Appendix. A1: Podio - compiled notes. Chronological events

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1 Appendix A1: Podio - compiled notes Chronological events Comprised of data from mails, conversations (internal and external, as well as face to face and via phone/skype etc.), meetings, information on Trello, information on Podio, notes and documents. - Issues, task and project information are spread out in mails and Trello boards. - Trello is too simple for a project framework. Might work for smaller tasks and issue. - Information about tasks and issues are hard to find, due to the disperse distribution. - Decisions and agreements are being made through multiple forms of communication. Over phone, , Trello, meetings and at lunch. - Information regarding decisions, agreements, task, issues and projects are becoming harder and harder to locate. - Day to day tasks and issues are difficult to keep track of. - Projects are next to impossible to manage. - Backtracking history of task and issue are very difficult. - Backtracking decisions and agreements are very difficult. - Backtracking projects is next to impossible. - Managing projects is difficult without a project management and a project methodology. - Keeping track of estimates and deliverables is virtually impossible. - No transparencies regarding agreed upon deadlines on task, issues and projects. - Bad will between Unoliving and our development partner grows. - Delivered solutions start to suffer from the deteriorate relationship. - Development partner seems to prioritize Unoliving lower than other customers. - In the face of a planned larger project (migration from one version of the e- commerce platform Magento, to a new version of Magento to a new server, different hosting partner, a new setup and a new site), the relationship between Unoliving and the development partner is reviewed.

2 - It is decided to keep the current development partner, improvement is however needed. - Meetings with and without the development partner is being held, in order to find an amicable solution. - A collaboration platform Podio is being proposed to alleviate problems that was caused by lack of communication and transparency. - Unolivings development partner already uses Podio internally, and invites Unoliving to their workspace on the platform. - Podio is chosen as the project platform for the upcoming project. - Unoliving is under the impression that the development partner will be in charge of the configuration of the platform. This only holds true to a low degree. - Unoliving is under the impression that the development partner will the frontrunner in defining a project framework using Podio, due to their Podio expertize. This does not hold true. - A new meeting with the development partner is being held, and it is agreed upon that a SCRUM like project methodology / framework will be in the interest of both parties. - Unoliving develops the Podio project framework, and configures the Podio platform to accommodate the SCRUM methodology. - It is expected by Unoliving that the development partner will be a frontrunner in defining project tasks within the Podio project framework due to their technical expertize. This does not hold true. - Unoliving defines the tasks within the project to their best ability. - It is expected that the development partner will add necessary information. This proves to be the case, but only to a mild degree. - Unoliving does the majority of project task description. - Unoliving handles all project management. - Unoliving exerts a lot of effort, in advocating the continuously use of the project framework, on a day to day, task to task basis, in order to maximize transparency during the project. - Project communication in the form of task description via other means than Podio (phone, mails, documents etc.) goes down, but still exists. - A lot of nursing in regards to keeping project information up to date, is being done by Unoliving. Both internally and towards the development partner. - Since not all of Unolivings employees are using Podio yet (due to added expenses per extra user), whiteboard with post-its are used as a supplement to the Podio project framework. The whiteboard serves as an overview of task in the back-log, in progress and done tasks. The post-its only contain the title of the project tasks. This way, all employees of Unoliving can see how far along the project is. - The relationship between the development partner and Unoliving improves, as Podio facilitates better communication, transparency and traceability of task history. However, it does not improve the relationship as much as hoped for. 2

3 - It is agreed, that for go-live of the project, Unolivings Process and IT responsible employee will be present at the developers location. This turns out to be a great success. - It is recognized by both parties that verbal communication as a supplement to task descriptions in Podio, are still vital. - Unoliving extends Podio to handle single tasks and issues. This greatly improves collaboration. - Due to the success of an Unoliving employee being onsite at the development partner during project go live, it is decided that at least one day a week, both parties will be present at development partners location, for a weekly joint workday. - A workday would consist of one Unoliving employee sitting side by side with an employee from the development partner. - The Unoliving employees primary focus would be to facilitate the implementation of the development partner employee, as well as promote the continuously use of Podio. - The workday is being held several consecutive weeks, improving the relationship between Unoliving and the development partner. Both in terms of Podio use, but also in terms of general collaboration. - It gave both parties a certainty that on that one weekday, there would be a full 100% focus on solving Unoliving tasks and issues. For Unoliving it meant clearer and more precise expected completion time, and for the development partner, it gave them a certain structure in their routines. - s containing task and issue descriptions are becoming less and less. - The benefits of Podio are being used to greater and greater extend. This yields transparency, traceability, accountability and better communication for both parties. - Unoliving extends Podio even further with the possibility to record time spent on each task. - The development partner manually adds time spent to Podio. - The development partner integrates the Unoliving created Podio app, with their own time registration tool Toggl. - Podio can now be used to track time spent on tasks, both internally and externally. This is being used when approving invoices. - Workdays are still being held each week, but not always at the development partners location. The improved cooperation, and routine and processes introduced with Podio, allows for effective workdays without physical co-location. 3

