SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Success Factors for Collaboratories Gary M. Olson Collaboratory for Research on Electronic Work School of Information University of Michigan

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Background UM experience – roughly a dozen collaboratory projects –Some examples UARC/SPARC – upper atmospheric physics Great Lakes CFAR – HIV/AIDS research NeesGrid – earthquake engineering Science of Collaboratories Project

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Science of Collaboratories Goals –Comparative analysis of collaboratory projects –Extraction of general principles and design methods Apply and test with new emerging projects –Creation of Collaboratory Knowledge Base Methods –Data base of collaboratories Collaboratories at a Glance (more than 80 so far) In-depth studies (4 completed, up to 20 as goal) –Invitational workshops 3 held so far –Web site:

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Definition A collaboratory is –An organizational entity –That links a community of individuals –Working at a distance –On common problems or tasks…

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Definition …that contains –Electronic tools that support –Rich and recurring human interaction and –Provides common access to resources, including information and instrumentation, needed to engage in the problems or tasks.

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Collaboratory Digital Libraries, E-Pub access to information access to facilities people-to-people Communication, Groupware Services Distributed, media-rich information technology Interaction with the Physical World

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Kinds of Collaboratories Research focus –Distributed Research Center –Shared instrumentation –Community Data Systems Practice focus –Virtual Community of Practice –Virtual learning community –Expert consultation

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Distributed Research Center Functions like a University research center, but at a distance. Project is unified by a topic area of interest, and includes a number of joint projects in that area. Most communication human-human No well specified product as the focus Alliance for Cell Signaling

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Shared Instrument Increases access to a scientific instrument Often remote access to an expensive instrument Often supplemented with other technology to support communication Keck observatory

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Community Data System Information resource that is created, maintained, or improved by a distributed community Information is semi-public, of wide interest. Cell signaling molecule pages

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Virtual Community of Practice A network of individuals who share a research area and communicate about it online Share news of professional interest, advice, techniques. Not focused on joint projects Ocean US

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Virtual Learning Community Main focus is on increasing the knowledge of the participants –Not to do original research Can be inservice or professional development Ecological Circuitry Laboratory

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Expert Consultation Provides increased access to an expert or set of experts The flow of information is mainly one way, rather than two way as in a distributed center TeleInViVo

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Key

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Distributed Center

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Shared Instrument

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Community Data System

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Virtual Community of Practice

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Virtual Learning Community

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Expert Consultation

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Success Factors Success is a complex concept (73 different ideas) –Use of tools (10) –Software technology (3) –Direct effects on science (33) –Science careers (3) –Effects on learning, science education (12) –Inspiration for other collaboratories (3) –Learning about collaboratories (2) –Effects on funding, public perception (7)

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Success Factors Hard to measure many of these kinds of success –Projects poorly documented –Goals better documented than outcomes –What were the “real” outcomes?

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Lessons Learned Readiness –Collaboration readiness –Infrastructure readiness –Collaboration technology readiness Funding models

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Collaboration Readiness Some disciplines, specialties, or organizations naturally share, others do not What are the incentives for sharing? Mechanisms for sharing –Informal: Trust –Formal: Covenants, rules of the road

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Collaboratories at Risk Collaborations that arise for exogenous reasons –Funding draw –Funder mandate Competition stronger than cooperation –Rivalries – individual or organizational

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Infrastructure Readiness Technical –Networking –Services –Homogeneity vs. heterogeneity E.g., Wintel vs Mac vs Unix Social –Technical support –Administrative control of it

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Collaboration Technology Readiness attachments using repositories calendaring creating repositories Need training in hand-off collaboration technologies AND synchronous collaboration how to collaborate

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Funding Models How does the money flow? What are its sources? Who has control of it? Conjecture – this will be another success factor

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Two Examples

SCHOOL OF INFORMATION UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN What Brings Success? It’s not just the technology Social and organizational factors surrounding the selection, deployment, and use of technology will be key