Tools for Enabling Collaborative Environments

What comes to mind when you hear the term collaboration or collaborate? My definition is enablement of an environment that minimizes disconnects and misunderstandings between individuals on a team. A collaboration strategy should also foster sharing of ideas, concepts and visions of the individual contributors while keeping the team current of the status of the project. Attaining a truly successful collaborative environment will always eliminate any team execution issues related to geographic boundaries.

The word collaborate or collaboration is overused, in fact it is safe to say that it's meaning has been minimized to the point where any team is in fact identified as a collaborating machine. Here's the dictionary definition of collaborate: To work together, especially in a joint intellectual effort. "Working together" - that means more than just working on the same project. It means synchronization, communicating, shared visions, gaining consensus, sharing ideas, informed decisions, understanding contribution and always knowing status. The sharing of files as a collaborative mechanism for projects is archaic and has no place in a high tech industry! Technology has brought us much, much better ways, if we choose to explore them.

There are an abundance of tool solutions available today that foster collaboration and I wanted to share three specific types with you; planning, group chat and brainstorming. I heavily favor hosted SaaS (Software as a Services) solutions due to their cross platform availability and the collaborative enabling aspect of centralized data for all to see. Hosted "cloud" solutions are all web-based interfaces and require nothing to be installed on your computer.

Scheduling & Managing the Process
First off, in an environment that talks of collaboration, it certainly does not make sense that a single person has a view of the status, tasks due, next steps, overall project flow and so on for any project. The days of a singe person maintaining a schedule file should long ago gone the way of the horse and buggy. There should be no secrets and certainly each individual should be responsible for keeping their tasks current... did I hear a gasp?

There are many hosted (web interface) solutions that cover the needs of centralized, multiple platform (even Linux), multiple-site and user-friendly project planning/management tools. Find them via a search string like "SaaS project management tool". My favorite is PIEmatrix due to its slice concept, allowing the establishment of predefined best practices for each NPD role.

If you are concerned about your planning data residing outside the corporate firewall, many of these companies provide internally hosted solutions also. Personally I don't agree with such concern; look at how many large companies have embraced saleforce.com and allowed their sensitive customer relationship data outside the firewall.

Chat
When you think of chat the last area that you may see benefit of this social technology is managing teams and projects. The latest chat technology standards known as XMPP (Extensible Messaging and Presence Protocol) provide much more flexibility in terms of group level chatting (Persistent Group Chat), opening an interesting door for project collaboration.

Consider that specific project group chats could be setup for various chip modules, EDA, verification, requirements, integration, timing analysis, synthesis, test, system verification and so on. Team members can subscribe to only groups of interest to them. This then becomes a real time discussion and communication area for items of importance to that particular chat group. There is even a history capability for documenting the discussion. Via this technology worldwide real time collaboration can become a simple task for projects spanning multiple continents.

Individual chat servers could be setup inside the corporate firewall for each project and then configured to provide specific chat groups of interest for that project. There are also several hosted chat solutions that provide similar features. The technology exists, is supported on multiple platforms, including smart phones, and costs range from free to low. Why not give it a try? Search for "persistent group chat" to find hosted solutions. Check out http://xmpp.org for client/server possibilities.

Brainstorming
There is no better way of collaborative brainstorming than the use of mind maps. Many are hosted and allow real time map sharing for multi-site brainstorm sessions. Review last month's posting for more information on mind mapping.

Collaboration or Extinction
The largest issue I see with project execution is due to a lack in the most fundamental of capabilities, a deficiency in individual communication. If people are not communicating well they are certainly not successfully collaborating. Tools that enable better communication will also facilitate the much-needed collaboration that will bring about change. A cure for "Terminal Sameness" is an incremental choice, one antidote at a time.

Is the Productivity Scorecard Measuring What Matters?

After years of talking with and working with New Product Development (NPD) teams, my productivity report card is in and the grade is not good! Acceptance and tolerance of the current situation scores high; while real, substantial and sustainable productivity improvements for the overall development process clearly gets a failing grade. Sorry people, but our industry is stuck in a mode of “terminal sameness”!

When the subject of productivity comes up in the semiconductor industry the discussion immediately goes to tools, EDA and all the wonderful things going on in that sub-segment of the chip development world. So, how has that focus been working out for the last 15 years? Are chip developments now predictable and smooth? Yes, I know; more integration, more transistors, embedded software, tighter technologies and the like are keeping projects messy and that’s the reason why new product efforts are still behind, over budget and require multiple spins. Really?

My observation is that new product execution is not being properly measured or managed. Project management methods have been in place for years now and they deal superbly with the tactical approach to guiding projects. What is missing is a strategic approach to managing a project and by that I mean really understanding what is not working and fixing it.