4 A2: Podio Action Research cycles Podio initiative Stage Iteration 1 Diagnosis Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning Description Keeping track of tasks, issues and projects are very difficult using the current tools (Trello, mails and phone calls). This is resulting in a degrading relation between Unoliving and the development partner. Unoliving employees and employees from the development partner plan to use the collaboration platform Podio. Unoliving registers for a Podio account. The development partner gives Unoliving access to their Podio workspace. Unoliving begins the using Podio. The Podio platform shows great potential and both parties recognize this. Before being able to take full advantage of all the possible benefits Podio can provide, a lot of customization and configuration is needed. This includes a project framework. Iteration 2 Diagnosis Action planning Action taking A well thought through project framework is needed in order to draw more benefit from Podio. In its current form, it only holds technical specifications required for the project. A meeting between Unoliving employees and employees of the development partner is being held. It is agreed upon, that Podio needs a project framework. A SCRUM alike methodology / framework is selected. Unoliving will configure Podio for the framework. Unoliving builds the project framework in collaboration with the development partner. 4

5 Evaluating Specifying learning The framework seemed to be able to capture all information necessary, and thus was approved by both Unoliving and the development partner. In building the framework in Podio, it becomes evident that Podio has potential for much more, such as simple task and issue management. It might even have potential as a tool for keeping track of billable hours. Iteration 3 Diagnosis Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning The framework needs to be populated with data, as well as updated on a regular basis. It is decided that the new Podio project framework is going to be populated with task and project data from both parties. Unoliving will be providing the data that specifies the boundaries of the project (deadlines, sprints, framework structure), and the development partner technical task descriptions. Unoliving provides the overall data that sets the course of the project. They are also forced to describe the tasks on a higher abstract level, since the development partner are more concerned with the actual tasks. In the light of the fact that the development partner does not have in-house project management capabilities, they are not capable of being a 50/50 participant in populating and updating data in the framework. A governance structure regarding Podio is needed. The development partners expertize lies not in project management or IT governance, but rather in creating and implementing technical solutions for our e- commerce system Magento. It is decided that Unoliving will be governing the Podio collaboration platform, and that the development partner will provide input on an ad hoc need to basis. Iteration 4 Diagnosis After the project go-live, there is a need for tracking and managing regular tasks and issues, to improve communication, transparency and traceability. 5

6 Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning It is agreed internally and with the development partner, that Podio is to be used for tasks and issues as well. Unoliving extends the Podio collaboration platform to handle tasks and issues. The technical solution for handling tasks and issue works very well, and both parties were pleased with the solution. The solution works great for day-to-day tasks and issues, there are however still areas that need improvement. Even though tasks and issues are being described to Unolivings best abilities, sometimes questions regarding implementation arise. Since both party yet has to make the Unoliving Podio workspace a part of their standard processes, tasks and issues are not always updated in a timely manner, nor is the quality good enough. Iteration 5 Diagnosis Action planning Action taking The new Podio task and issue management platform is technically sound, but working routines and procedures both internally and externally needs to adjust. Using and continuesly updating the platform for tasks and issues, needs to be a habit at both Unoliving and the development partner. For the development partner, not being able to receive an elaboration on a Podio task description, could mean that the implementation came to a halt, and Podio not being updated with this information. For Unoliving, a habit of checking and using Podio was also needed. A plan for a joint workday once a week was agreed upon. The Unoliving IT responsible would visit the development partner in Aalborg for an entire day. The Unoliving IT responsible would visit the development partner, and together they would sit side by side, working on the weeks tasks and issue. The development partner would implement the tasks, as well as update Podio accordingly. The Unoliving IT responsible would answer all questions about the tasks, and update Podio on the fly as well. 6

7 Evaluating Specifying learning The workdays are a huge success. A lot of effective work is being done, and Podio is becoming routine. It also brings more certainty as to when tasks and issues can be completed. For the development partner, it gave them a more structured work schedule when dealing with Unoliving tasks. In the process of Podio becoming routine, the need for task or issue specific information via mail is less and less. In order to standardize the use of a new system, or simply new working routines and habits, the far easiest road to success is collaboration. The foundation for continuously use of Podio has been made, and improved the relationship between the parties by magnitude. Iteration 6 Diagnosis Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning Approving invoices with time spent on task, issues and projects by the development partner, is a cumbersome procedure for Unoliving. It is planned that Podio should register this as well, in a way that helps both Unoliving to reduce the time spent on approving invoices, and helps the development partner register time spent very easy. Unoliving implements the new time management app in Podio. Both parties believes it makes it easier to register and keep track of time spent. When already having a tool capable of standardizing working routines even more, it can be a benefit for all parties to exploit it as much as possible. The development partner sometimes forget to update this new app, but plans to integrate it with their time management software Toggl, for an automation of the process. A3: Podio interview - Jonas 7

