In my previous guidelines I was summarizing up the first steps for administrators and the basic principles of the Mindquarry collaboration way. To recapitulate, we learned ho the administrator is setting up teams and users and whats the idea behind the file section, the wiki and the tasks. Now it's your turn, team members. Are you ready?

Well although some of you might yelling "I'm ready, I'm ready" like yellow squares, there are still some pieces of advice left: So sit tight and read on.

3.  A "Howto" for first day Mindquarry users 

Now you got your login and you are eger to use Mindquarry. You already logged in. You'll arrived at the landing page for first users. It looks nice (at least some think so) with it's fat icons for each functionality: teams, files, wiki, tasks and (soon) talk.  Now take a close look to that beauty, because you'll perhaps never again run into that page. ;-) I'll tell you lather why.

I recommend to start at the team page, just to get a overview about your initial rights and settings. Hit the fat red team button.

3.1 teams: your initial rights

 You'll arrive at the "all your teams page" This is the best page for newbies because most things you can do have the same result: you can choose your current team by either selecting it from the center of the page, from the left navigation bar or from the list box in your navigation button, labeled "all your teams" above the page title.

Why should you choose a team?

Each team has it's own workspace with a on wiki, a own file section, own tasks and own team members. You can work much more focussed by having just the necessary resources for one team You can change your team workspace at any time and in every section by select a new team from the left navigation bar or from the list box in your navigation button, labeled "all your teams" above the page title.

Do I see every team?

No. You see just the teams were you are in. If you think you should participate on other teams (if there are other teams) you can be added by any of the appendant team members or the administrator.

 3.2 teams: your initial user settings

Now choose a team. The page headline become the team name and you see a short description of the team objectives (if your administrator created one)  and a list of all team members. They all should be there, Jack Jones, Kate King, Linda Lobster ... and You. But what is that? Most of them have a nice picture and you got that 10 years old graduation picture?  Your description says you are "a c++ programmer" but you are already "a ruby-on-rails expert"? Don't worry! Look at the almost upper right corner. There are 3 small icons, and the middle one is looking like a business card. Don' hesitate and click on it. Now you are in the "change user profile form". I explained a similar form already in my first article chapter "1.1 Add all possible users". Here you can change your photo (The picture should be .jpg or .png format.  It should be quadratic with at least 48*48 pixels, but it can be bigger). You can change your password and last not least your skill description.  So you load up a pretty cool picture with your new hairstyle and you overwrite "a c++ programmer" with "a ruby-on-rails expert". Now click the "change profile" button so save your changes. If you changed your password, save the changes with "change password".

3.3 Set up your file section

In chapter "2.2 Files" you've probably learned about the collaboration server. Each time you synchronize, you get a copy of your team files. But how to upload the first files to the server?  A catch22 ? No, it's that easy: 

The first team space user creates on his desktop a file directory (like c:/teams/marketing for the marketing team) with all sub-directories and files the according team space should contain and then just sync your desktop with your Mindquarry server. All files and sub-directories will be uploaded.  Now all the other team members with just an empty "c:/teams/marketing" synchronize too and get the files and subdirectories downloaded. Now they may add some more files and sync again and so on.

(Note: Instead of "c:/teams/marketing" can every team member have a different location like "c:/documents/marketing" or "d:/teams/documents/marketing" as long as that is the location they used as local storage path during the desktop client installation: "c:/teams/", or "c:/documents/" or "d:/teams/documents/". ) If you are a member of other teams too, like Sales, the local sales files pace is in the same local path, like "c:/teams/sales".

 3.4 Create a welcome wiki page

In each team or project is often a keeper. (lucky if you have one) This part is for those kind of team members.

I suggest to initiate a kind of "welcome wiki page" Describe the teams goals and objective, create a page for rules or a glossary if you have such stuff, start a FAQ page with initial hints for using the wiki or the Mindquarry desktop client. Create a code of conduct page or whatever comes you in mind to help to promote your teams work. By doing that, you'll give your team mates examples of how to use the wiki and some familiarness with the new software as well. Most people need help in mastering a new software environment. We at Mindquarry can do efforts, to keep it easy to use. But to make your team collaboration project a success story we need you.

