Looking Back at the Virtual Collaboration Project

Final Blog Post

This was my first time working with a virtual team, and, thankfully, it was a positive experience. We engaged in socioemotional communication from the outset and throughout the process, as advised by Flammia Et Al (2016), and this helped to build trust, and contributed to a positive working relationship. In general, the team was eager to work harmoniously and to do the best job possible. However, I do feel that at times that there were too many people on the team for the amount of work to be done. For example, some tasks required only two or three people, which enabled some team members to disappear into the background. I learned a lot about group dynamics from the project. It is interesting to see how leaders emerge, and how others are more comfortable to follow. I also liked seeing how other people tackle assignments and I definitely learned from their methods. Overall, the team worked well together, and I would definitely like to collaborate with a virtual team again.

Skills I developed From This Project

• Facilitation skills: As the team leader, I needed to facilitate virtual meetings. This involved planning the agenda, arranging suitable times to meet, ensuring that everyone is heard and that a consensus is reached, and occasionally writing the minutes of the meeting. As the leader, I tried to make sure the team stayed focused on the agenda and that all discussions reached a conclusion with which the whole team was happy.
• Negotiation skills: Interestingly, I interviewed an instructional designer recently and they identified this as a very important skill in their job. Negotiation skills came into play in the collaborative project when there was a difference in opinion. For example, if I was unhappy with the wording of a particular sentence, and somebody else was reluctant to change it, we would have to discuss the issue professionally with each other, and clearly justify our points of view.
• Project management skills: This project was all about project management. The assignment was not difficult and could easily have been carried out by one person. However, the goal was to collaborate virtually. This meant listing the tasks to be done and dividing them among the team, according to everyone’s skills and talents. I also created a schedule to ensure that these tasks were completed in a timely manner, thus meeting our deadlines. I also would check in with different team members to assess their progress and offer assistance, if needed. I strived to keep the team updated about the project and elicit their feedback on the document.

Team Leadership

We decided to have a leader in each university. This made sense for the University of Limerick faction as there were five in the group. However, there were only two students from Paris and two from Florida, so I think that having a leader from those universities was not entirely necessary. As mentioned above, I was the team leader/project manager. I acted as a facilitator for meetings and ensured that the project was progressing according to the schedule. I think it was important to have someone in this role as meetings can get derailed if somebody is not keeping track of the agenda. As well as that, I took responsibility for the flow of the project, ensuring that we kept moving forward with the work, that everyone had a role, and that everyone was kept informed. 

Project Management Tools

The tools we used were not exactly project management tools, but they enabled us to communicate and work collaboratively on the document.

We used:

• Slack to communicate with eachother, share files, and hold virtual meetings.
• Google Drive to save drafts and images, where the whole team could access them.
• Google Docs to write and edit the document.

Collaboration Between Writers and Translators

We collaborated with the translators from the beginning of the project. The translators wanted to be able to access the documents throughout the writing phase so that they could highlight any localisation or translation issues from an early stage. Therefore, the document was uploaded regularly to a ‘Working Documents’ folder in Google Drive.

We edited the document on Google Docs. Everyone, including the translators, had access to the document as it was edited. The translators monitored our progress and notified us if they saw any problems with the writing.

We set up a translation channel in Slack and used this for the translation phase. Our translators identified some localisation issues at this stage and made suggestions on how to improve the document.

Scope for Creativity

A team member from Florida specialises in graphics, and therefore she had the most scope to work creatively. We collectively identified where graphics would be needed and she created them using Microsoft Word, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Reader. We evaluated the graphics and she made adjustments, where necessary.

The Most Valuable Things I Learned From This Project

• On a practical level, I learned how to use Google Forms, Google Docs, and Slack. I had not used these previously and can definitely see myself using them again in the future.  
• I learned that it is important to not be sensitive or precious about your work when working as part of a team. When writing, it is important to remember that other team members may have a different style. Additionally, editors will see issues in your work that you may not have noticed. Edits should not be taken personally; they are an essential part of the writing process. To add to this point, I learned to keep an open mind to everyone’s point of view.
• Virtual project management is a valuable skill I learned from this project. I had been part of group projects before in my undergraduate degree, but this is my first time virtually working with a group. I was amazed at how it was possible to build a group dynamic and work ethic through instant messaging.