8 Interviewed subject: Jonas Nygaard Christiansen Position: Marketing Manager of Unoliving I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen JNC = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: How would send a task/issue to our development partner? JNC: Well Right now we are using Podio, where we write in the issue. We describe the issue in Podio. Then the development partner will estimate it, and then it is up to Unoliving to decide if we still want it. When we give a go, then the development partner will start the development. I: Do you use this procedure regardless of importance, priority and urgency? JNC: Haha, no. When something is quite urgent, like a break down or something alike, I take contact to our internal IT department, and then they will contact the development partner. We only use Podio when we are putting something in a sprint. I: How do you differentiate between low and high importance when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define low importance and high importance? JNC: First we need to determine whether it is something that needs fixing right away. Maybe prices are not correct. If we have high urgency we put it into Podio right away, and otherwise it can wait. I: How do you differentiate between low and high priority when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define low priority and high priority? JNC: High priority is essential for the normal day, you can say. It is something that needs to be fixed right away, so that we can go on about our daily routine. A low priority could be something that can wait maybe a week or a month. That could be changing the menu or pictures. 8

9 I: How do you differentiate between urgent and not urgent when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define urgent and not urgent? JNC: Again it depends on the influence on our daily work or our customers ability to use our services, it is quite urgent. If it is just nice-to-have, it is not urgent, and will be taken care of in a later sprint. I: In your use of Podio, in regards to handling projects, task and issues, do you feel it has all the necessary functionality? JNC: Well I have not been using Podio for that long, but so far I am satisfied. However, I would like an easier way to see all completed tasks in a given sprint. I would also like it to be easier to see task flagged for the marketing department. I: In what cases would you consider not using Podio for projects, tasks and issues? JNC: Small tasks. Picture changes, text changes. Then I won t use Podio. If it can be done by our development partner in 5 min, I won t use Podio. I however think it is important to put most tasks into Podio in order to get an IT opinion of them. I: What were your expectations towards Podio before you started using it? Did you see any advantages? JNC: I ve been working with another system, can t remember the name, we had a chat function. You could have live chats and discussions. That could be nice to have in Podio. I: Having used Podio for some time, do you believe Podio is a good platform? What advantages do you see? JNC: Yes, I believe it is a good platform. I like the structure, even though it can be quite difficult when you are new to it. The more I use it, the more I like it. I: Do you see any drawbacks to Podio? JNC: Maybe the thing where you cannot see completed tasks in a sprint. That I would like. I guess you can now, but there should be an easier way of seeing it. I: Do you feel that maybe Podio could be used for more? Do you have any suggestions for improving Podio or the use thereof? 9

10 JNC: Maybe some timelines. A good overview over sprints. Maybe more drag and drop options regarding tasks. Then it would be easier for a marketing department to work with. A4: Podio interview - Mark Interviewed subject: Mark Gottenborg Jensen Position: IT student employee in the Unoliving IT department I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen MGJ = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: How would you send a task/issue to our development partner? MGJ: In Podio we have this assignment tab, where we can set urgency, priority, status and which sprint. I: Do you use this procedure regardless of importance, priority and urgency? MGJ: No. If it is urgent or important, I will circumvent this by contacting them through Skype or phone. I: How do you differentiate between low and high importance when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define low priority and high priority? MGJ: That is a bit difficult. Low is when we have a small change that we do not need right away. High priority is something that is relevant in the near future. 10

11 I: How do you differentiate between low and high importance when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define low importance and high importance? MGJ: High importance is when it has effect on matters at hands. It is immediate, and needs to be fixed. Lower importance can be pushed into the background. We have a level 1-3, where 1 is very important and 3 is least important. We even have a 1-urgent, for things that are both. I: How do you differentiate between urgent and not urgent when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define urgent and not urgent? MGJ: Urgent are things that affect our livelihood. Eg. things that might conflict with the law. Thing that needs to be fixed right away. Usually they do not even make it into Podio. I: In your use of Podio, in regards to handling projects, task and issues, do you feel it has all the necessary functionality? MGJ: Yes and then some. Podio is incredible flexible. You can add and remove buttons, and chose the layout. It however gives it a steep learning curve. I: In what cases would you consider not using Podio for projects, tasks and issues? MGJ: Small projects project with short timespans. Projects where the Podio setup would be a large overhead compared to the project. I: What were your expectations towards Podio before you started using it? Did you see any advantages? MGJ: Before Podio I was using Trello. Advantages of Trello is that it is fast to learn, but you quickly loose overview. Podio gave better overview and better flexibility. Better alignment, where to look for tasks, which sprint you are in and so on I: Having used Podio for some time, do you believe Podio is a good platform? What advantages do you see? MGJ: As you get into it, you become faster at using it. Getting over the learning curve, and figuring out how it works best for me, I like it. For companies like Unoliving, it is nice to have a log of everything that has happened. I: Do you see any drawbacks to Podio? 11

12 MGJ: The large overhead when you start out. First time you use it, you can lose your way. Especially if you did not create the setup yourself. I: Do you feel that maybe Podio could be used for more? Do you have any suggestions for improving Podio or the use thereof? MGJ: I know there is a lot of functionality, more than I know of. I think it has every feature that you would want for an organizational collaboration system. It is a big system, and very much customized to a specific organization. This means that it might look very much different in another organization. That can be confusing. A5: Podio interview - Michael Interviewed subject: Michael Gregersen Position: Owner and developer at TRIC Solutions I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen MG = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: Before Unoliving was using Podio, how would you receive tasks (both project tasks and smaller tasks) and issue or project from Unoliving? MG: Stort set altid være via telefon og . I: Did you see any disadvantages to that approach? 12

