Re: [OSList] Conversation today with Brian Burt of MaestroConference

Wed, 29 Aug 2012 10:01:17 -0700 (PDT) 

Hi Michael!
Good start! I can see that happening. At the same time, I wonder how far I would want to go with this stretched space-time thing. Open Space - in my experience - often has the character of a pressure cooker. A lot gets done in a short time and that is not only a great result in the end, but it also means a lot during the event. Already while the event is progressing, people say things like: something is really happening here! And they're thrilled to be a part of it and it increases the level of their contribution. Which in turn inspires and stimulates others as well. 


If you take out the element of limited time, I 
think you might lose this dynamic. Of course you 
can also go too far in the limiting of time. I 
once took part in an Open Space Online meeting 
where the time limit was enforced a little too 
strictly. This was back in the early days. When 
the time slot for a session ended, all the 
participants were kicked out of the session and 
the session was closed by the system. There was 
no "when it is over, it is over." It was more 
like: "It is over when the clock says it is 
over." So I would let the participants in a break 
out group deciede whether they are done or not. 
And I would make it very easy for all the 
participants to see at what time the other sessions will start.



That is the nice thing about this technology. You 
don't have to walk over to the plenary room to go 
look at the agenda. You can have a side bar on 
your screen showing the sessions that are about 
to start, sorted by start time. You could even 
list the sessions there that are already running, to facilitate bumble beeing.



To get back to Brian's questions: what we need to 
think about is how you are going to announce the 
topics. With online technology like this, you can 
easily let everyone post their session topics 
online and let them choose a time slot. The 
number of break out spaces is much more flexible 
than in a real building. But how do you get 
people to listen to the other topics that are 
listed and how do you get the topics spread out 
in time evenly? Not that you have to, but if all 
the sessions are at the beginning, the 
participants will be stretched really thin. And 
later on in the meeting there will not be many 
interesting sessions any more because all the 
good stuff was right at the start. I think I 
would like some sort of structure where those 
people who want to announce a topic have to line 
up for the microphone and they announce their 
topic to the entire audience one by one. Or is 
that too rigid? In a real meeting, you see people 
writing their topics and choosing time slots etc. 
If you are just waiting for your turn behind your 
computer, it can become quite lonely and boring. 
We would have to find a way to visualize what is 
going on. Like when you choose a time, you can 
see how many sessions there already are at each 
available start time. You could also have a 
visualization of the agenda wall that you see 
growing as sessions are added. And maybe an icon 
of a pen and paper next to someone's name if that 
person is in the process of entering a topic.



Something to think about in the whole thing is 
what you would want to do by audio and what by 
typing or clicking ( not to speak of drawing and 
sharing what's on your screen). I am sure the 
folks at Maestro have some ideas about that 
already. But that was not the question at this point...


This is really fun to play with!

Koos

At 15:09 29-8-2012, Michael Herman wrote:

logistics of topics and schedule...  first thoughts...

i think it might work pretty much like it does when we're face to
face.  there's one big group, a short briefing, and then a chance for
anyone in the large group to post their name/topic.  i think there
might be a host-designated grid of posting times, same as some people
have done in the f2f meetings.

now, the interesting wrinkle in what you're providing, brian, is that
when we're not all in the same place and time, boxed in by plane
rides, then the schedule grid could be set up to span days or weeks or
even an ongoing series of conversations that don't end until the work
does.  so the host-set starting grid might be one session long, today,
or might stretch out indefinitely.

so in this way, the "opening" is the session where this all gets
briefed, oriented, trained, and set up, and then there is one or more
breakouts.  in this way, future plenary sessions like evening and
morning news sessions might still be evening and morning, or they
might be week 1 news, week 2 news... or they might be january news or
quarterly news.... but they'd all be able to be scheduled and take
place in the same way any and all breakouts happen.  it might be good
practice and worth prompting the host at set up to set one or more
plenary times.  it might be set that no other sessions could be
scheduled at those times, or that might be left for informal agreement
within the group.  maybe it's a check box option for the host when
setting those times.

so there's an opening session.  where there is posting and announcing
of sessions.  then breakouts which are a multiplication of the first
session, with some sort of posting wall to support it.  there are
specialized breakouts marked as plenaries.  and finally, a specialized
plenary, marked as closing.  and while we're specializing, i wonder if
being able to specify something like a "sub-theme" or "track" or maybe
better a "stream" might allow for wider use and cross-pollination
among projects or departments or other more fixed areas of focus, over
the longer term, so that several open space streams in one group or
organization might be flowing through the same schedule grid.  this
might also support longer term complex projects in giving one layer of
description between the main theme and the individual breakouts.

