[OSList] Conversation today with Brian Burt of MaestroConference

Wed Aug 29 06:09:37 PDT 2012

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.burt at 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" <harold at 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
>>> <thomas at 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-bounces at lists.openspacetech.org
>>>> [mailto:oslist-bounces at 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.daigle at 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.daigle at nufocusgroup.com
>>> twitter @suzannedaigle
>>>
>>>
>>>
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>>
>>
>>
>> --
>> Harold Shinsato
>> harold at shinsato.com
>> http://shinsato.com
>> twitter: @hajush
>>
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>
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