Collaboration Process- Reading

This diagram (O'Brien, 2003) effectively communities different ways in which collaborative work can occur- good and bad.

1. Serial

This approach is simply one person doing their part and once completed passing it onto the next person so that they can do they contribution. It means team members have zero influence on what other group members have done or will do.  This approach would form a very disjointed, unresolved and poorly considered end product.

Our team never processed in this way. It does not seem logical and it would rely very heavily on team management, getting certain parts done by particular times so that everyone else has time for their part. This seems to just add unnecessary pressure and stress. It is not an effective way to manage time, as all the other team mates would be doing nothing until they're week of powering through their section. 

2. Concurrent

Different member working on their own tasks separately but at the same time. This approach is slightly better, as they would be opportunity for occasional communication and iteration along the way. It is not ideal for discussion or resolving problems as a team. This again, would form a disjointed end result.

For the initial and the concept presentation, this is where I would place our team. There was very little consultation during the process. Each member was very focussed on their own task and we weren't aware of what everyone else was doing. This definitely showed in both presentations. They appeared quite disconnected and didn't form part of larger whole. Each discipline was very separate, landscape, interior, industrial and architecture had they're own defined designs which were very reflective of the person who had done it, rather than a refection of the whole team. 

3. Integrative

This one is ideal for collaboration. It involves different members and disciplines to do a little bit of work before coming back to the team for iteration and discussion. Work goes back and forth between people throughout the whole process. This makes doing changes simple and drama free. It also helps the team as a whole to understand the overall project, and thus making their own contributions more informed.

I feel like we did reach this stage in the end. It took us a while, but we did get there in time for the final presentation. There was a very noticeable improvement from the concept to final presentation. It was evident that everyone had actually worked to together. Industrial utilised interior and they worked together to create a broader image of the system inside. Architecture and landscape worked together and used each others progress to enhance their own. We had architects working on landscape and interior perspectives which was great and really brought the whole design together.