13 MG: Helt klart. Når der er mange bolde I luften på samme tid. Det var ikke så slemt den gang det var få kunder i min ende det drejede sig om, men i takt med at opgaverne og kunder er vokset, så er det blevet sværere. At der er kommet flere medarbejdere i min ende, har også gjort det sværere. Der skulle man skrive ting ned, for ikke at glemme det. Så helt klart en ulempe. I: Receiving tasks and issues before Podio was introduced; how did Unoliving differentiate between high/low importance, high/low priority and high/low urgency? MG: Ja, det vil de jo nok selv mene. Men næsten alt blev klassificeret som haster, og alt var vigtigt. Så det korte svar er både ja og nej. Der blev ikke differentieret nok. Der blev ikke taget stilling til om det var en haster, eller noget de bare gerne bille have lavet hurtigst muligt. I: How do you personally define the terms: importance, priority and urgency? MG: Vigtighed og prioritet og haster. En haster er noget der ikke kan vente 24 timer, noget der er forretningskritisk, og skal løses inden for relativt få timer. Prioritet er i forhold til andre opgaver der ligger. Vigtigheden er lidt det samme som prioriteten, men nok mere i forhold til hvad der kan give værdi. Kan det laves nu, eller kan det vente til f.eks. nogle måneder. I: How is importance, priority and urgency indicated in Podio? MG: Det bliver indikeret som kategorier, som en dropdown kan man sige. Du vælger en, og ikke flere. I: Why was Podio the chosen collaboration platform between Unoliving and yourself as an organization? MG: Det gjorde det fordi vi var nok med til at pushe det lidt ind, da vi allerede havde taget det ind hos os. Vi var allerede gået i gang med at bruge det som et CRM og project management system. Da vi startede med Unoliving, brugte vi Trello, men det var ikke omfangsrigt nok til at få overblik til store projekter. Til SCRUM board kunne det gå, men ikke i stor skala. Derfor opfordrede vi Unoliving til at kigge på det, både til projekter og interne ting. I: Before it was brought into use, what was your expectations towards the use of Podio between Unoliving and yourself as an organization? MG: Forventningen var at vi kunne arbejde bedre sammen om opgaverne, samt holde et bedre overblik over opgaver der var I pipeline. Så egentlig et lidt mere fælles samarbejde omkring at give og få løst opgaver. 13

14 I: Do all tasks, both project tasks and smaller tasks, as well as issues go through Podio before reaching you? MG: Nej, det gør det ikke, men det er tæt på. Der er nogle enkelte ind imellem. Det er typisk når Henrik holder ferie, når de har et hurtigt spørgsmål eller enkelt opgave. Men vi er ved at være tæt på at det er 99% der når omkring Podio. I: In what cases would you prefer not using Podio? MG: Ja, det vil jeg sige. I en sammenhæng, hvor der er en opgave der er kritisk og haster, og er vigtig at få overført med det samme. Så vil jeg gerne have den via telefon. Så kan man lægge den i Podio efterfølgende, så vi har noget at registrere på. Vi kommer aldrig helt udenom at skulle bruge telefon og . Der kan være situationer hvor jeg er optaget, og der lægger jeg ikke mærke til en Podio opdatering, vil vil reagere på et opkald. I: What were your expectations towards Podio as a time registration tool? MG: Der var forventningen at vi kunne være med til at give Unoliving en bedre gennemsigtighed omkring hvilken tid der blev brugt hvornår, samt give et indblik I hvordan vi arbejder på opgaver. Nogle opgaver lyder nemme, men tager faktisk tid. På den måde kan vi skabe større gennemsigtighed, og fremadrettet blive bedre til at se hvad ting tager af tid, før vi tracker noget. I: Having used Podio for some time, do you believe Podio is a good platform? What advantages do you see? MG: Jeg synes Podio er en god platform. Det handler om at bruge den rigtigt, og have det rigtige mindset. Det er en meget skalerbar platform, og man skal selv skabe den. Man får nogle værktøjer så man kan oprette apps, som man selv kan styre. Deres API er også rigtigt lækkert. Dem gør vi brug af. Ved os har vi lavet integrationer, så Podio håndtere kunder og kontakter. Vi har bygget middleware, som connecter andre systemer med Podio, så Podio er blevet et centralt stykke software for. I: Do you believe the use of Podio between Unoliving and yourself as an organization is a success? If yes, on what criteria do you base this evaluation? MG: Svaret er ja, og det bygger jeg på, at vi har fået mere styr på opgave styringen. Hvilke opgaver skal løses, hvordan er de prioriteret, og hvornår skal de laves. Vi kan estimere på dem, og bagefter registrere på dem. Disse to tal kan vi så holde op mod hinanden, og se om det har været et godt valg at få lavet en given opgave. Det har også minimeret en hel masse korrespondance, og forbedret styringen af opgaver. 14

