Building Communities of Practice from Online Social Networks your publication

White Paper: Building Communities of Practice from Online Social Networks A process model with case studies describing how an organization can transform itself through Collaboration Commerce (C-Commerce) into an agile, versatile and resilient 21st century enterprise.

June 2002

By Thomas E. Simon, Founder Prism Software Phone: 319 895 6049 simon@iprism.ws www.iprism.ws

Building Communities of Practice from Online Social Networks Transforming the 21st Century Enterprise

by Thomas E. Simon, Founder, Prism USA, LLC Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for presentation at Collaborate East, Haynes Convention Center, Boston, June 25th 2002.

In its report, U.S. Competitiveness, 20011, the United States Council on Competitiveness described growing capabilities for innovation in many parts of the world which are intensifying competitive pressures on U.S. industry. The report presented a “roadmap” for strengthening competitiveness that included the formation of geographically localized “clusters of innovative capability.”

The World Wide Web changes the dynamic of competitiveness. Instead of “geographically localized clusters” we project formation of Economic Events Networks2 between dispersed clusters. In this way local and regional business units can be aligned as Communities of Practice with counterparts in dispersed global regions. Economic Events Networks can then align production capacity, talent and financial resources, thereby linking people, products, services and markets more efficiently as illustrated and described by the Gartner Group below:

Figure 1: Stages of transformation in the workplace. Copyright Gartner Group.

“The 21st-century enterprise will be agile, virtual and resilient. Being agile, it will have speed and grace. Being virtual, it will work seamlessly across distances, organizations and business boundaries. ” – Diane Tunick-Morello, Gartner Group

1 U.S. Competitiveness 2001: Council on Competitiveness, Washington D.C. See www.compete.org/

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Economic Events Networks, acknowledgement to Bob Haugen, Logistical Software, re. REA ontology and ebxml ecommerce standards. See www.msu.edu/user/mccarth4/

Collaboration is the glue We are focused on the strategic advantages of the World Wide Web in forming collaborative clusters of innovative capability beyond geographic and organizational boundaries. Our experience over the last 5 years, especially with EFMD and MCE,3 demonstrates how people can progress beyond online Social Networking to form Communities of Practice based on migration to mutually profitable economic events, as illustrated in Figure 2:

Figure 2: Progression from Social Networks to Collaborative Economic Events Networks Note: Term “Authentic Discussions” is from “Building Trust at the Speed of Change,” Edward Marshall, AMACOM, 2000.

Knowing when to co-operate and when to compete is what determines the transition points from Social Networking through the stages outlined above. Social Networking can lead to a form of cooperative competition that fits the description the Council on Competitiveness has for what it calls “Business Clusters.” According to the report, business clusters can include companies and related organizations working together along with universities, polytechnics, expert advisers, suppliers and customers linked in a value adding chain.

The Council suggests government should invest in the creation of these clusters. But we feel this is not a likely scenario. We suggest clusters will form as interlinked corporate “Communities of Practice.” A description of how this can occur follows.

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EFMD (European Foundation for Management Development) based in Brussels, is Europe's forum for information, research, networking and dialogue on innovation and best practice in management development. Prism hosted EFMD's eLearning event sponsored by IBM Europe Spring 2001.

MCE (Management Centre Europe) is the European headquarters of the American Management Association based in Brussels. Prism Software developed and hosted E-Train, in April 2001 to help MCE faculty develop concepts and practices for online learning and training.

Social Networks - The Basis for Collaboration Social Networks are the foundation for collaboration. Social Networks on the World Wide Web have a long tradition going back to “virtual communities” like ’The Well.’ Social Networks are defined as both informal and formal communities which gather over time around ongoing events, shared ideology or an attraction to thought leaders, or personalities. They are a step beyond news groups, message boards or online events which have a narrow focus and short span of participation.

Our experience reveals that participation in a Social Network is an important step in a progressive transition that engages people to build trust and form bonds that will allow meaningful economic relationships and events. This paper outlines the process, tools and methods to accomplish this.

Transition to Community of Practice A Community of Peers is a formal Social Network that aligns people into relationships via affiliation, peer encouragement, recognition. An example is Howard Rheingold’s Brainstorms Community4 which is organized around online topics hosted by volunteers and paid associates.

Such hybrid Social Networks are formed as a way to promote books or business interests of the thought leaders who form them, or to contribute some economic value to the organization that hosts them. Our experience in these communities suggests economic motivations replace purely social motivations, moving a Community of Peers to form more specialized Communities of Purpose and Communities of Practice.