3.5 Anything else 

So now you are ready. Go and try it your way. There is nothing you can do really wrong:

You deleted a file by accident. No problem: go to the file section in your team space, grab the time-slider and go to the last version. double click it and it will be loaded (or downloaded) now safe it and with the next sync it will be uploaded for everyone's use again.

Why will you never see the initial landing page?

I suppose you will set a bookmark to a wiki or a team page. In your daily work there is no need for going back to here.  It's just a beauty page for first time users.

So thats for now, folks. I would be glad for your feedback. A great place is here: Submit your user experience. Or write a comment to that post. Or email me at stephan(dot)voigt(at)mindquarry(dot)com

Posted at 05:21PM Jul 17, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags collaboration collaboration2.0 firststeps guide howto  |  Share This Link

In the first part of this collaboration guide I was highlighting the first steps for an administrator to make the system usable for common users. Now I want to say some words about the first steps for common users.

2. Basic Principles

2.1 Teams

Every team represents a group of people with the same rights. What teams are standing for, I've described in part one.  

So if you are for example a member of the "Marketing" team and need a kind of sub-group to show results to other people, you'll have to create some more teams like "Interop Las Vegas 2008". To create a new team, you'll currently have to ask your administrator.

But every user can add and remove team members from a team. To do so, go to the team section. On the left side, select your team. Now your teams name is the headline of your page. There you'll see on the upper right side 2 buttons, labeled with "members" and "edit". Hit the "members" button and the "Change Membership" form appears. On the left side are the members of the current team, on the right side are all possibles members left. (Note: if the right side is empty, all possible members are already team members. To add generally new members, ask the administrator) just click in the right side peoples "add member"-link to shift them to the left team side. To remove member from the team, click in the left side peoples "remove member"-link to shift them to the right side with non-members.
Doing the last, you not delete this members, you just exclude them from the current team.

2.2 Files

Mindquarry has a powerful file version control server. For those with more technical interest, the system is based on the Open Source product "subversion". What is the idea behind this technology?

All team members should use the same files and documents with the same file directory tree. And all team members should use always up-to-date files and documents. To do so, the whole teams file directory tree with all files and documents is copied to each user's laptop or desktop computer. The file server is the golden copy and archive.
Who already worked with subversion knows, that this is not the traditional copy procedure. There are more than 20 commands with lots of options each. Basically the subversion server acts like your public library: First the documents have to be registered. Then you "borrow" the document and you "give it back". (Fortunately, the library has enough copies for all readers) If you modified the document, the library treats the modified as the new valid document and keep the previous version for history views.

A very powerful and reliable archive. To keep it simple, we developed a "library broker", a servant for you: The Mindquarry desktop client. He's on your local drive doing all that command stuff for you by one single command: "synchronize".

2.3 How to synchronize?

To synchronize, you have to download the desktop client. Don't worry, it's a smart client, easy to install and easy to remove as well. ("no-footprint-client") To load it down, you have in the file section the big button "synchronize" which will start the download and after the download it starts the desktop client.  (Hint: Mac users should download the special mac version) . The installation is easy. You just have to write the local path for you teams main directory, like c:/documents/Marketingteam. After you did so, you can start to create a file directory tree below that directory and add the first files. With your first sync (open the desktop client and hit the button sync) you install a copy of your local file directory "Marketingteam" on the Mindquarry server. Now everyone else from your team can sync and gets the files from your Server.

Every time you change a document or a file you should synchronize your laptop with the team server (or at least once a day). Now the file or document on the server is updated, and the previous file or document is archived. That's why you are able to see all the past versions in your time line at the file section.

But if you don't change the files but others do so?

Every time you synchronize your laptop with the team server, the server checks out the modification date of the files on the server and your local stored files. If there are modified (and therefore newer) files on the server, the server will download them to your laptop. Therefore you can trust to have alway up-to-date and valid documents and files on your working computer after a synchronization. We recommend to synchronize daily, even when you did not change any file.

What happens if 2 people change the same file?

Your desktop client which is used to do the synchronization shows you a conflict message. In that case I recommend not to synchronize. First take a close look to both versions and decide, which you want to keep:

• if the server version is better, just erase your local file
• if your local version is better, just synchronize and your local version overwrites the server version.

