In everyday language, "collaborative solutions development" means "people communicating to agree on what to do together".
In terms of a need that it addresses, collaborative solutions development is the activity of briding the gap between separate knowledge and interests, and stakeholder alignment on detailed processes and plans.
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Separate knowledge
and interests
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=> X <=
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Stakeholder alignment on detailed processes and plans
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"Collaborative solutions development capability" refers to the knowledge, skills and techniques that people can bring into play in these efforts.
More formally, Collaborative Solutions Development Capability (CSDC) is the combined ability of a collection of individuals to deliver targeted process change results through:
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The solutions development core skills of problem solving and process analysis, design, and implementation planning and execution, and |
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The supporting collaboration skills of communication, consensus-building and commitment-building around the core process development skills and the results they produce. |
"Process" includes all types of activities and networks of events, including:
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manual and/or automated; |
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social, industrial or environmental; |
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repeated or one-time; and |
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formal or informal |
"Process" also includes plans as designs for one-time processes.
"Process change" includes incremental change, redesign or creation of a new process.
"Collaborative" indicates that the target process is sufficiently complex that successfully changing it will require contributions and cooperation from multiple parties.
"Low" collaborative solutions development capability means that, relatively speaking, a collection of people will make slow progress, experience wasted efforts and resources, and have a high risk of incomplete results or failure in working on the targeted activity.
"High" collaborative solutions development capability means that, relatively speaking, a collection of people will make fast progress, operate efficiently, and have a high probability of complete success. |
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The Core Capability
CSDC has many supporting elements ranging from software packages to executive backing. However, the core capability within CSDC is:
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the ability of people to perform the core skills of solutions development
during collaborative communication, learning and consensus-building.
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This is because the critical results of CSDC are the human results of shared understanding, alignment and commitment to action, which can only be achieved through human communication and learning.
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The key work products of collaborative solutions development are not documents
in databases. The key work products are mental models in people's minds, including models of:
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what the current process is |
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what works and doesn't work in the current process |
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what the new process should look like, and |
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how to get the new process up and running |
Documents play a critical supporting role in helping people build these mental models. However, effective process change action occurs only when the mental models are in place. |
If these human results are achieved, the software packages, executive backing, and other supporting elements are likely to follow, and the targeted process change will have a good chance of being accomplished.
On the other hand, without these human results and the communications and learning activities that produce them, software packages, executive backing and other elements can do little to cause a targeted process change to occur.
Accordingly, the core capability in Collaborative Solutions Development Capability in any situation is the set of combined individual capabilities for process analysis, design, communication and consensus-building (as shorthand for the full set of activities described above) in that situation.
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| Challenges and Opportunities |
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The Value of Better Collaborative Solutions Development
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Challenge: While individual creativity is irreplacable for discovering scientific, technological and commercial innovations, putting those innovations into use in the world requires teams of people developing and implementing processes.
This effort of collaborative solutions development may appear to be a general activity that people will accomplish regardless of how well they perform it, and thus not receive particular attention.
Opportunity: Recognizing that collaborative solutions development can be performed with widely different levels of efficiency and effectiveness opens the door to significantly more efficient and effective collaborative solutions development.
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The Reality of Collaborative Solutions Development Capability
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Challenge: Collaborative solutions development capability is used with different degrees of formality by millions of managers and professionals everyday. At the same time, it may seem like an abstract idea or simply the sum of normal problem solving and communication skills, and thus not receive particular attention.
Opportunity: Recognizing CSDC as a specific, learn-able capability opens the door to increasing this capability.
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The ratings scales below use a scale from 1 to 5, with 1 indicating "less agreement, less recognition, less capability" and so on, and 5 indicating "more agreement, more recognition, more capability" and so on.
Using this scale, rate your organization on its relative agreement with the following statements:
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Collaborative solutions development can be performed with different levels of effectiveness, with significant differences in the value it produces.
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Collaborative solutions development capability is a well-defined set of skills and techniques that can be deliberately and systematically strengthened.
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