A Community of Purpose aligns dispersed people around a shared purpose or commitment. An example of a Community of Purpose would be engineers from the US engaged in deep-water drilling aligning as an informal Internet forum with other engineers in Australia, Denmark and Russia, using the Internet to share data, ideas, experience and application specific software.

Communities of Purpose can occur informally, outside of governmental, organizational and other perceived boundaries. Such activity is encouraged by employers since there is economic value to be derived as members can share their experience and knowledge in free-flowing, creative ways that foster new approaches to solving problems. In addition inter networking with potential clients is a known value that can be derived.

However, no Community of Purpose can survive without leadership and few leaders are able to support a Community of Purpose without driving it toward sustaining economic events.

Professionals in such Communities may see the potential for their intellectual capital, or that of their employers, to be compromised. So they will then move toward a more formal alignment of shared purpose. In most cases this involves economic instruments such as Non Disclosure Agreements (NDA) and Memoranda of Understanding (MOU).

When collaborative economic value is recognized, it must be supported in order for the collaboration to be sustained. To attract support a Community of Purpose must organize as a formal “corporate” entity. Our definition of a Community of Practice (CoP), therefore, is distinctive from Wenger5. In our definition a Community of Practice is a formal “corporate” entity whose end objective is to sell or deliver products and services that are produced as a result of practice member collaboration.

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Howard Rheingold, Brainstorms Community, see http://brainstorms.rheingold.com/ Etienne C. Wenger, Communities of Practice: Learning, Meaning, and Identity (Cambridge University Press, 1998)

Basic Form of a Community of Practice Each Community of Practice (CoP) will be formed around the purpose that unites members as described previously. But our experience suggests a replicable form can be described. This would include 5 distinct areas of focus as shown.

Each of the areas of focus or nodes connects with the business unit that serves a specific function. For example, the Facilitator Node connects with the “Community of Support.”

This may include HR/OD and Help Desk services. It is a hybrid Community which is focused on supporting management in the implementation of change involved in transforming the organization into a Collaborative Workplace.

The initiation of such a model requires a process of transformation as suggested on the previous pages in which a filtering occurs aligning the right people into distinct Communities of Practice. Our experience suggests a C-Level Sponsor is necessary, at least initially, to legitimize a CoP. Our experience also suggests that an initial CoP as modeled above can then spawn the creation of a value adding chain within the organization.

Integration of CoP’s to Form “Clusters”

The model on the preceding page describes the formation of a CoP from an inward perspective, but to serve an economic purpose a CoP must have the perspective of how the organization unites the Knowledge `Infrastructure (everything known by and about the organization) with the Operational Infrastructure (everything the organization does or can do).

The same model then can be applied to relate nodes of specific organizational focus with the economic purpose that will sustain them.

So for example if you were to view the model from a 3-D perspective, the Sales Node would link to Customers. The Logistics and Support nodes to the coordination of Supply and Demand and the Tools node would be linked to providing the organizational stakeholders with the reports that summarize the data accumulating within the framework of the economic purpose of the organization.

This is a very abstract model to be sure, but in the following pages we try to put some context to the model that will show how such a model can scale as a vehicle for transforming the organization into an Era 4 enterprise.

Collaborative Model of Economic Purpose

Transactional Space Occurs only after relationship building phase in which knowledge and shared purpose are aligned.

Knowledge Context Interactive space for relationship building around mutual values related to shared knowledge and purpose.

Knowledge Infrastructure People within the enterprise accumulating and sharing knowledge.

Operational Infrastructure People transforming resources into products.

□ Figure 3: Integrating internally focused infrastructure of a CoP with its’ Economic Purpose creates an Economic Events Network. We suggest Economic Events Networks are the foundation for eBusiness.

An Economic Events Network An example of value derived within an economic events network would be collaboration in a feed manufacturer’s supply chain. An entry from a sales agent’s PDA of a requested feed formulation, while in the field, could sync with a Community of Practice within the Feed Manufacturer’s Collaboration Management System. Knowledgeable participants in such a system could share engineering knowledge, raw materials availability, manufacturing capability, inventory, shipping and invoicing logistics while engaged in economic events. All can be coordinated via established Business Collaboration Protocols in a manner that maintains individual accountability. Such a system can be modeled around REA Logistics as follows:

Figure 4: Economic Events Network In the feed manufacturer’s supply chain scenario, the Community of Practice would consist of members with roles and accountability, bonded within an REA framework. An REA framework can define economic relationships assigning roles and accountability thus empowering the right people with authority to approve specific economic event requests. Business Collaboration Protocols are managed by the Community of Support which assists in knowledge acquisition, knowledge transfer and information access. The Collaboration Management System (CMS) then enables economic event transactions that will occur as time stamped (audit trail) interactivity. Technology required for such a system is illustrated on the following page.