I frequently talk to teams that are dealing with highly visible execution problems for years with no solution in sight; and I do not mean tool issues. I am talking about team dynamics, mechanics and cross silo operational issues that siphon off a team’s productivity and are often not included in the productivity scorecard. That kind of short sightedness is just plain anti-success and merits an F in the productivity area.

The sad part in this is that there is large acceptance of non-tool related barriers to productivity, and I just don’t get that. How can leadership turn a blind eye to glaring issues that allow a NPD team to stumble over each other, project after project? From my perspective leadership is all about removing the barriers that keep their teams from being the best they can be, it is their primary role.

If the productivity scorecard is to significantly improve it will require the addition of a dedicated effort to locate and repair new product operational issues, an area that is not receiving the focus it deserves today. It means spending more time looking at people issues. If you’re a leader, I challenge you to prove that I am wrong!

Wonders of Mind Mapping in New Product Development

Ever heard of a Mind Map? Most people either already routinely use them or are completely in the dark about them, as I was a year ago. Since I reluctantly made the Mind Map plunge I have found them to be of great value early on in any project, helping greatly to clarify mission, objectives and strategies. Now I don't do anything without first starting with a Mind Map. This month's newsletter will be a journey to the wonders of mind mapping in the semi business. And yes, this blog topic originated as a mind map before I typed the first word.

I got hooked on Mind Mapping a little over a year ago and now find that it is the beginning of anything I do, from writing blogs and newsletters to strategizing detailed proposals for my clients through planning out full projects. I now view the mapping process as essential for helping me think things through and presenting ideas, concepts and proposals. In fact the entire Mind Map for this newsletter is included at the end; you decide if it was quicker to read the words or look at the map for information of interest to you.

What is a Mind Map?
A completed mind map is simply a pictorial view of concept expansions, much like an outline on steroids. One difference being an outline is linear, whereas a Mind Map is not. The beauty of the map is not so much the finished product, but the process in getting there; the thought processes, discussions, brainstorming and non-linear thinking utilized in developing a map.

The key features of a mind map tool typically include graphics, links, text expansion as well as connectors to indicate relationships between concepts. They are graphical tools that allow simple and quick manipulation of concepts, making them ideal for group brainstorming. An added advantage of a hosted web based mind map solution is that it allows for multiple locations to join in for real time collaboration on a single map, great for multi-site brainstorming.

What Mind Map Tools are Available?
There are a variety of client based as well as hosted (web SaaS) Mind Map solutions available. I prefer the hosted solutions because they are platform independent and I can get to my maps from anywhere. Some hosted solutions even provide for offline work, making them the best alternative, in my opinion. If you would like to review my links to specific tools download my blog map (It will be a pdf) at the end and click on the various links associated with the "Mind map tool links" concept.

Where can Mind Maps be used in the Semiconductor Biz?
If there is an idea that needs a path to closure, consider the Mind Map process as the guide. There are multiple areas where I believe Mind Maps will provide value in new product development.

Requirements Gathering
Pulling together features is a great way to leverage a mind map to easily capture, drill down, prioritize, brainstorm and decide upon new product requirements. Use a mind map in a requirements workshop session or a team meeting and see the magic of high-octane collaboration. All levels of requirements such as IP, Chip, module, product and system would realize benefit from the Mind Map process to generate and sort through possibilities.

The Product Development Process
If you need to brainstorm reasons why the development process is done a certain way, conceptualize process alternatives, identify barriers or hash out the design flow consider a mind map as a guide to capturing ideas and guiding the discussion. Large groups, small groups or individuals will appreciate the non-linear thinking, quick capturing and idea drill down of the mind map process.

Product Portfolio
Hash out the product roadmap, build decision trees or construct a new product decision process with the use of a mind map. Once completed the information can be captured in the standardized forms for your organization. Remember, the mind map is guiding the thought process, not necessarily producing the final documentation.

Project Definition
This is my favorite use of a mind map; in the early stages of planning where the projects are just beginning to form. Brainstorm to identify, dismiss and accept project alternatives. Do the same for risk and mitigation strategies. Specific task identification, drill down and development are a natural for the Mind Map brainstorming process.

Are you a Mind Map Type?
Now the test - review the Mind Map for this article (click diagram for pdf download) and decide if it is more efficient for you to scan the text or utilize the mind map to retrieve information of interest to you? If the text wins you are predominately a linear thinking type. If the mind map was more advantageous for you, then welcome to the world of non-linear thinking. Go forth and map your way to better ideas, concepts, decisions and collaboration!

Survey – How is Internal EDA Support Utilized

The link below is a survey to identify how your organization is utilizing internal EDA resources, what your expectations are of internal support along with your level of satisfaction. Once you complete the 5-10 minute survey you will be presented with a link to monitor results. Final results will be published here on this blog. Many thanks to those who choose to participate.

Off to the Survey