What I Would Do Differently

• If I was to do this project again, I would still use Slack, but I would also have added Trello. Trello is a project management tool and it helps teams to list tasks, and monitor their progress. This may have been clearer than Slack, as very often ‘to do’ lists would get lost in conversations on Slack.
• I would also assign a head editor to make final calls on edits. We had a number of editors, and we worked very well together. However, the editing phase took a long time, because every time we looked at the document, we would tweak something. If I was to do the editing phase again, I would divide the document between two sub-editors, and give them a deadline by which they have to submit it to the head-editor. The head-editor would have the final say on the document and would ensure there was consistency throughout the document.
• Now with some experience of CSS and XML, I would create a more defined style guide before the writing begins. This would spare time for the writers and editors.

My Motivations During This Project

Of course, getting a good grade is always a motivating factor; however, as project manager, I felt a weight of responsibility to guide the team, keep a harmonious working relationship, and drive the project forward. I was motivated to make sure everyone felt included, yet not overworked. I was conscious of the schedule at all times and felt responsible for the team meeting deadlines, and producing a high-standard document. I also wanted to have a positive experience of virtual teamwork, as it may be part of my future career. I was eager to learn from others and o see how my college experience compared to, not just those in Florida or Paris, but my fellow students who are taking the online or part-time MATCEL route.

This project made me realise that there are so many ways to carry out the same assignment. If I was to do this assignment on my own, my process would be very different to other people in my group. This fascinated me because nobody’s method was wrong and I’m sure that whichever methods we used would have produced a good document. Their contributions and work ethic is sure to inform my way of working in future.

References

Flammia, M., Cleary, Y. and Slattery, D. (2016) Virtual teams in higher education, Charlotte, NC: Information Age Publishing.

Editing, Testing, & Shoulders to Cry On

The final week of our collaborative project has seen some final edits, our document put to the test, and the high emotions of a group juggling deadlines.

As I mentioned in my post about editing, it doesn’t matter how many times we look at our document, we will always find something we would like to tweak. At this stage of the project, editing comes with the added complication of needing to match the English document with the corresponding French document. In other words, if we spot something in the English version that we are not happy with, we must change it in the English document and ensure that the same change is made to the French version. All edits and changes need to be made very clear and editors need to confirm that both documents have been tweaked in the same manner. One team member has made this process very easy by clearly listing the changes made to the English document and crossing these changes off the list as they are changed in the French document.

One of our editors asked a friend this week to use the document. Their friend had never used Google Forms before and tried to follow the instructions.  They chatted informally about the document and it was interesting to see what aspects of the instructions caused confusion. Even with nine pairs of eyes reading and revising the document over the last few weeks, this person was able to point out some details that lacked clarity. Some of these ambiguities should have been obvious to us. However, we have become too close to the document which makes it difficult for us to put ourselves in the user’s shoes. Showing the document to a fresh pair of eyes proved invaluable.

With a number of other deadlines looming, our Team 6 Slack account has become something of a support group. While it is primarily used to discuss and work on the team project, Slack has provided a forum for us to vent about juggling college with our daily lives. Although we have such varied backgrounds, ranging from those in their early 20s studying for an undergraduate degree to those working full-time with a family to look after, we all feel like we are in the same boat. Discussing the pressure we feel, helps us through, and it also leads to the sharing of fantastic ideas.

Dare I say it, I may even miss logging on to Slack when the project is over.

A Technological Can of Worms

‘No such thing as a simple task’. This quote from one of my team mates sums up the the virtual collaboration project for me. I don’t think it is a negative comment but an expression of how much is being learned from the project.

We are in the final weeks of this assignment and the process has been rich in learning experiences. Even when you think you are practically finished, a few minor adjustments can open a can of worms. On this occasion, technological worms are emerging.

We decided to make some basic changes to line spacing, and to add page numbers and a table of contents; typical features you may leave to the end of an assignment.

