Communications

[HS Thomas]

I wondered what kind of communications are used in the business world.
Do people have meetings by e-mail or online conferencing ?
Would transcripts be automated? e.g. minutes, documentation created on the fly.
Is a link "Go to my web-site" sufficient ? people may just ignore that.
Or alternatively , those who bring sufficient links to the meeting get more credibility. And finally ,does anyone use written communications anymore?
In IT, there's an argument for not getting anything written down as it gets outdated quickly. Personally I feel you get more mileage if online communications were minuted or documented. The documentation can then be added to a wiki site. Otherwise the context is lost.
regards
[ October 30, 2003: Message edited by: HS Thomas ]

[Mark Herschberg]

AIM is surprisingly common. This scares many CIOs because proprietary information is being sent through over's servers. Most IM providers now have corporate versions. My sys admin wants to run Jabber locally to avoid this issue.
Conference calls are common between sites or companies. They are rarely transcribed.
I always emphasize writing things down. The fact that things will becomes out of date is not an excuse. It happens whether you write it down or not. It's just whether you will forget. As long as documents are dated and there's an understanding of how quickly things get out of date, you can use written communication effectively.
--Mark

[Jim Bedenbaugh]

We are currently closing our offices in Ft Lauderdale, Florida and will be telecommuting from various points around the nation. To overcome the communications issues, we have installed DSL in the homes, web cams and speaker phones. We are using virtual whiteboards for visuals (if we are brainstorming a design, etc.)
Meeting notes will be taken to the point of usefulness, but nothing close to what would be required if we were an ISO9000 shop. We'll eventually implement CMM guidelines - eventually we plan to get to CMM level 5, so documentation is a must.
I can't see much excuse for not keeping virtual copies of certain communications.

[Matt Cao]

Hi,
I think it is depended on company. In my company, we use email, teleconference, and shared intranet where only appropriate parties and members can access in designated time. We rarely sweat over missing transcript because those MIS dept is there for.
Regards,
MCao

[HS Thomas]

Originally posted by Mark Herschberg.

Most IM providers now have corporate versions. My sys admin wants to run Jabber locally to avoid this issue.

A federation of IM Servers.
What is AIM - AOL Instant Messenger ?
Accuracy in Media ?
regards
[ October 31, 2003: Message edited by: HS Thomas ]

[HS Thomas]

No one has mentioned using wiki for documentation.
Was that an oversight or isn't it happening ?
regards

[Al Newman]

We're using wiki for documentation on my project. However, most wiki sessions seem to consist of the introduction and little else, so one wonders how well this is working....

[HS Thomas]

Like most things , it does need the support of management. They would have to push for it to be updated. I can see why a very political organisation wouldn't like it at all. But having an up to date wiki for some kinds of information has huge benefits.
Specifications, Design documents especially.
Perhaps nothing that detracts from individual performance.
What could that be? .....
regards