Collaborative Web Portal

Figure 5: Technology configuration for a collaborative system as described

Figure 6: Advanced Blended Media Services

A collaborative Web Portal integrating NCast media server This system provides a scalable interactive collaboration solution that integrate MPEG streaming video and full-duplex audio for communication with small and large groups and remote locations over IP networks.

Such a system is ideal for building clusters as described in this White Paper as well as for distance learning, corporate training and meetings. Using a unique method of selective data-packet routing the NCast multimedia Internet appliance allow users to communicate simultaneously over numerous locations and desktops. Participants at remote locations can ask speakers live questions and get real-time answers, giving all participants interactive multimedia experiences and insuring efficiency in presentations, meetings, and classrooms.

When combined with the collaboration management tools and methods presented in this paper such a system can fully leverage the fiber optic telecommunications infrastructure, especially in rural areas that have not had previous access to applications and systems that have driven economic growth in urban centers.

Beyond Technology – Strategy/Culture/Process We have stated that collaboration is the glue that bonds participants into a Community of Practice. We have stated that a Community of Practice (CoP) can only exist if there is economic value to be derived by participants. We have stated that economic value cannot occur without leadership and support through “corporate” commitment. It also cannot occur without a commitment of corporate culture. There must be organizational buy-in, top to bottom, to support the transformation to a collaborative organization. We have isolated two first steps:

1. Consolidate Existing Business Functions Into A Collaborative Web Portal Optimize existing technology within the organization by consolidating collaborative business functions on Web portals, activating web based applications like CRM, ERP, time tracking, input and output logistics, operations tools, as well as integrating existing desktop applications and making their output web enabled.

2. Tailor Web Portal Technology to the firm’s unique business strategy As, Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter states, “Tailoring the firm's unique strategy to include advantages of the Internet is the true opportunity for competitive advantage.”

We suggest these steps should be taken in prototype stages (see following pages) in which “members” are assembled based on complimentary skills and competences under formal role based commitments. We suggest that this have C-level support and participation. C-Level participation is absolutely essential as the primary stamp of approval to assure cultural acceptance. Without this the level of trust and shared commitment among participants will be too fragile to succeed over the full life cycle of the enabling process.

It is important to emphasize that a Community of Practice, as we define it, is an online dispersed group with very unique capabilities and a very strategic purpose. We adapt Wenger’s model as follows: What’s the purpose?

Communities of Practice

Formal work groups

Project teams

Informal social networks Communities of Peers & Purpose

Who belongs?

What holds them together?

Web Portal enabled aligned around specific Economic Events Network

Members selected based on expertise, commitment and ability to use Web Portal services.

Passion, commitment, and identification with ERA 4 enterprise objectives.

Progress through stages:

Local F2F team assembled to deliver a product or service

Members include everyone who reports to the group’s manager

Job requirements and common goals

Until the next reorganization

Local F2F team To accomplish a specified task

Members are assigned by senior management.

The project’s goals and milestones

Until the project has been completed

To collect and pass on information

Membership consists of friends and business acquaintances.

Mutual need and relationships

As long as people have a reason to connect

How long do they last?

Pre-forming Forming/Storming/Norming Performing/Progressing

Stage 1: Strategic Planning

Objective: Develop Web Portal Command Console Business strategy can no longer be decided in the boardroom and then merely handed down to employees. Success is dependent on knowledge, skill, expertise and quality information. And empowering the right people to act on opportunities as they emerge.

Creation of a Web Portal command console is a Stage 1 Event using a “collaborative toolkit” along with a series of facilitated agenda-driven sessions. These sessions are a way for management to determine the best candidates who will form the core for transforming the organization into an agile, virtual and resilient enterprise. The product of that transformation is a Custom Command Console that will be unique in reflecting the purpose, values and operational form of the enterprise.

Example of Strategic Planning

We have seen how a system that encourages what Aristotle called, “Deliberate Discourse,” and Marshall terms, “Authentic Discussions,” can enable leaders in an organization to frame strategic planning discussions around the proper context needed for aligning shared purpose and setting shared objectives.

Such a system integrated within a Community of Practice framework allows participation among people on a global scale at minimal cost, without requiring the expense of travel or the allocation of significant time and other resources.

Using a Community of Support model for facilitating strategic sessions a collaborative team of leaders can in a short time frame set the scope of a multi-phase transformation process that will move the organization away from top-down command-control and into a collaborative workplace model that can provide greater benefits to customers, employees and stakeholders.

