I found this interesting white paper a few years ago, outlining “The 12 Principles of Collaboration, Guidelines for Designing Internet Services that Support Group Collaboration”. While technology and the collaborative solutions available to us have improved dramatically over the last few years (JiveSBS 4.5, anyone?), this white-paper still makes for a good read.
The authors draw upon factors driving the growth of social systems to identify the functionality needed to support the development of online social systems. The 12 principles presented here offer a strong model for designing services that support online group collaboration. Included are practical guidelines for online services that facilitate social aspects of group formation, team collaboration, and knowledge exchange. As the authors state:
Collaborative Internet services can help organizations increase employee productivity, grow partner effectiveness and build customer loyalty.
The 12 Principles – Purpose, Identity, Reputation, Governance, Communication, Groups, Environment, Boundaries, Trust, Exchange, Expression, and History – are just as important in an online community as they are offline.
Successful organisations are increasingly conducting Social Business, and their communities are based not on transactions, but on relationships. These communities are growing out of programs and relationships that already exist, connecting manufacturers with distributors and customers, learners with mentors, co-workers and team members with each other.
