Step 2: Form a Collaboratory Hypothesis

[#1]

Hello Collaboratory Scientists!

Welcome to Collaboratory Month 🧬

The second step in the Collaboratory method is to form a hypothesis. A hypothesis is a possible explanation to a question. (If you haven't already, formulate a question on the Step 1 post). Remember, your hypothesis must be testable and measurable.

Example: Perhaps, you want to test an experiment about whether having more meetings results in more efficient collaboration.

A good question to begin with might be: ”Does having more meetings result in a project being finished more quickly?"

A good hypothesis might be: If we decrease time spent meeting by 25%, the project will still be finished in the same time.

Remember - this experiment is all about finding the most efficient teamwork formula. Try to come up with questions about Collaboration topics like:

• Hybrid teams
• Breaking down information silos 
• Collaboration tools
• Meeting cadence/style
• Communication tools/styles

• Asynchronous collaboration

• Cross-functional collaboration 

• Internal vs. external collaboration 

• Create your own! 

We'll award the Collaboratory badge to all Community members who ask a Collaboratory question :) Keep an eye on the main Collaboratory post to discover next steps!  

[Marjorie]

Question: Does using a collaboration tool (Confluence) for requirements will reduce our meetings?

Hypothesis:  If we use Confluence to elicit our initial requirements we can reduce our meetings by 20%

[Amanda Barber]

Does time-boxing individuals' standup discussions to 1 minute provide more time for and aid in facilitating collaboration following the traditional mentions of work done, work to do and blockers?

Hypothesis: By limiting time for each individual response and providing more collaborative questions around the JIRA board and/or upcoming work, the standup will evolve into a more collaborative time.

[Matthias Spaeth]

Question: Too many meetings end up with no result, should we nominate a "head of meeting" to obligate him to write down a agenda, control the progress of a meeting, assign tasks to meeting mebers only and have the last word on finding decision between quarreling parties?

Hypothesis: The "head of meeting" gives more structure, he saves time for all participants and helps to find a decision. We can reduce meeting time by up to 30% and 50% more meetings end up with a decision.

[Kishan Sharma]

Question - How do we create single source of truth for better collaboration with cross functional teams ?

Hypothesis - Considering the complexity of the project, select the right collaboration tool and create a dashboard in a shared space where cross-functional teams can visualize the work in progress, check status, set goals - deadlines and assign them to appropriate teams for actions. 

[Kavya S]

Question - How can we bring accountability for content that was created out of collaboration? 

Hypothesis - Irrespective of the number of collaborators, clear accountability ensures good content health and bolsters confidence in content accuracy

[Tamanna Godara]

Question: How do we make sure that we get timely feedback and move to the next steps?

Hypothesis: If we at mention all the collaborators and define DACI for the project it should be able to deliver the required outcomes.

[Jimmy Seddon]

Question: Is it more efficient to use a time-boxed meeting cadence or asynchronous communication to keep team members informed about what everyone is working on?

Hypothesis: If we use slack for daily status updates, we will reduce the amount of time wasted while people get distracted by tangent conversations/questions that aren't relevant to the entire team as those questions can be discussed in threads.

[said kouzibry]

Question : Does encouraging team members to present the new tools and techniques they use to the rest of the team bring more opportunity for collaboration ?

Hypothesis : If each person discovers a new tool or technique each week in a team of 5 people, in 4 weeks, we will have 5 team members with 20 skills each instead of 4 skills each, which will allow them to understand each other's work and help more efficiently, offering more opportunities for successful collaboration.

[Sharon Tan]

Question: Would making documentation/meeting notes more beautiful and functional encourage your team to collaborate on that page more?

Hypothesis: A page containing a balance of graphics, structure, engaging content, and purpose would encourage users to contribute to that page more than the same content without these elements. 

[Brant Schroeder]

Question: What is the best way to get these team members engaged and using the products to benefit the whole team?

Hypothesis: Working with their managers to ensure that proper expectations are set should help improve participation.  Positively encouraging and reminding the team members to participate and reinforcing good behavior through positive feedback should improve product use.

[javodev]

Question: How long does it take to demonstrate Confluence's effectiveness to CEOs? Any strategy?

Hypothesis: If we use Confluence as documentation, progress report and user manual repository, the PO can show it on virtual meetings. In about 4 to 6 months, CEOs will be amazed for the availability of the documents and the work done, deciding to invest in software.

[Suvradip Paul]

Question: Is it a good practice to take and circulate meeting notes during the meeting(as part of meeting) or is it a better approach to circulate after the meeting is over ? 

Hypothesis:  We can use Confluence and create a place holder before the meeting with the date and relevant agenda. Followed by, we can draft the meeting notes and action items in that template and assign action items tagging relevant people. Now if the agenda, meeting notes and action items are limited can be easily managed with in meeting duration then the confluence placeholder ca be published during the meeting else it should be done with in a short interval and preferably the same day. 

[Mirek]

Questions: What is the most productive time of a day and maybe there is even a specific day in a week to get most of a team meeting that would fully engage everyone?

Hypothesis: Using Confluence before the meeting might improve productivity on a meetings no matter which time of day or day it is.

[Svenja Lorenzen]

❓ Question: To what extent does using the comment function/inline-comment function on a page reduce communication/collusion in chats.

💭 Hypothesis: In teams that use the comment function/inline-comment function on a page, fewer Slack/Teams messages are written.