However, in a virtual collaboration project, where a number of different tools and technologies are in use, there is no such thing as a simple task. A team member took on the task of making these adjustments and additions, and everything looked fine when she had saved it on her laptop. She was shocked to see, however, that the document had a totally different appearance when uploaded to our Google Drive. The page numbers weren’t right, the TOC had not converted to Google Docs correctly, and graphics had moved to the wrong place. This meant that some of the graphics did not make sense in their new locations and there were arrows pointing to the wrong features.

Someone suggested we make the changes in Google Docs instead. This also caused problems. Although Google Docs is a very useful tool for collaborating on a document, it lacks some of the features available in Microsoft Word. Google Docs limits the user to starting page numbering on the first or second page. This was not suitable for our document as we wished to use Roman numerals on our preliminary pages and start the page numbering on the first page of the instructions (which happens to be page 4).

This problem is not solved yet. For the final stages of the project, we may have to avoid using Google Docs, and resort to uploading each new draft as a PDF to ensure no surprise changes occur in the document. This will make collaborative work a little less efficient and a bit slower. It might mean that the team will have to make suggestions through Slack alone instead of comments in Google Docs, and one team member will be assigned the task of making all the necessary edits. This solution may be awkward but hopefully it will keep the technological worms at bay.

Editing: What I have learned so far

Before this project, I would not have known what an editor did. I knew they read articles, documents, and novels, and made corrections or adjustments, but I couldn’t understand how that was a full-time job.

My brother was a journalist. While working with a newspaper, he would keep his eyes and ears open for a story. He would go to the courthouse. He would telephone the guards. He would interview people involved in current affairs. When all of this information was gathered he would write numerous articles in a day, and then send them to the editor.

I could see how my brother was putting down the day, gathering information and writing. I had difficulty understanding what the editor was doing all day while this writing was happening. Were they sitting in their office waiting for the articles to arrive in? Did they even really need to change anything in the articles? My brother has a master in journalism and is an excellent writer. Did the editor just get paid to read the paper before anyone else?

The tables, however, have well and truly turned. We are in the editing phase of our virtual project. To the readers of last week’s blog, this statement may feel like déjá vu. Last week we were also in the editing phase of our virtual project. A week has passed and I now understand how an editor spends their time.

As mentioned last week, we were struggling to come up with a system that would enable us to edit as a team. We decided to put the text into Google Docs and put our thoughts into comments. If we agree or disagree with someone’s comment, we reply ‘agree’ and resolve the comment, or ‘disagree’ and add an alternative suggestion.

With a team of three editors, this has actually been going well. We have, for the most part, been in agreement about certain changes and cuts. The writers decided to keep their distance from the document during the editing phase. This is a decision I would highly recommend in a project like this. The writers did a fantastic job. They had spent a lot of time on their first and second draft, and I know if I was in their position, I would not enjoy watching a group of editors dissect my work. It also gave the editors the freedom to express their opinion without feeling like they were stepping on any toes.

Even though our editing process has worked for us, it is still not an ideal system.

1. It is time consuming.

That is evident in the fact that over a week later we are still editing a relatively short document. When we make a suggestion, we must wait to hear back from the other editors before making the change. The positive side of this is that it ensures that the edits are really well thought out. However, it makes the process seem never-ending.

  2. It is difficult to know when to stop.

I find that every time I look at the document, I think of something that I would change, omit, or add. I mentioned this to the group and they all felt the same. We reintroduced the writers to the document yesterday and even after all of our editing, a new pair of eyes saw issues that we did not see. I think knowing when to stop must be one of the skills of a good editor.

Our system has its pros and cons: it takes time but we are producing a document with which everyone is happy. I’m sure this isn’t the last time each of us will be involved in the editing of a document. I was reading some blogs to see what advice other writers have for the editing process. One blog I found, called A Writer’s Path (https://wordpress.com/read/blogs/72085838/posts/95226), gave two helpful pieces of advice with regard to editing, and I would apply these tips in the future.