Stage 2: Value Chain Integration

Objective: Fully Integrate Web Portal Workplace The Command Console and collaborative interface developed in Stage 1 should provide a roadmap for competitive advantage and operational efficiencies which can be deployed in Stage 2. The objective is to Web enable all functions of the business process and provide synchronized real-time access to people, data and the collective knowledge of the firm. A fully integrated collaborative web portal will include: Integration of all existing desktop applications Interactive access to all data stores Document Management/Knowledge Management

Example Value Chain Integration

Consolidate Existing Business Functions Into A Collaborative Web Portal Optimize existing technology within the organization by consolidating collaborative business functions on Web portals, activating web based applications like CRM, ERP, time tracking, input and output logistics, operations tools, as well as integrating existing desktop applications and making their output web enabled.

Tailor Web Portal Technology to the firm’s unique business strategy As, Harvard Business School’s Michael Porter states, “Tailoring the firm's unique strategy to include advantages of the Internet is the true opportunity for competitive advantage.”

Stage 3: Value System Synchronization

Objective: Collaborative Cluster of Innovative Capability Model for the Agile, virtual and resilient enterprise.

Syncing all elements of the business process with buyers, suppliers and channel partners is the objective of Stage 3. This means managing the modern supply chain across multiple tiers, including effective methods to store, access, and share information within the company as well as with all supply chain partners during each stage of the production cycle.

The concept is to prototype each stage with CoP teams in order to evolve unique organizational advantages. The objective is to reduce costs and increase value. A complex challenge that will define the successful 21st century enter

Example of Value System

Business is still, and always will be, done on a peer-to-peer basis -- organization to organization, person to person. But you cannot stop progress. There are forces at work that will change the way companies buy and sell products and services. The collaborative enterprise will improve communication and interaction among employees, customers and extended enterprise partners.

It reveals a potential for a new kind of business, one that relies on collaboration, one where a person's skills, wit, and communication capability can be the leveraging factor in success. But it is not something that will come from technology implementation alone. Culture change will be the single greatest problem to overcome for such a model to succee

Managing Culture Adaptation Our experience has shown the difficulty in moving any group through all of the steps and stages described. The problem is not one of technology but of culture and leadership. We believe part of the solution is a new form of Help Desk we call Community of Support6.

The Community of Support must be fully aligned with the leadership and purpose of the organization. It must facilitate technology implementation, operational methods and the behavioral dynamics necessary to manage the transformation process.

Pre-Forming We have seen distinct phases of transformation emerge. (See Figure 5 following page). The first phase occurs when Leadership defines the Economic Relationships and Economic Events that make-up the potential value of a Community of Practice. We call this a Portal Development Session (PDS) in which all stakeholders agree on the purpose, roles and commitments as well as the platform and scope of the transformation project. It will help define a Statement of Direction (SOD) to begin the transformation of the organizational culture.

Forming/Storming/Norming The next phases will challenge leadership and participants to truly define organizational purpose and objectives. It will reveal the level of commitment as well as the capabilities of each participant.

It follows classic organizational development models, but is unique in providing a documented narrative of the transformation process.

Our model is to create small pilot CoP groups who then will define the structure of the Economic Events Networks that form the purpose of the enterprise.

Performing - Progressing It is the interactive clustering of emerging CoP groups we suggest will transform the organization into an agile, virtual and resilient 21st century enterprise. Moving people through the stages of transformation will be the role of the Community of Support. The end goal is Clusters of CoP’s interacting through progressive stages of innovation and value creation. Our model is built upon the vision described by the US Council on Competitiveness, but expanding it to include CoP’s and Economic Events Networks dispersed around the globe.

Process for Facilitating Change

Figure 7: Phased In stages of organizational transformation A common mistake is to try and leap past the necessary social networking stage and get right into later stage productivity. But without a foundation of shared purpose and trust little of real value can be derived7.

Those organizations that do focus on relationship building within a cluster will draw great value from the vast potential of the World Wide Web. If through a step by step process as illustrated they progress through the 5 levels of Community building as described in this paper.

In this way an enterprise can be part of an expanding global economy while retaining all of the advantages of local and regional “cluster building.”

The key will be leadership and its ability to define organizational purpose in a way that bonds people in productive Communities of Practice each focused on sustaining the health of the agile, virtual and resilient 21st century enterprise.

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See, “The Social Life of Information,” Brown & Duguid, Harvard Business School Publishing

About Authentic Discussions

A system for the virtual enterprise must enable team members to jot down notes, share To Do lists, send memos, as well as, • • • •

Share Files Build Documents Share Applications Share Knowledge

We suggest such a system must also allow people to engage in conversations that build trust. We call this method a from of deliberate discourse and have borrowed the term, “Authentic Discussions,” based on Edward Marshall’s use in, “The Collaborative Workplace.”

