{"id":680,"date":"2020-05-11T07:45:21","date_gmt":"2020-05-11T14:45:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/?page_id=680"},"modified":"2020-05-11T07:50:54","modified_gmt":"2020-05-11T14:50:54","slug":"the-virtual-workspace-architects-guide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/?page_id=680","title":{"rendered":"The Virtual Workspace Architect&#8217;s Guide"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Now that we\u2019ve wrapped our brains around how to meet virtually, we need to figure out how to collaborate remotely, which is an entirely different thing.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">A few years ago while I was at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thegrove.com\/\">The Grove<\/a>, I worked on a manuscript for an encyclopedic guide to remote collaboration and teaming. In the end, nothing came of that project, but I&#8217;d like to share with you these five unpublished chapters that help explain how to set up a virtual workspace for remote teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It&#8217;s called <em>The Virtual Workspace Architect&#8217;s Guide: How to Design and Build a Workspace to Support Remote Collaboration for Your Team.<\/em> It&#8217;s free to download (links below) and I hope you find it useful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"640\" height=\"427\" src=\"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pencil-and-chart-640x427.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-681\" srcset=\"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pencil-and-chart-640x427.jpg 640w, https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pencil-and-chart-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/pencil-and-chart.jpg 720w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><figcaption>Photo by&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/@sxoxm?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Sven Mieke<\/a>&nbsp;on&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/unsplash.com\/s\/photos\/blueprint?utm_source=unsplash&amp;utm_medium=referral&amp;utm_content=creditCopyText\">Unsplash<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What&#8217;s inside?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This guide shows you how to bring your team together to create a virtual workspace that supports remote collaboration. It covers:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>the essential nature of a workspace designed to support remote collaboration<\/li><li>the set of universal, non-negotiable workspace requirements<\/li><li>how to identify your team&#8217;s unique preferences and requirements for tools that support collaborative work<\/li><li>how to create a plan that involves the whole team in deciding what&#8217;s most important<\/li><li>how to select and introduce tools that stick <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When you have worked through the guide, you will have a complete plan for action, including a design for a supportive virtual workspace that will facilitate remote collaboration and a list of steps for creating it with your team. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Who&#8217;s it for?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Information professionals who have suddenly found themselves working remotely without a platform or structure in place to support them.<\/li><li>Those of us who are suddenly working from home when we were used to working with our team in an office.<\/li><li>Those who are taking up new types of remote work, because what we used to do isn\u2019t possible at the moment.<\/li><li>Anyone who is feeling that they\u2019ve maybe got the hang of meeting remotely, but they&#8217;re still aware of a painful lack of collaboration and connection with their team.<\/li><li>People who are joining a team for the first time and have to figure out how to onboard remotely.<\/li><li>The teammates and managers of new hires, who want the new person to feel welcome and come up to speed quickly, but aren\u2019t sure how to make that happen in the distributed environment they now find themselves inhabiting. <\/li><li>Consultants who will now be providing their services remotely and who need to adopt collaborative tools to serve their clients.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It\u2019s probably less useful for established remote teams in big organizations that already have virtual workspace tools in place, though those folks might pick up a tip or two as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Table of Contents<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Chapter 1. The Workspace Your Team Deserves<\/strong> <br>\u2022 A Virtual Workspace is More than a Meeting Room <br>\u2022 Essential Collaboration Processes <br>\u2022 The Non-Negotiable Workspace Requirements <br>\u2022 A Phased Approach to Building Your Workspace <br><br><strong>Chapter 2. Complete Your Team\u2019s Profile (Phase 1) <\/strong><br>\u2022 Configurations for Collaborative Work <br>\u2022 Which collaborative configurations does your team use? <br>\u2022 Pulling Your Team\u2019s Profile Together <br><br><strong>Chapter 3. Get Ready for Change (Phase 2) <\/strong><br>\u2022 Your Plan, Your Vision, Your Strategy <br>\u2022 When\u2014and How\u2014to Change a Key Tool <br>\u2022 A Strategy for Dealing with Tool Change <br><br><strong>Chapter 4. Design Your Ideal Blueprint (Phase 3)<\/strong> <br>\u2022 Mapping Your Team\u2019s Unique Workspace <br>\u2022 Three Sample Blueprints <br><br><strong>Chapter 5. Make Your Workspace Work for You (Phase 4) <\/strong><br>\u2022 Adding a Tool to Your Workspace <br>\u2022 Creating a Team Knowledge Base <br>\u2022 Streamlining with Templates <br>\u2022 Staying Current with the Technology <br>\u2022 Onboarding Team Members <br>\u2022 Activity: Team Tools Scavenger Hunt <br>\u2022 Activity: Externalize Expertise <br>\u2022 What\u2019s Next for the Virtual Workspace? <br><br><strong>Bibliography<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Download the Guide and Related Tools<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">No need to give me your email, no sign up form, no charge. Go forth and collaborate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a  data-e-Disable-Page-Transition=\"true\" class=\"download-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net?download=693&amp;tmstv=1780154994\" rel=\"nofollow\" id=\"download-link-693\" data-redirect=\"false\" >\n\tThe Virtual Workspace Architect's Guide (PDF, 38 pages)\t(7740 downloads\t)\n<\/a>\n<\/li><li><a  data-e-Disable-Page-Transition=\"true\" class=\"download-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net?download=683&amp;tmstv=1780154994\" rel=\"nofollow\" id=\"download-link-683\" data-redirect=\"false\" >\n\tWorkspace Blueprint Template (PowerPoint)\t(5933 downloads\t)\n<\/a>\n <\/li><li><a  data-e-Disable-Page-Transition=\"true\" class=\"download-link\" title=\"\" href=\"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net?download=689&amp;tmstv=1780154994\" rel=\"nofollow\" id=\"download-link-689\" data-redirect=\"false\" >\n\tTeam Tools Scavenger Hunt Template (PowerPoint)\t(5897 downloads\t)\n<\/a>\n<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Helpful Resources and Templates<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This is by no means an exhaustive list &#8212; simply some helpful ones that I came across while working on the Guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><a href=\"https:\/\/online-collaboration-tools.zeef.com\/robin.good\">Collaboration tools list by Robin Good<\/a> &#8211; a curated list of over 600 tools for collaboration, organized by type<\/li><li>Miro <a href=\"https:\/\/miro.com\/templates\/\">template gallery<\/a><\/li><li>Smartsheet <a href=\"https:\/\/www.smartsheet.com\/marketplace\/template-gallery\">template gallery<\/a><\/li><li>Mural <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mural.co\/templates\">template gallery<\/a><\/li><li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.holgernilspohl.com\/blog\/design-sprint-roadmap\">Design Sprint Roadmap<\/a> (by Holger Nils Pohl) shown in the guide<\/li><li><a href=\"http:\/\/tools.robingood.com\/\">T5 by Robin Good<\/a> &#8211; a curated list of free or nearly free tools for communication professionals (includes some collaborative tools)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Have Feedback?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">I&#8217;d love to hear what you think! Drop me a note (rachel at digitalfacilitation dot net) to say what worked, what didn&#8217;t, and any suggestions you have for the next version. Thanks for taking a look.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Now that we\u2019ve wrapped our brains around how to meet virtually, we need to figure out how to collaborate remotely, which is an entirely different thing. A few years ago while I was at The Grove, I worked on a &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/?page_id=680\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":681,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-680","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/P3gPVL-aY","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=680"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":703,"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/680\/revisions\/703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/681"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/digitalfacilitation.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=680"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}