How the University of Zurich enables users to use Connections – openly and decentrally managed

With Connections, the University of Zurich provides a collaboration platform for all employees, students and units of the university, be it faculties, departments or competence centres.
With minimal guidelines, the university leaves it to the users to get the most out of their daily collaboration. IT services supports the platform by offering courses and thus prepares interested members and future community managers for an optimal application. Current case studies illustrate how different the approach can be in a decentralized organization like a university. The challenges the decentralized units have to overcome and why the platform also helps to question internal processes are illustrated.

Transcript

1. How the University of Zurich enables users to use Connections – openly and decentrally managed Roberto Mazzoni, Roman Benz, Marco Spühler University of Zurich
2. PLATINUM SPONSOR PLATINUM SPONSORS GOLD SPONSORS SILVER SPONSORS BRONZE SPONSORS SPEEDSPONSORING BEER SPONSOR
3. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Agenda
4. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Agenda • The speakers • The University of Zurich (UZH) • The collaboration stack at UZH • HCL Connections • A different approach for a knowledge organization • What works, what did not succeed • Embracing administration, researchers and students
5. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The speakers
6. Roberto Mazzoni @davoser Roman Benz Marco Spühler
7. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The University of Zurich
8. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The University of Zurich - Introduction http://t.uzh.ch/100s
9. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The University of Zurich - Introduction • 1525: College of theology • 1833: first university in Europe to be founded by the state rather than a monarch or church.
10. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The University of Zurich – TOP 100: AWRU: 61
11. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 University of Zurich - Structure • Decentralized and self-governed • 150 institutes with 660 professors, 6669 FTE, incl. lecturers approx. 11’000 • Numerous associates Institutes • Learning organisation
12. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The collaboration stack at the University of Zurich
13. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Collaboration Software @ UZH – History and Today • 2005 • The university's IT strategy retains the evaluation of a groupware containing the usual suspects: email, scheduling, contacts, tasks, mobile synchronization • Opting for document management, synchronous communication, workflows • Replacing the old solutions for approx. 35,000 users (email only, some scheduling solutions) • 2007 - 2009 • Open tenders • End of evaluation, final decision: Domino/Notes • Internal “Going live” with IT services • 2010: Official “Going live” and migration of the 40'000 users (yes, we found some more...) • 2011 • Sametime Standard with Sametime Meetings • Connections - adoption only by IT department
14. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Facts & figures: email is not dead -> at all • 595’000 internal emails per day • 223’000 emails from internet • 62 % classified as spam • 129’000 registered email addresses • Email quota: 20 GB, also for students With 20 GB quota (and additional 20 GB per person freely distributable within your organization), the UZH offers more email storage than most big providers do. That was unthinkable a few years ago and is still not achieved in many companies.
15. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Facts & figures: Domino/Notes – daily access by email clients 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
16. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 UZH Connect the next step in collaboration
17. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 HCL Connections – a long, long journey • 2011: IBM Connections kicks in • Licensing support by Belsoft • Missing Management Support • First rollout within IT Service • Connections 3.0 • We did wrong what can be done wrong • No management support • No plans which component should be used in which manner • No community manager established • Nevertheless: IT department employees won’t miss it after short time of usage!
18. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Connections@UZH – history and today • 2011: Connections - adoption only by IT department • 2013: Connections for projects and pilot groups • 2014: Preparing Roll Out for all employees • 2015: Starting Roll out • 2016: • 2017:
19. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Social collaboration challenges – change the bevaviour of users • It is a great platform - can be spread even if your management does not promote it • Show the features people always missed for their work • It is not “normal” to work with a Social Business environment • It is not a matter of age ! • People like email, they used it for years – we did not offer them better ways to collaborate • People are shy (you won’t have digital natives in your administration) • People can’t distinguish between privacy and transparency
20. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Connections – Integrate to your environment • Make HCL Notes/iNotes/Verse, Sametime and Connections one experience • Add Connections to Notes • Easiest way to get rid of attachments in emails • Get your tasks from your activities to your calendar • Show up your community calendar in Notes • Get the profile pictures back to Notes through Sametime • Connections Desktop Plug-in • Replaces your file shares with much more benefits (versions just to mention one) • Yes, the macOS Finder integration is different
21. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Connections approaches – Integrate people with their projects • Identify stakeholders that will help spread the word and help them with their projects • Integrate in working environment • Show advantages and simplifications in the daily work • Find teams that cross borders • Adopt communities to their needs
22. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Simple but effective - folder access for files • University Management • Grants access to stakeholders to minutes of meetings with Connection Files • Reuse Notes groups for access management using folders only • Flexibility of different access models
23. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Be prepared for hazards • University Crisis management group • Scenarios in case of hazards ready to use (selection) • Radiation Protection • Biological Safety/Security • Fire Safety • Chemical Safety • Hazardous Waste Management • People from different departments involved in associated communities • Subcommunities for handling different hazards
24. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Be prepared for hazards – private only • Content “private” only • Yes, it’s fine to keep Communities restricted • ensure that members gain confidence • also social business must be learned • prepare content for later public access
25. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The role of HR • Identify the needs HR has • Find stakeholders willing to optimize processes • And then the voice is spread over 150 units by more than 600 people and all 660 kingdoms
26. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Managing workflows with subcommunities • Evaluation process for institutes • Goal: reduce email without introducing new tools • One community with all information for all evaluations • One subcommunity for each evaluation • Managing workflows by changing access rights during evaluation process • On community member level • On file access right level
27. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Simplify research cooperation in art history
28. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Research Project “The Churches of Rome in the Middle Ages” • Completion of a six-volume catalogue of the approximately 120 medieval churches of Rome (3 volumes published, 3 volumes in preparation) • Cooperation project • Chair of Medieval Art and History of Photography at the Università della Svizzera italiana, Mendrisio (Prof. Dr. Daniela Mondini) • Chair of History of Medieval Art and Medieval Archaeology at the University of Zurich (Prof. Dr. Carola Jäggi) • Further scholars located in Europe and in the US
29. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 The need of sharing documents • The researchers need a common platform to share their documents (images, journal articles, manuscripts etc.) • Before using Connections: • Shared directory on a Windows server (VPN connection required to access from outside the university network) • Too complicated to set up the necessary VPN and server connections on the researchers’ computers
30. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Benefits of using Connections • Fully browser-based solution → no setup of VPN and server connections needed • Improves the information flow between the project members: Thanks to email notifications, everyone is well-informed about the activities in the Community.
31. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Connections media gallery • Allows immediate overview • Files allows organizing information in chapters
32. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Simplify collaboration: Directorate for Real Estate and Facility Management
33. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Infrastructure and Construction Challenges at UZH in a nutshell • Outstanding Infrastructure is a decisive factor for the future of UZH • At present, too many sites make efficient teaching and research more difficult • Outdated properties are resulting in high operating costs and inefficient teaching • The long-term goal is to integrate the Oerlikon and Schlieren site at Irchel Campus • The pent-up need for restoration work on Irchel Campus is considerable. This puts operating safety at risk and increasingly leads to structure stabilization measures that cannot be planned Schlieren Campus
34. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Directorate for Real Estate and Facility Management (Direktion Immobilien und Betrieb DIB) • Challenges for EDM: • wide spectrum of tasks DIB (e.g. site development, project management, facility management, maintenance) • Different roles with very specific needs (e.g. cleaning staff, architects, portfolio managers, gardeners, engineers, mechanics, controllers, project managers) • Recent reorganization (directorate DIB since 01/2019) • Project organization vs. line organization; projects with other UZH units (e.g. IT, Finance, user groups) • DIB plans, develops and operates the real estate portfolio of the UZH (Website) • Since June 2019: Team «Development and Data Management» (Entwicklung und Datenmanagement EDM) • Simplify collaboration & evaluate software for the directorates specific needs • Establish & optimize information flow and knowledge management
35. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Directorate for Real Estate and Facility Management & UZH Connect • Work in progress: • EDM as «think tank»: all team-related content on Connect UZH (e.g. files, meeting protocols, requests) -> testing, testing, testing • Subcommunities for EDM projects (DIB- / UZH-wide) • Communities for software user groups (e.g. manuals, FAQ, Q&A, discussion forums) • Coming Soon (maybe… hopefully!): • DIB Community with all staff members (mandatory, e.g. to secure constant information flow, implement employee suggestion system) • DIB knowledge data base (e.g. fact sheets, instructions, manuals, guidelines) • Communities for DIB projects to simplify collaboration (no more «all files on my desktop / in my mailbox» or «who’s got the newest version?)»
36. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Sharing knowledge https://youtu.be/yEYCWkK-iEk
37. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Since fall semester 2017: access for students • Students have been integrated since autumn 2017 without further ado • Institutes use Connections as a documentation (especially Wiki's) and collaboration platform for students • Students open their own communities
38. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Connections usage
39. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Veterinary hospital – UZH Connect is the collaborative intranet • Blog used for announcements also from the director • Wiki for docu- mentation, also for students • Reduce of email à check the community !
40. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Workshops for “Community Managers” • Rollout is not a technical challenge !!! • It’s a organisational one • Prepare units to be aware of it • Community Manager • There is no technical role for it • People need to be enabled for it • Workshops • Your users know what they need • Let them find out and assist them • IT will be critical: loss of control
41. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Workshops are open for students
42. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 It’s open – let it open – let the choice ! • Let them use and show them all options ! • Notes integration (Outlook and MS Office too) • Desktop plugins • Mobile Apps • If you miss it: they will found out! • You can’t loose control – you never had! • It’s social ! • It’s open, let it open • The only way they can contribute their own ideas and are also prepared to rethink their own processes • People need to learn and will learn to handle it • Discuss consequences of errors
43. Social Connections 15 Munich, September 16-18 2019 Thank you for your attention
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