2.4 Knowledge @ Wiki

A wiki is a comfortable way to collect and publish knowledge. It's just easy for every team member to contribute his ideas since that Wiki is very easy to use. (WYSIWYG) Recommended appliances for Wiki's are:

• Gather Ideas for new product features, for events or for your maintenance process
• Publish common conventions and glossaries like name convention for programmers, step-by-step guides for installations or other reference works
• Create user driven documentation by contributions of every team member

• To start writing hit the edit-button or double click the Wiki text.
• Create new pages by linking to them from your current page. Mark a word or phrase and use the icon with the red link symbol (a finger is pointing to a red text line) to make that to a link to that new page. Now save and click the new link which brings you to the new and empty Wiki page.
• When you done your editing, don't forget to save! ;-)
  

2.5 Tasks

Tasks help you to get your daily workload sorted.  You can better keep track on your duties and it helps you not to forget to much things. It brings quality and reliability in your work results. Most of you will perhaps use tasks in Outlook or other programs.

Mindquarry tasks are simple to use. They just start with a title and a status. But you see below the label "fields" addition optional fields which can be activated just by clicking on it.  Try something, create an own task and one assigned to an other person. Add a due date. just try to find your own way of usage, use them.

Mindquarry tasks will be continuously improved and integrated into the other components and become an important role in the Mindquarry collaboration way.

So thats all for today. Stay tuned for the next part about the first steps for user.

Posted at 03:39PM Jul 16, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags 2.0 collaboration firststeps howto mindquarry  |  Share This Link

You decided to improve your teamwork and got a Mindquarry account, either from the hosted "Mindquarry GO" or from the free download and you already have installed Mindquarry. (did you tell us about your installation in the voluntary registration form? Yes? very good. That helps us a lot to improve our services by knowing our customers) Anyway now you are ready for the first steps:

1. Initial Administration 

The first principle you have to learn is that a administrator is a  administrator and not a user. So after the installation you have the admin login(pwd admin/admin (if you are using Mindquarry GO you'll get your administarion account by email). As the admin you have the following initial tasks:

• add all possible users
• create the necessary team spaces
• add the first members to the according team

1.1 Add all possible Users

Go to the teams section. On the right side you'll see 2 buttons: "new user", "new team". Hit the new user button and a form appears, were you have to fill in the master data for the new user:

• User ID: this is the login-name. You cant that change lather, so use ID's according your common rules, f.e. email, name.surname, nicknames and so on.
• password: use something what is easy, the user can change that lather on his own.
• photo: this can be changed from the user lather on too, never than less I recommend to do that, if possible. It helps the users to feel confident.  The picture should be .jpg or .png format.  It should be quadratic with at least 48*48 pixels, but it can be bigger. The small sizes just load up faster. If you use bigger pictures, the will be resized to the appropriate format automatically.
  
• First name, surname: That should be the real names as long as you are not illegal criminals.
  
• Email: please use the correct email address of the user.
• Skills: that can be changed by the user too,  usually you can fill in descriptions of the role or position, like f.e. "CEO and lightning idol" for me.

Well now you have described your first user. Hitting the button "create" will save that for future use. But hold on a second. First I recommend to send that person an email with his access dates: the web-address were to login (look at your browsers current address) , the login name and his password. (Yes, it's already part of our road map to do this automated soon.) And now, finally, don't forget to hit the button "create".

And now you just have to do that for all users you plan to invite to your team spaces.

1.2 Add all wanted Teams

A team is the space were related people work on a project or a global task. Possible teams may be:

• departments, like Marketing, Finance, Human Resources ....
• projects, like "desktop client development", "coke summer campaign" or "collecting oncology data"
• global tasks (over different projects or departments), like "press wok" or "user reporting"

 
So you go to the teams section. On the right side you'll see 2 buttons: "new user", "new team". Hit the new team button and a form appears, were you have to fill in the master data for the new team:

• Teamspace ID: That should be considered carefully, since you can't change that lather on. The teamspace ID is used to have understandable web-URL's. So avoid difficult and too long names here. Avoid special characters of your local font set. Just keep it simple and understandable, like "financial" for the financial department.
• Teamspace name: That should be preferable the best describing name for your team. You can change that lather too.
• Description: It's always helpful to add some words to the task and goal of the team. But you can change that lather too.

