Summary
Collaboration is key to opening the feedback loop and making innovative breakthroughs. But how do we unlock and reimagine versatile ideas in the room? By putting people first and designing to connect individuals, collaboration design helps everyone feel like they’re included and contributing equally. Join MURAL’s Emilia Åström, Learning Experience Lead, and Jim Kalbach, Chief Evangelist, to learn how your team can use this proven method — and MURAL — to strategize, innovate, and create your best solutions.
Key Insights
-
•
Collaboration design treats teamwork as an intentional, designed experience combining problem-solving and team connection.
-
•
The pandemic highlighted collaboration's social aspect and the importance of connection alongside task completion.
-
•
Pre-meeting asynchronous activities help participants prepare and build trust by sharing personal and topic-related information.
-
•
Using personal placemats in sessions allows introverts and second-language speakers time to think and contribute equally.
-
•
Turn-taking strategies in real-time sessions ensure balanced participation between remote and in-person attendees.
-
•
Visual prioritization tools like bullseye diagrams force teams to focus on the most important ideas by physical space constraints.
-
•
Small, engaging warm-up exercises (e.g., choosing favorite colors or pets) help energize participants and ease into collaboration.
-
•
Reflection exercises such as Rose-Thorn-Bud foster ongoing improvement and maintain team connection beyond meetings.
-
•
Collaboration design is a skill anyone facilitating conversations can learn and apply, not just a formal job title.
-
•
Experimentation is key in developing effective collaboration practices, especially in remote and hybrid environments.
Notable Quotes
"We believe collaboration should be as intentional and deliberate as any other form of design."
"Work has a social element and people miss connection with their colleagues, especially during remote work."
"Intelligent collaboration combines solving problems together with forming a sense of trust and connection."
"Taking time to connect and reflect before and after collaboration is more effective than relying on quarterly retreats."
"Personal placemats give each person time to think alone before sharing and help introverts participate better."
"Turn-taking techniques help ensure everyone’s voice is heard, especially in hybrid meetings."
"Using colors, shapes, and tags on sticky notes lets people express themselves and adds fun to sessions."
"Reflection activities like Rose-Thorn-Bud help capture what worked, what didn’t, and ideas for the future."
"Experimenting and prototyping collaboration methods helps teams find what works best for them."
"Designing collaboration means you don’t leave connection or problem-solving to chance—you make it deliberate."
Or choose a question:
More Videos
"Each species lost is a thread untethered from the web of life that supports us all."
Alex Hurworth Bonnie John Fahd Arshad Antoine MarinDesigning a Contact Tracing App for Universal Access
October 23, 2020
"Preparation is critical to ensure new employees have everything they need prior to their first day and the first few weeks."
Laine Riley Prokay Lisa GordonCarving a Path for Early Career DesignOps Practitioners
September 9, 2022
"Launching a design system is not a sprint, there’s no end, it’s always a continuous process."
Eniola OluwoleLessons From the DesignOps Journey of the World's Largest Travel Site
October 24, 2019
"Living personas refreshed constantly with new research allow others to connect with real customer behaviors."
Nathan ShedroffDouble Your Mileage: Use Your Research Strategically
March 31, 2020
"Apple premiered mobile accessibility in a very exciting way with the iPhone 3GS and VoiceOver announcement at WWDC."
Sam ProulxMobile Accessibility: Why Moving Accessibility Beyond the Desktop is Critical in a Mobile-first World
November 17, 2022
"Product and design teams are usually the best initial stakeholders to engage for rapid research programs."
Feleesha SterlingBuilding a Rapid Research Program (Videoconference)
May 18, 2023
"Overlaying cultural dialogue on journey maps reveals impactful insights that need to be validated but are promising."
Neil BarrieWidening the Aperture: The Case for Taking a Broader Lens to the Dialogue between Products and Culture
March 25, 2024
"Design systems help bridge the gap between design and development, but collaboration remains key."
John DevanneyThe Design Management Office
November 6, 2017
"The higher up you go, the more qualities like bravery matter compared to methodology."
Katy MogalBut Do Your Insights Scale?
March 12, 2021