15 I: Do you see any drawbacks to Podio? MG: Der er nogen gange ting vi gerne vil, som vi ikke kan. Nu kan jeg ikke komme på noget. Der kan være ulemper hvis man har rigtigt meget data. Vi har kontakt informationer, og der er ret meget data, som har gjort det lidt langsomt. Der er vi i gang med løsning, hvor vi laver et dashboard, som trækker fra Podio API et. Det handler lidt om hvordan man bruger det, og Podio er ikke skabt for alle. Den kan modeleres som man har brug for. I: Do you feel that maybe Podio could be used for more? Do you have any suggestions for improving Podio or the use thereof? MG: Nej, ikke synderligt. Jeg kunne godt have tænkt mig, at man kunne have et bedre overblik, når man afventer nogle input fra bestemte personer. F.eks. kan Rasmus eller Jonas nogle gange blive tagget, men så ser de det ikke, og så ligger opgaven uden at blive taget hånd om. Så det er måske lidt en ulempe. Vigtige opdatering kan drukne i ikke vigitge opdateringer. Dette kunne måske løses med opgaveholder eller tovholder, og en automatiseret proces der f.eks. efter 14 dage kom frem og informerede om at der ikke var sket noget på opgaven. A6: Podio interview - Rasmus Interviewed subject: Rasmus Krath Position: Commercial Director of Unoliving I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen RK = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: How would send a task/issue to our development partner? 15

16 RK: I would inform Henrik or Mark about the task, and then I would add it to Podio, give it a headline and certain attributes, and add it to a sprint. Then I would leave it in for further comments from IT. I: Do you use this procedure regardless of importance, priority and urgency? RK: Yes, if it is something that I have identified as a task. If I know what kind of task it is. If I have a question, or an error, I would reach out to Henrik or Mark, or the development partner if Henrik or Mark were not available. I: How do you differentiate between low and high importance when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define low importance and high importance? RK: I would look on what kind of impact it has on the business, and whether or not it would stall a running project. If there is a dependency from a running project, then I would increase the impotency or urgency of the task. If it were something that we potentially would like to have at some point, it would have a lower priority or urgency. If it is an error that has a direct impact on the ability to run our business that would also increase the urgency of the task. I: How do you differentiate between low and high priority when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define low priority and high priority? RK: Again, I would I would say it a mix of how it has an impact on daily business or holding a project back. Is it something we need know now, or in a month? Do we need it in combination with a running project? So normally task I insert, would either be urgent because it is something that impacts daily business, or it will be lower priority because it is part of a normal project. I: How do you differentiate between urgent and not urgent when reporting a task to the development partner, and how do you define urgent and not urgent? RK: An urgent task is something that needs to be fixed right now. Something that impacts daily business. Other than that, it is not an urgent issue. I: In your use of Podio, in regards to handling projects, task and issues, do you feel it has all the necessary functionality? RK: I do think so. We have at some point been looking an adding a Gantt chart, to control larger projects. One could argue that you could cut down the task size representation to a visualization that gives the same. In terms of the rest, it has the tools we need. One could argue that a lot of information is found in comments, maybe a to large amount, which can be hard to find. 16

17 When you have multiple tasks in projects of larger size, it would be good to have. It would help in sprint planning. The functionality is probably there, its whether or not we have implemented it in our processes. I: In what cases would you consider not using Podio for projects, tasks and issues? RK: Generally it is when you have an inquirer, when you have something you need to understand better before you formulate a task. It can be a bit much to create a task, when you are not sure what to write. Other than that, I would say that we as a whole should send things through Podio in order to track things. Of course, when there is a fire, it is often easier to put out the fire first. But I reckon that should go to Podio as well. I: What were your expectations towards Podio before you started using it? Did you see any advantages? RK: On general I think that having a structured project management tool, is what everybody needs. I think Podio has the tools, and is maybe even too advanced on some points. I think in overall, the user interface is fine, I was expecting something that has a simplicity to it, so that you do not need to have specific education to start using it. I am actually a bit frustrated that the phone app does not work at the moment. My expectations are meet, even though I sometimes have difficulties navigating it. When searching for a specific task, and what to find. It is more due to the fact that there is ability to search in both a single workspace and all workspaces. I: Having used Podio for some time, do you believe Podio is a good platform? What advantages do you see? RK: I think it is a good platform for a company for our size. We can communicate internally and externally. It is however only as good as the data you put in it. I think there still much value to get from Podio, but at least it gives us a standard area to see our tasks. We probably need a way to better see how we are progressing. You probably never use a tool to its full extent. I: Do you see any drawbacks to Podio? RK: At the moment, it is the visualization part. Hard to get an overview. How many task are prioritized? Do we have development ressources? Missing a visualization of time, both historically and, for the future. I: Do you feel that maybe Podio could be used for more? Do you have any suggestions for improving Podio or the use thereof? 17