1. The blog advises proper preparation before editing.

We did prepare and devise a system prior to editing. However, this blog recommends formulating a strategy and having one particular aspect to work on during each rewrite. This got me thinking that maybe instead of looking at the document as a whole during each rewrite, we may have been better off looking at sections of the text, or focusing our thoughts on different elements of the text, such as the numbering of the steps or the headings. It may have made our tasks more defined and our discussions more focussed. Still, this advice is not fool proof. I do think there is value in looking at the text as a whole, particularly a set of instructions.

2. The blog recommends a healthy amount of self-criticism.

While it is important to be critical of your own writing, it is possible to be too self-critical. Self-criticism helps us to edit our writing and improve on drafts. However, looking at a text too critically, as a writer or editor, can inhibit the whole process. Naturally, this advice resounded with me. As mentioned already, I realised a few days into editing that it didn’t matter how many times I looked at the text, I was always going to find something to tweak.  

The key message I would take from this blog and apply to future projects is the following strategy:

1. Ask somebody else (another editor or writer) to read the document.
2. Compare their comments to your own comments, to gauge your level of criticism. If their criticism is similar to yours, your editing is probably on the right track. If your comments are much more critical, you are probably being too hard on yourself, or the writer.

If I was to do the editing process again, I think it would be better to assign a head editor. I think the head editor should be given time to review the document and note the edits they would make. Then the head editor should follow the two-step strategy above, by giving it to sub-editors and using the sub-editors’ notes to review their own comments. The head-editor should lead the process and seek advice from their sub-editors throughout.

EDIT: Even after publishing, I have gone into this blog three times to edit something. It is time to close the laptop!

Consistency: A Team Challenge

How does a team divide their workload and merge their products into a cohesive document?

It is week 3 of our virtual collaboration project and the cogs in the Team 6 machine are still turning. The process, however, is not without its challenges.

I think one of the biggest tests faced by our virtual team is dividing the workload among the nine members in a way that is fair and results in a product with a consistent layout and style.

We have moved into an editing phase in our project. Last week, we had assigned two team members the task of writing the first draft of our instructions. They were working from style guides put together by our research team. They also had a lengthy phone conversation about the style of writing, headings, and numbering that they would use. They decided to work on separate sections and merge them into a first draft. This all seemed to make sense; agreeing on the style and formatting, and sharing the workload between them.

The first draft came back and each section was well-written and clear. However, even with all the prior planning and preparation, it still contained many inconsistencies in format and writing style. It also highlighted how an application can appear differently on all computers, and how everyone has their own way of carrying out a task. For example, if two people were describing how to save a document on Microsoft Word, one person might say “Click File> Save”. Another person might choose to say “Ctrl + S”.

This left us with a dilemma. What is the best way to divide work in a virtual project? We started to use Google Docs in order to critique the draft and make suggestions. Having never used Google Docs before, I was fascinated at how I could watch somebody on the other side of the world make live changes to a document. The writers took the comments on board and redrafted the piece before leaving it in the hands of the editors. But again, the same question stands: how do we divide the editing among the editors?

One suggestion was to give a section to each editor, allow them time to edit and then put the pieces back together. However, I feared that this would produce the same result as in the writing phase: inconsistencies in style and formatting. The ideal situation would be to have a live meeting and edit the piece together. Alas, time differences and work commitments are also preventing this. While researching how to overcome this obstacle, one editor found this useful article:

https://www.samepage.io/blog/9-rules-better-real-time-team-document-collaboration

We are taking on much of the advice outlined in the above article.

1. We are not oversharing the editing task. The rest of the team have access to the document as we edit it, but they have agreed to save their comments until we are finished.
2. We have an editing channel set up in Slack so that we can discuss the process and ask questions, and not overcrowd the document with comments.  
3. No changes are made until the full editing team is in agreement. I think this is essential and shows respect towards your team mates.
4. Also on that note, nobody is to overwrite changes made by somebody else, without discussing it first.

I have suggested that we each make our editing comments on Google Docs to the full document rather than sections, and respond with whether we agree or disagree. We will make changes when the editing team are in agreement. Hopefully, this will lead to a more consistent look and feel to the document. If this process does not work, however, we may have to go back to the drawing board and find out from a technical communication professional how editing works in the professional world.