It is a way of working where team members share their minds in ongoing “in-context” conversations, privately one on one, or publicly within a team, or Community of Practice.

This method documents each member's on-going expressions, conversations, contributions and work habits, providing a continuity of shared purpose that must be experienced to be truly appreciated.

It is especially well adapted to the agile, virtual and resilient 21st century enterprise.

8 Edward M. Marshall, “Building Trust at the Speed of Change,” AMACOM, 2008

Case Studies The following case studies will be reviewed during proceedings at Collaborate East, Haynes Convention Center, Boston, June 25th, 2002.

Xerox/Virtual Teams/Open Text In 1997-2000 we developed foundation architecture for integrating document management, knowledge management and community tools in projects for Xerox, Agilent, H-P among others. In October 2000 in a project for Jeffrey Stamps, author of Virtual Teams9, we originated an architecture that is the foundation for Prism Software.

Ecomda (Munich) Ecomda specializes in Online Information and Communication Management for European Associations and Trade Unions. Prism led a project through Rheingold Associates in 20002001 to prototype various concepts and methods for a community management system.

EFMD (Brussels) The European Foundation for Management Development based in Brussels is Europe's forum for information, research, networking and dialogue on innovation and best practice in management development. Prism hosted EFMD's eLearning orchestrated by George Por in an event sponsored by IBM Europe.

MCE (Brussels) MCE (Management Centre Europe) is the European headquarters of the American Management Association. Prism developed the E-Train in April 2001 in association with Laurence Wilson and George Simons to help MCE faculty learn concepts and practices for online training.

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Virtual Teams: People Working Across Boundaries with Technology, Jeffrey Stamps and Jessica Lipnack, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

IE Solutions (USA) IE Solutions, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, is the home development site for Prism Software.

SolveBrand (Scotland) A site now being developed with David Cromar for incubation of 21st century businesses.

POINT Builders (USA) Development site for integrating multi-office Web portal as illustrated in this paper.

About The Author Founding Principal of Prism Software, Simon' has 25 year’s experience developing computer and web based training and communication programs for dispersed independent workers, students, faculty, agents, resellers and dealer-based technicians.

He has developed knowledge transfer systems for Xerox, H-P, Culligan, Management Centre Europe and European Foundation for Management Development and is currently working with Dr. Edward Marshall author of the Collaborative Workplace to develop an online institute for collaborative enterprise building.

Simon has been a featured speaker at INFOCOMM, SALT/ASTD, Telcon, Collaborate East as well as numerous electronic media events. Simon was a keynote speaker at the first Silicon Valley Multimedia Convention held in the San Jose Techmart Center in 1990.

Collaborative Solutions Evolved Through Experience CBT Training and Simulation Systems From 1988 through 1998 Prism founder Tom Simon was an independent developer of CBT training and simulation systems for clients including Litton Industries, Amana and ACT. Shown is a technical training project for Litton oxygen regulators for F-15 aircraft.

Agent Laptop Systems As laptops came into being Simon began developing comprehensive agent communication and training systems for Allstate, AEGON, NICB, Modern Woodmen, and Trustmark. Shown is training for licensing agents developed for APAC.

LAN/WAN Training Systems As networks evolved Simon began developing LAN and WAN systems that led to custom browser building for clients including IE Industries, American Greetings, and Manpower. He was one of the first developers in the CBT field to recognize how browsers would take over the desktop.

ASP Server/Client Systems In 1998 Simon evolved a method using Active Server Pages and SQL and begin implementing XML methods for integrating document management into training. In a training project for Xerox in 1998 Simon evolved a system to integrate blended XML Media, integrated courseware, and interactive messaging. This was the true genesis of Prism.

Community of Purpose Prism began as a collaborative project in Howard Rheingold’s10 Brainstorms Community in 1999. Simon built initial versions of Prism for Caucus Systems, Inc. During this time Simon hired Justin Morris who helped refine Prism based on work with Open Text, Agilent Technologies, H-P and Jeffrey Stamps author of ‘Virtual Teams,’ 11

Community of Practice (CoP) Prism CoP projects have been completed for ECOMDA, Munich, a developer of online social networking for European trade associations, and for both EFMD and MCE, leading European management consulting organizations based in Brussels.

10 Howard Rheingold, Tools for Thought:

History and Future of Mind-Expanding Technology, MIT Press, 2000

11 Virtual Teams, ‘Reaching Across Space, Time and Organizations With Technology’, John Wiley & Sons, 2000.