18 RK: We should use it more for planning and retrospective. We should be able to get more information out of it. We should probably also be better at tasks descriptions, in order to be able to backtrack. Eg. why did we say a to b? There could also be more info on time spent. A7: IT mailbox compiled notes Chronological events Comprised of data from mails, conversations (internal and external, as well as face to face and via phone/skype etc.), meetings, information on Trello, information on Podio, notes and documents. - Unolivings IT deparment consists of only one employee. - When the support department of Unoliving, who deals with customer care, needs help with IT in any matter, they contact that one employee. This happens either via face to face, or phone. - The support department are used to have their inquiries answered by the one IT employee. - A student helper is hired for the IT department, to help with day-to-day operations issues, and general operations. - This new student helper is at work at Unolivings location 1-2 times per week. - The student helper takes on more and more operational issues, and becomes a sort of first level IT supporter. - The support team now sends issues to both IT employees. - Unolivings support division sometimes becomes frustrated that s regarding day-to-day operation issues that needs IT attention ends up in one of two mailboxes, making transference of issue history difficult. - The two IT employees are discussing a department IT mailbox. - The IT mailbox is created. 18

19 - Other Unoliving employees are informed of the new mailbox, and advised to use it. - Other Unoliving employees start using the new IT mailbox, primarily for IT operations issues. However, sometimes mails are still sent to personal inboxes, but it is declining. - The student IT employee becomes the main resource in regards to operational tasks and issues. - Due to the limited working hours of the student employee, issues get pilled up in the new IT inbox. - Sometimes issues that are important ends up in the IT mailbox queue. - The full time IT employee does not focus on operational issues in the IT mailbox, but rather on new strategic projects. - The support department becomes frustrated that important and/or urgent issues can end up in the IT mailbox queue. - A short meeting with the support team lead is planned and held, where procedures for important and/or urgent issues/matters is discussed. - It is communicated to the team lead of the support department that important and urgent operational matters needs to be communicated via the IT mailbox AND verbal if it warrants immediate attention. - Urgent issues are being communicated verbally to the IT department, however, it is very quickly clear that a common definition of urgent and important is needed. A8: IT mailbox Action Research cycles IT mailbox initiative Stage Iteration 1 Diagnosis Description Cross IT employee case follow up is difficult, since information resides in personal inboxes. This adds cost due to the fact that the support department needs to fill in the other IT employee on the history of the specific case. 19

20 Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning For starters, an IT department mailbox is chosen as the fastest and cheapest low key solution. The mailbox is created and both IT employees are given access. he new mailbox gives an improved overview of issues. Due to the fact that a queue builds up, and each IT employee also has his own personal mailbox to keep track of, the inbox is not checked as frequently as the private mailboxes. This puts important and/or urgent issues at risk for ending up at the bottom of the queue, not receiving immediate attention. Iteration 2 Diagnosis Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning The risk that important and/or urgent issues can end up in the IT mailbox queue, poses a problem. A meeting with the support team lead is planned, where IT prepares standard procedures for handling important and/or urgent issues. The queuing problematic of the IT inbox is explained to the support team lead, and new proposed procedure is presented. It is suggested that issues that are both important and urgent, should be verbally given to IT. It can be accompanied by an to the IT mailbox, but in order to make sure it is given attention by IT, the verbal notification must also be given on urgent matters. There is still confusion amongst Unoliving employees, as to the procedures for issues. Some of it amounts to definitions, such as urgency and important. There is a need for a common understanding of certain terms, such as urgency and important. There is also a need for formalized standardized procedures to follow, when communicating with the IT department, so that a matching of expectations is aligned throughout the organization. 20

21 A9: IT mailbox interview - Julia Interviewed subject: Julia Fischlein Steffensen Position: Former supporter/helpdesk employee in the Unoliving support team I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen JFS = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: Before Uno had an IT mailbox, how would you report an IT issue to IT? JFS: Would go to Henrik (full time IT employee) in person, or send an to his personal inbox. I: Can you give an example of a typical issue? JFS: My own inbox not working, or the other inboxes I had access to not working. I: Would you somehow differentiate between important and/or urgent matters when reporting to IT? JFS: Yes I would. I would differentiate by using a different subject line, or tag it with a priority. I: How do you define an important matter/issue? JFS: I would write something in the headline, and make sure to tell you about it in person. Sometimes I just knew it was an important matter, and sometimes I discussed it with my supervisors. I: How do you define an urgent matter/issue? 21

22 JFS: I did not differentiate between important and urgent. I: When IT requested that matters were to be sent to a new IT mailbox, how did you report a matter/issue? Did you use the new mailbox? JFS: Yes, but it was a hard time adjusting to it, because it was a routine to just write Henrik (full time IT employee). I: Did you differentiate between important and/or urgent matters/issues? JFS: No it was the same. Relevant subject and a priority mark. Maybe an attention to the one I thought was best suited to deal with the matter. I: What were your expectations towards the new IT mailbox? Did you see any advantages? JFS: Probably that you would be more than one person having access to the mails, and thereby probably faster response times. I: Looking back at the initiative with the IT mailbox, do you think it was a good initiative? JFS: Yes. I: Do you see any drawbacks to the initiative? JFS: Only that you wouldn t be sure that the was being read, and not sure when I would receive a reply back. But I guess it was the same with the personal mails. A10: IT mailbox interview - Majbritt Interviewed subject: Majbritt Ib Jochumsen Position: Maternity cover employee in the Unoliving support team 22

