
12

{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

SOMEEXPERTSSUGGEST2/3OFOUR
COMMUNICATIONISNONVERBAL
16
55%
FACIAL
EXPRESSION
38%
VOCAL
INTONATION
07%
WORDS
*Percent of communication sent, by type.

FACETIMEALLTHETIME.
• 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
17

SCREENSHARE
ISYOURFRIEND

{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

SCREENSHARINGISYOURFRIEND.
• 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
23

THEWHITEBOARDISTHE
DINNERTABLEOFDESIGN

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

USEYOURCOMPUTERASAWHITEBOARD
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!
28

SCREENSHAREYOURWHITEBOARD
• 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
29

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

ROBUSTREMOTECOLLABORATIONTOOLS
FUZE,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!)
31

BEONTHESAMEVERSIONOFVERSION
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
32

HOWREMOTECOLLABORATIONCANHELP
STREAMLINECOLLOCATIONHABITS
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.
33

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

THANKYOU
ATLANTA,NORTHCAROLINA,
NEWYORK!

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