this brings us to the point of taking notes, but that's beyond your
question, i think.  <grin>

one more thing... backing up a bit, brian... it might be helpful for
people on the list here, who might be thinking about this and wanting
to help, to hear from you a short description of what maestro
conference provides now.  it's there in the website, on different
pages and customer focused, but it'd be good to have even 3-5
sentences that describes it from a functional perspective, "this is
what it does now" sort of thing.

m






--

Michael Herman
Michael Herman Associates
312-280-7838 (mobile)

http://MichaelHerman.com
http://ManorNeighbors.com
http://OpenSpaceWorld.org




On Wed, Aug 29, 2012 at 4:12 AM, Brian Burt <brian.b...@gmail.com> wrote:
> Thanks Harold.
>
>> I think if they would allow people to move themselves by some simple
>> interface into the different rooms
>
> We definitely have that in mind and so appreciate people contributing with
> hearts and minds
>
> Harold & All: How would you see the initial segment of collectively
> brainstorming/proposing topics and landing on a schedule, especially with
> hundreds (or more) of participants?  (pardon my ignorance of the terms)
>
> We'll be digging in later but I welcome more thoughts.
>
> Thank you,
>
> On Aug 24, 2012 9:38 PM, "Harold Shinsato" <har...@shinsato.com> wrote:
>>
>> Hi Suzanne,
>>
>> Thanks for pursuing this possibility with Maestro. I think I gave some
>> input about this earlier. I find that the model that I experienced of

>> Maestro conference was that it was optimized 
for people giving workshops who

>> would then control the breakout groups.
>>
>> For Open Space, it doesn't seem to work well to put this decision making
>> process into the hands of the facilitator. It loses the self-organizing
>> feel.
>>
>> I think if they would allow people to move themselves by some simple
>> interface into the different rooms - either with a web interface or by
>> pressing numbers on the phone (like many people know to press *6 to mute

>> themselves, something like *9 could give a 
prompt to ask for a room number)

>> - you could cheaply and easily get the feeling of open space. Though I'd
>> suggest having some experiments and then adjusting based on findings.
>>
>> I agree with Koos - the simpler the better. I also wonder if there is a

>> "google hangout" method that could be used 
to combine voice and video. Could

>> this be done already? How do you compete with free? In any case, please
>> include me on the list of people interested. Thanks!
>>
>>     Regards,
>>     Harold
>>
>>
>> On 8/24/12 12:53 PM, Suzanne Daigle wrote:
>>>
>>> Hi Everyone,
>>>
>>> Thanks for being so responsive, brimming with ideas and information, love
>>> the skepticism too!  It is so cool to learn about the work that has been

>>> done over the years to develop an on-line 
virtual experience of Open Space.

>>>
>>> Brian Curt is on this list so he will be seeing these emails in real
>>> time. I'm guessing others at MaestroConference may also be monitoring.
>>>
>>> Definitely we're not starting from scratch --much has been done and when
>>> you add the powerful and unique features of MaestroConference with their

>>> strategic vision to optimize their 
technology for Open Space, it gets even

>>> more exciting. We may have the makings for something pretty darn great,

>>> taking us, step by step, to the next level 
and bringing more Open Space to

>>> the world -- a blend of  face-to-face and enhanced virtual.
>>>
>>> I don't know what y'all think and I don't mind tracking the names.  At

>>> this "emergent" stage of the game, it would 
be wonderful if people continued
>>> commenting as posts appear, sharing their 
thoughts and ideas. People could

>>> also suggest who else should be part of these discussions. I know the
>>> Agile/Scrum Technology community are very invested and aligned with Open
>>> Space. Many OS trailblazers in that community for sure!
>>>
>>> It  might get chaotic, messy and a bit confusing. Yet if we keep the
>>> conversations going, vibrant and chock-full of ideas and information, it
>>> should lead to a dynamic theme and invitation for the MaestroConference

>>> Virtual Open Visioning Event planned for 
the early Fall. No doubt we would
>>> have a packed house and we'd certainly be 
getting a good headstart on things

>>> while managing expectations knowing that we probably won't get this right
>>> immediately.
>>>
>>> On my end, I just wanted to clarify the bit that I am doing -- being an
>>> equal with all of you, highly receptive to what MaestroConference may be
>>> envisioning,  keeping a list of names, "being prepared to be surprised",
>>> doing less rather than more, and leaving lots of room for OS folks to
>>> self-organize and share leadership on this wonderful project wherever it
>>> leads.
>>>
>>> Suzanne
>>>
>>> P.S.  Brian and others at MaestroConference if you reading this, please
>>> check out WOSonOS London (the annual World Open Space on Open Space is in