23 I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen MIJ = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: Before Uno had an IT mailbox, how would you report an IT issue to IT? MIJ: I mailed the issue directly to Henrik or Mark, after guessing who the most appropriate recipient was. I: Can you give an example of a typical issue? MIJ: I mainly work with payments. If a payment fails, and I do not know why, I would send that issue in a mail. I: Would you somehow differentiate between normal, important and/or urgent matters when reporting to IT? MIJ: Not to begin with, but after we have been made aware of it, I do. But before that, everything was urgent. I: How do you define an important matter/issue? What type qualifies as such? MIJ: That would probably be during the closing of the monthly financial statment, and there is an invoice that has not been transferred correct. I would say it is important, but not urgent. In regards to the OrderMotor (OrderEngine), labels not being created correctly, I would consider important. I: How do you define an urgent matter/issue? What type would qualify as such? MIJ: I would consider payment problem, resulting in us being unable to withdraw money from a customer, as an urgent matter. 23

24 It could also be issues ordering products from vendors. Our mailboxes not working would also be urgent. I: When IT requested that matters were to be sent to a new IT mailbox, how did you report a matter/issue? Did you use the new mailbox? MIJ: Yes. As soon as it was announced, I used it. Sometimes however, I CC eg. Mark if I knew he was not working that day. I: Did you differentiate between normal, important and/or urgent matters/issues? MIJ: It is not something I have been writing in the headline. I just send the mail. I: What were your expectations towards the new IT mailbox? Did you see any advantages? MIJ: I could see an advantage of having it all in one place. The history of a mail correspondence would be easier to track, due to the fact that it is not scattered over multiple mailboxes. It is also easier to just send an issue to one address. I: Looking back at the initiative with the IT mailbox, do you think it was a good initiative? MIJ: Yes, I believe so. I only see advantages. I: Do you see any drawbacks to the initiative? MIJ: Not directly. Maybe that some confusion can arise, in regards to whether a mail has been answered or not. A11: IT mailbox interview - Mark Interviewed subject: Mark Gottenborg Jensen 24

25 Position: IT student employee in the Unoliving IT department I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen MGJ = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: Before Uno had an IT mailbox, how would you receive IT issues/matters from your colleagues? MGJ: Most often, I would receive them from Henrik (Full time IT employee). He would then forward the things he wanted me to do. That was not very flexible. I: Can you give an example of a typical issue? MGJ: A typical issue could be a problem with an order. Maybe a payment had not gone through in the weekend, and I had to find out why. I: Would there be a differentiation between normal, important and/or urgent matters when reporting to IT? MGJ: We have the Outlook exclamation mark. Only one employee uses it, and she uses it for everything. I: How would you define an important matter/issue? What type would qualify as such? MGJ: Important matters would be things that affect the business right now. Eg. when we have not received payment and an order has to go out. Matter where time is of the essence, I guess. I: How would you define an urgent matter/issue? What type would qualify as such? MGJ: There is an overlap. This may be on a larger scale, like our website is down. Things that cost us money right now. 25

26 I: When IT requested that matters were to be sent to a new IT mailbox, how did you receive matters/issues? Did your colleagues use the new mailbox? MGJ: There was an implementation period, but now most of the mails go to the IT mailbox. I: Would there be a differentiation between normal, important and/or urgent matters/issues? MGJ: It is pretty much the same as before. I: What were your expectations towards the new IT mailbox? Did you see any advantages? MGJ: There was a clear advantage for the IT department. I could see mails right away, instead of having Henrik as an intermediate. I: Looking back at the initiative with the IT mailbox, do you think it was a good initiative? MGJ: Absolutely. I: Do you see any drawbacks to the initiative? MGJ: Not really. It gives me as a part-time worker a better overview what has happened while I was not there. We still have the same amount of information, just in another place. A12: Clerk compiled notes Chronological events 26

27 Comprised of data from mails, conversations (internal and external, as well as face to face and via phone/skype etc.), meetings, information on Trello, information on Podio, notes and documents. - Customers are not content with the search functionality of Unoliving. - Board members of Unoliving are also not content with the search functionality. - Internal test show that the standard search provided by Magento is poor. A search for black chair returns black products and chairs of different colors. - The market is investigated and Clerk is one of the possibilities. Other possibilities include SOLR, Sphinx and Klevu. - The pros and con of having an in-house solution is considered. - An outsourcing solution is preferred. - After trying both Clerk and a competing product, Clerk is chosen. - A workday with the development partner is chosen as the day of implementation. - Some customization is required (styling and settings). - The integrations with the e-commerce system is sometimes buggy, but Clerk delivers far superior search results. A13: Clerk Action Research cycles Clerk initiative Stage Iteration 1 Diagnosis Description The customers experience that search results are not very relevant. 27

28 Action planning Action taking Evaluating Specifying learning It is decided internally in Unoliving, with advice from the development partner, to try an outsourced search functionality. Together with the development partner on a work day together, Clerk is implemented. There is delay in the updating of product, due to a buggy integration with the e-commerce platform. Searches are however far superior to that of standard Magento. Outsourcing something like the search functionality is possible, even though giving up control of such a thing requires consideration. A14: Clerk interview - Jonas Interviewed subject: Jonas Nygaard Christiansen Position: Marketing Manager of Unoliving I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen JNC = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview I: Are you familiar with standard Magento search functionality, if yes, what are your experiences with it? JNC: Yes, but in a very small amount. Have not been working that much with Magento. I: Did you know of Clerk before you came to know that Unoliving was using it, if yes, did you have any expectations of it? JNC: No was not aware of it. 28

