When in a meeting, it is helpful to use a consistent structure for your meeting. Here is a simple Meeting Notes Template to use.

Learn more

• Meetings
  

Screen sharing software makes it possible for one or more people to simultaneously look at the screen of another person's computer, via the Internet. It is a great tool to use when people are calling into a meeting from different locations. Some tools allow multiple people to change the screen or type at the same time.

When Dreamfishers collaborate remotely, we love to use Etherpad to do this. It is our "virtual flip chart"!

You can access Etherpad at www.etherpad.com.  It is free and very easy to use.  

What is your favorite screensharing tool?

Video conferencing is a powerful tool for remote collaboration. The ability to see other people's facial expressions and gestures greatly enhances communication; and some video conferencing products make it easy to do Screen sharing or easily share documents as well -- another big bonus.

Here are a few video conferencing products:

• Skype - This service is free, common, and easy to use.
• iChat - Macintosh only. High quality video chat, has some document sharing capabilities.
• Google Video Chat - works with your Gmail account. Easy to use, integrates well with text chat and Gmail email.

Etherpad (web site: etherpad.com) is a tool for collaborative writing, editing, and document building.

Dreamfish uses Etherpad as a tool to facilitate Conference calls. It's an easy tool that allows people to take notes in a shared space (analogous to a white board) where everybody can contribute to a single document. It's a very intuitive tool, and requires very little training, so it's often possible to introduce quickly to participants who have never used such a tool.

Etherpad is free for anyone to use, but the free version is restricted to no more than 8 participants.

See also

• SubEthaEdit, a similar, non-web-browser based tool designed for Macintosh (program costs a few $$)
• Gobby, a similar, non-web-browser based tool. (Free, works with Windows and Linux; can be made to work with Mac with a little work.)

How_To's Collaboration_tools

Here is how to make your own video

1. See an example

To get started, watch this video to get an idea what your video can look like after this Do it yourself tutorial!

Create agreement on your team about what you are doing.

Good Goals

Specify a way of knowing when you've achieved the goal. Ask yourself the questions, "How will we know we're done?" "What will be changed in the world after we achieve this goal?"

The best goals specify a specific, measurable outcome/change ("50% increase in monthly earnings for target group earning less than $1/day") instead of just an accumulation of activity ("Taught math skills to 10 children for each of 5 days").

SMART GOALS

(copied from wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMART_criteria) SMART is a Mnemonic used in Project management at the Project objective setting stage. It is a way of evaluating the objectives or goals for an individual Project. The term is also in common usage in performance management, whereby goals and targets set for employees must fulfill the criteria.

The first use of the term is unknown, but Peter Drucker, in his 1954 seminal work, "The Practice of Management" outlined a system that was very similar to SMART objectives while discussing objective-based management.

In recent years the terms 'SMART' (see below) and, less commonly, 'DUMB' (doable, understandable, manageable & beneficial) have been used beyond the original contexts of Management by objectives (MBO) and Project management.

Terms behind the letters

There is no clear consensus about precisely what the five keywords mean, or even what they are in any given situation. Typically accepted values are:

Choosing certain combinations of these labels can cause duplication; such as selecting Attainable and Realistic; or can cause significant overlapping as in combining Measurable and Results; Appropriate and Relevant etc. Agreed is often used in management situations where buy-in from stakeholders is desirable.

Richard and Becky Dufour have popularized the term, "SMART Goals" in schools and districts throughout the US. Grade level and department teams of teachers determine their SMART goal. The SMART goal helps to focus the team on one goal which the whole team is accountable for achieving. Teams are continuously asking three questions: (1)What do we want our students to learn? (2) How will we know if they learn it? (3) What will we do if they don't learn it?

Resources from Scott Ambler

These essays describe agile development well and seem relevant and practical given my experiences over many years of working on software projects. Peter Kaminski

• Agile Model Driven Development (AMDD): The Key to Scaling Agile Software Development
  • look at diagram of "AMDD lifecycle: Modeling activities throughout the lifecycle of a project"
  • Iteration Modeling: An Agile Best Practice
• Agile Project Planning Tips
• Comparing Approaches to Budgeting and Estimating Software Development Projects
• more background: Agile Software Development: The Full Story (PowerPoint)

Distributed Agile

• Agile_Project_Management

Adina's presentation video "Agile Product Management"   ( Adina Levin and Peter Kaminski worked closely together as two of the co-founders of Socialtext.)

Kanban

• Kanban

XP -

• Extreme Programming

See also

• Project Management
• Projects
• Stand-up Meeting
• Hallway test

Project_Management

Dreamfish Group Meeting Agenda: C.A.R.E.

C.A.R.E stands for a cyclical practice of Connecting, Acting, Reflecting, and Exchanging. This weekly practice supports the care and development of ourselves and each other.

Connect

• Welcome! (3 min.) - A Dreamfish member reads the Dreamfish group welcome sheet. (group’s purpose, communication norms, and confidentiality.) Ask for volunteers for timekeeper and note-taker.

• Check in (10 min)- We introduce ourselves briefly. (e.g., 1 minute)

• Mindful Activity (2 min)- Facilitator: Guide the group through a physical activity to help each person to connect with themselves and focus on the present moment. Choose an activity that can work for everyone. Depending on physical ability, you might choose a simple stretch, quiet stillness, or walking slowly in quiet.

Attend

We will now have open sharing  (30-60 minutes). Below are some questions that you might find helpful to get started.

 "What have I accomplished since we met last?

 "What am I learning about myself and my work?"

 "What  am I realizing, and what actions do I want to take next?

 "What support or feedback can I offer to another member?"

 "What support might I ask from myself and the group? "

Reflect 

• Group Check out (10 min): Now, we reflect on this group meeting and our own participation in the group.

What happened in this group that I appreciated, and why? 

What choices might I want to make next time?

• Announcements: Now is a time for public announcements. This is a chance to promote your work and others in the group to social media. During this checkout, we can now tweet about announcements, post publicly to Facebook, and tell friends.

• Closing ritual – (TBD by group) Create a simple act. For example: applause, or a candle blow out.

Exchange

Now is a time to socialize with one another for (X time). If you have yet to sign up as a Dreamfish member and would like to, please see (community builder).

Also, see

• Peer Group Start Up Guide
  
• Groups

At the beginning of each group, the facilitator reads the Welcome Sheet. Below is a file, in a PNG format for print out. After reading the sheet, the group facilitator follows the Dreamfish group design. For more, see Group life.

Download the Group Welcome Sheet

  November 23, 2009