>>> England this year) from October 11th to the 
14th. (thanks Spark!)  We would

>>> love to see you!  Many seasoned Open Space practitioners attending from
>>> across the globe.
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 12:08 PM, Thomas Herrmann
>>> <tho...@openspaceconsulting.com> wrote:
>>>>
>>>> Hi Suzanne
>>>>
>>>> Great idea!
>>>>
>>>> I have done quite a lot of virtual facilitation the last years and have
>>>> found a software that gives most of the possibilities that I think are

>>>> needed ­ even if I have only used it with 
quite small groups. Several of the

>>>> people in the Genuine Contact community use it ­ Blackboard Collaborate.
>>>> After testing many many available software we found this which suits the
>>>> needs for participative meetings incl Open Space, very well incl
>>>> reliability.
>>>>
>>>> I am willing to share some of my experiences down the line.
>>>>
>>>> Hugs
>>>>
>>>> Thomas Herrmann
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Från: oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org
>>>> [mailto:oslist-boun...@lists.openspacetech.org] För Suzanne Daigle
>>>> Skickat: den 24 augusti 2012 04:50
>>>> Till: World wide Open Space Technology email list
>>>> Ämne: [OSList] Conversation today with Brian Burt of MaestroConference
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Exciting to imagine! A virtual interface specifically geared to Open

>>>> Space. Brian Burt, CEO and Founder of 
MaestroConference, and I were on the
>>>> phone for about 30 minutes this 
afternoon.  It was a “jump right in” kinda

>>>> conversation with lots of give and take.  No doubt about it,

>>>> MaestroConference has been giving this 
some thought and Brian Burt knows the

>>>> process, principles and language of Open Space.
>>>>
>>>> In some cases their technology is there and stuff could happen right
>>>> away; other things need to be figured out and then of course, you can’t

>>>> totally replicate an in-person experience 
of Open Space so a hybrid virtual

>>>> adaptation would need to be developed.
>>>>
>>>> We talked about the big picture of a Virtual Open Space Social Webinar
>>>> platform that would allow hundreds and even thousands of people to

>>>> participate. We also discussed some of the 
challenges; for example: “can you

>>>> really have a virtual conversation with 50 people on-line engaged in one
>>>> topic or would we need to break into smaller groups” and “how could we
>>>> manage a post-it board with time and place”.
>>>>
>>>> Brian’s plan, along with other folks at Maestro Conference, is to host a

>>>> Virtual Open Visioning Event this Fall 
inviting lots of people (it would be

>>>> terrific if many joined) from the Open Space community and folks in the
>>>> technology world (major users of Open Space) to engage in working

>>>> conversations around the interface, the 
implementation, the applications of
>>>> where and how a virtual OS could be used, 
the invitation process and so much

>>>> more.
>>>>
>>>> What I was able to convey to Brian is that there are many practitioners
>>>> in this worldwide OS community, including the OSI US Board, who are

>>>> interested and excited about having a 
virtual Open Space platform. I’ll be
>>>> the first to say that I’m not the expert 
(nor the leader) in that regard but

>>>> I certainly have the passion and am willing to roll up my sleeves with
>>>> others to help make it happen.
>>>>
>>>> At Brian’s request, I’ve agreed to lend a hand if people want to advise

>>>> off list that they are interested, feel 
free to email me. You can also do it

>>>> publicly on the OS list and I’ll keep track. MaestroConference is also

>>>> interested in knowing if anyone has people 
they’d recommend who should be

>>>> invited to the Fall Event.
>>>>
>>>> In anticipation of the Virtual Open Visioning Event being planned,
>>>> perhaps we can continue the conversations on our OS list sharing what we

>>>> would hope to see, what questions we have, 
how we may want to contribute to

>>>> this  effort. My specific interest related to the virtual technology is
>>>> having the ability to host post-events after a face-to-face Open Space,

>>>> continuing the conversations and driving 
some of the actions and initiatives

>>>> that participants identified.
>>>>
>>>> An early Call to Action that may help Maestro Conference in their
>>>> planning! What do y'all think?
>>>>
>>>> Suzanne
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Suzanne Daigle
>>>> NuFocus Strategic Group
>>>> 7159 Victoria Circle
>>>> University Park, FL 34201
>>>> FL 941-359-8877;
>>>> CT 203-722-2009
>>>> www.nufocusgroup.com
>>>> s.dai...@nufocusgroup.com
>>>> twitter @suzannedaigle
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> --
>>> Suzanne Daigle
>>> NuFocus Strategic Group
>>> 7159 Victoria Circle
>>> University Park, FL 34201
>>> FL 941-359-8877;
>>> CT 203-722-2009
>>> www.nufocusgroup.com
>>> s.dai...@nufocusgroup.com
>>> twitter @suzannedaigle
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Harold Shinsato
>> har...@shinsato.com
>> http://shinsato.com
>> twitter: @hajush
>>
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>
>
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