29 I: Did you believe that outsourcing a thing like the search functionality would be a good idea? Would you have any reservations towards such a move? JNC: I think always it is a good idea to outsource it if you can benefit from it. If the partner knows what they are doing, we can certainly benefit. It was a great idea. I: How would you describe the outsourcing agreement? JNC: I was not here when the agreement was made, so I have only been working a bit with Clerk, and mostly been talking to the support department of Clerk. I: Do you believe that the Clerk functionality handles standard searches on the Unoliving site well, and that it adds value to Unoliving? JNC: Absolutely. I think both for the customers that search for a chair or sofa, they will get the best result. And for internal search, like searching for badges of product, it also does well. I think it is a good product for both customers and employees of Uno. I: The functionality besides standard search, do you reckon it yields benefits for Unoliving, and if so, to what degree (small huge)? JNC: It depends on the category. I think many of our customers are using the product review, what products are other customer looking at, and what is trending, which products are on sale, and which are new. I think it brings a huge advantage to Uno. I: Consider for a moment that Unoliving did not have Clerk. If Unoliving were to reach the same benefits, in added revenue, what functionality would we have to have developed? JNC: A lot of internal development regarding trending products, how to show products, how they should be presented, extended products like shelves for your wardrobe or something like that. I think it would take a lot of resources to make it work. I: If you had to guess, what would you guess the cost of implementation and maintenance of custom search functionality would be (little a lot)? JNC: A lot. A lot of time, and time is money. I guessed that it would have to be custom made. I: What are the biggest advantages of having Clerk? 29

30 JNC: I think the product streams, with trending products, and products other products are looking at. I also think the search function is good. Comparing with standard, I do not think it would have yielded as many search results. I think it will give us more sales in the long run. I: Do you see any drawbacks to Clerk? JNC: Clerk is something that we outsource, which makes our dependence strong. They can change our search function, that can impact us. When you outsource something, you are very dependent on the partner. I: Do you feel that maybe Clerk can be used for more than Unoliving is currently doing? JNC: Absolutely. I know for a fact that Clerk can be used to present products that has been abandoned in the basket. We can use it in our marketing. Present customers for related products to already purchased products. To re-target or re-sell something, we can use Clerk, but we are not currently doing that. A15: Clerk interview - Michael Interviewed subject: Michael Gregersen Position: Owner and developer at TRIC Solutions I = Interviewer = Henrik Christiansen MG = Interviewed subject Glosary: Unoliving (Uno). Interview 30

31 I: Are you familiar with standard Magento search functionality, if yes, what are your experiences with it? MG: Ja, det er jeg. Mine erfaring er både gode og dårlige. Typisk for en lille startup virksomhed, er den god nok. Det handler meget om hvilke data der ligger. Den kommer dog hurtig til kort, da den ikke søger på en særlig kompleks måde, og kommer derfor heller ikke med gode resultater i sidste ende. I: Did you know of Clerk before you came to know that Unoliving was interested in using it, if yes, did you have any expectations of it in a Unoliving context? MG: Ja, jeg kendte til Clerk inden. Min forventing var at det var en god potentiel søgemaskine i Unoliving sammenhæng. Den er god til at fange f.eks. stavefejl. Unolivings målgruppe kan også finde på at søge efter nogle mærkelige ting, hvor den også vil være god. Helt klart stort potentiale. I: Before you knew about Clerk, did you believe that outsourcing a thing like the search functionality would be a good idea? Did you have any reservations towards such a move? MG: Nej, det havde jeg faktisk ikke. Både og. Ikke omkring outsourcing. Det har været normalt at bruge SOLR og elastiske maskiner til det, men det var typisk noget man selv satte op. Jeg havde nok ikke havde set den komme så langt som Clerk har taget den, hvor de står for alt drift og vedligeholdelse af det. I: How would you describe the current outsourcing agreement? MG: Størstedel af tiden fungerer det sådan set udmærket. Der er noget synkroniseringen og en risiko for at de ikke bliver synkroniseret korrekt. Det er en barriere der kan være. I: Do you believe that the Clerk functionality handles standard searches on the Unoliving site well, and that it adds value to Unoliving? MG: Ja, det vil jeg helt klart sige. Det der giver værdi til Unoliving, er at det resultat der bliver er det mest relevante. Funktionalitet som live search / search on the fly giver også værdi. Desto større relevante resultater for brugen, desto flere forventede salg til brugeren. I: The functionality besides standard search, do you reckon it yields benefits for Unoliving, and if so, to what degree (small huge)? MG: Jeg vil sige at det giver en stor grad. Nu har de jo flere funktionalitetter end Uno gør brug. Uno brugere rekommandering som giver et godt resultat. Som søgningerne, desto mere relevante, jo højere konvertering. 31