Now hit the button "create team" and you'll done. Repeat that for possible other teams. Every created team should appear in the left navigation bar of the team section.

1.3 Adding Members to Teams

So you go again to the teams section. Go to a team of your choice by clicking it in the left navigation bar. Now the team name appears in the headline of your current page.  You'll see 2 new buttons: "Members" and "Edit". Hit the members button and a form appears, which has all possible members listed on the right side. just click to the "add members"-link in the peoples description and the people will be added to the current team. You added a wrong person? Don't worry, just hit the "remove" link in the persons description on the left team side, and it will go back to the peoples pool. When you adjusted all users to the current team, hit the save button to save your work.

And now do the same procedure for every other team. This part of the administration work can later be done by the team members itself.

 1.4 Further Administration Tasks

Adding Teams and  Team members will always be a task which can be done only by the administrator.

Well that's the stuff for today. Stay tuned for the next article about the basic principles of Mindquarry.

Posted at 12:09PM Jul 13, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags collaboration first-steps howto mindquarry  |  Share This Link

The presentation I've held in the market leader track at the Enterprise 2.0 conference in Boston, "How collaboration should look like" (originally under the title "the business of collaboration") is uploaded to slideshare. Today we got selected as a featured presentation and therefore easy accessible upon the start page. Looks like we touched a hot topic. I you are interested have look and vote for us.

Posted at 07:39PM Jun 20, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags business collaboration pdf presentation  |  Share This Link

So finally we made it to get the 1.1 version into a stable release. It has the new GUI, lots of features and it looks much less "childisch" like one of the testers of the 1.0 version was calling it. Read the press release for a overview.

I like  especially the time line feature. It makes me feeling like the time traveler in Orson Wells "Time machine",  putting my had on the lever and pulling it down to 1812... Ok, I just grab the time slider with my mouse and draw it back some days. But anyway, now I can go back and change earlier versions of my files and tasks, and it looks cool too. I often happens to me that I edit documents in different steps and the erlier versions are mostly more universal and a god basis for different variations of the document. For example I have a basic presentation and make often some special editions from it for special events or customers. It's easy now to go back to the primal version.

 So if you try it, don't hesitate to give us your feedback, we're eager to hear from you.

Posted at 01:47PM Jun 14, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags collaboration mindquarry release stable  |  Share This Link

We got a kind review: "The search for KB - Part III - Mindquarry" from "Jacks view on the world" , managed by Ionut Margelatu, a software engineer especially in the field of Java and J2EE. I really hope to see him as a contributor to the project soon.

Interesting to me is, that he seems to have a soft spot for good photos, especially at flickr. Our last two interns we found by their flickr photos too, perhasps there is a relation between good programming and a sense for art. ;-)

Posted at 11:06AM Apr 19, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags blogs collaboration reviews  |  Share This Link

In her blog"Web Worker Daily" Anne Zelenka claims "Why Instant Messaging is Better for Collaboration than Email". I agree in most points since email is just suffering from the point that it has some serious time delays between answers and that may result in some overlapping as well. But I would like to add some remarks:[Read More]

Posted at 10:32AM Jan 08, 2007 (Permalink) by Stephan Voigt with tags collaboration email im tips wiki  |  Share This Link

Paul Hammant describes a setup consisting of a WebDAV-enabled web server (essentially a web server that allows publishing of files) and a WebDAV-capable editor (essentially a web browser that allows publishing of files) and calls it An alternative to wikis.

This approach is very interesting, because it allows you to use powerful editing tools for publishing content on the web and uses technologies and standards that are widely distributed and proven. All you need is a server and a browser capable of publishing content.

The Mindquarry Wiki embraces the idea of being able to publish content via this technique. There is a user-friendly rich-text editor available as well, but using HTTP allows you to publish content via more powerful tools and it allows you to easily create own applications that publish to the Mindquarry Wiki. One example of these tools is the Mindquarry Client which allows easy one-click publishing from your desktop, e.g. for taking notes and sharing with your team members.

Posted at 06:45PM Dec 08, 2006 (Permalink) by Lars Trieloff with tags collaboration tips webdav wiki  |  Comments[1] Share This Link