While we were working on this issue, I came across a website that features a variety of different animal species. Each species’ photograph was accompanied by a short video clip about what made that particular animal special. The presenter—presumably an expert on the species—introduced the animal, pointed out its natural efficiencies and the evolutionary benefits of the unique aspects of its design, and proposed ways in which people could study the natural design to inspire innovation of better man-made products and processes.
Not surprisingly, ants were featured for their ability to work together in a highly efficient and effective way. I learned from watching the video that fire ants can survive floods by joining themselves together to form a large round and flat mass that can float. A sticky substance on their body lets them trap air in the hairs on their legs, which enables them to float for extended periods of time. Fascinating.
Perhaps even more interesting is the way in which ants work together to architect and maintain some of nature’s most complex nesting structures. Each member of an ant colony fills a specific role that contributes to the collective, greater good of the colony. All of this is made possibly by ants’ elaborate methods of communication.
After all of this, I wasn’t surprised to learn that ants and their collaborative, complex behavior have been studied with admiration from an organizational perspective.
The theme of this issue of the User Experience magazine is “Collaboration.” While we do not feature any additional information on ants, we do have a great mix of articles covering a broad range of techniques and tools that can help UXers work together.
Sometimes the challenge is the need to work across disciplines. Anne Kostick shares tips for finding (or being) a knowledge bridge.
Working across disciplines requires understanding others. Seung Chan Lim explores just what we mean by “empathy,” and Teresa Mak’s case study shows the result of opening the door to new perspectives.
Distributed teams often face challenges. Whitney Taylor looks at the ways in which setting up good communication routines can bridge distance and culture. Demetrios Karis and his colleagues Daniel Wildman and Amir Mané report on their research into videoconferencing.
Many of our UX activities rely on close working relationships. Benjamin Biörnstad and Gary and Judy Olson describe tools that can foster collaboration, in person or across time and distance.
Games require other forms of collaboration even if they are competitive. A team of designers from Bridgeable created an immersive environment to teach biomedical topics, but their guidelines are useful for any learning games.
In a playful mood, Duncan Ray compares the relationships on a UX project to the roles in a courtroom, with the product as the plaintiff, stakeholders as the jury, and usability participants as witnesses. Like those ants building their colonies, everyone involved in creating a new product has a role to play.
I hope you will enjoy the diverse experiences and insights this group of authors has to share.蚂蚁能够一起工作构建蚁巢、沟通信息甚至在洪水中生存，这是一种很有启发意义的协作模式，对 UX 来说也颇有教益。
本期主题是“协作”。编辑从蚂蚁协同工作、构建和维护自然界中最复杂筑巢结构的方式中获得了灵感。怀着钦佩之情，编辑从组织的角度对蚂蚁及其复杂的协作行为进行了研究。
在 UX 领域，协作的挑战在于需要跨越时间、空间或文化的距离一起工作。本期这些文章涵盖能帮助我们更好工作的各种技术和工具。
文章全文为英文版개미가 군단을 형성하고, 소통하고, 홍수로부터 생존하기 위해 협력하는 능력은 UX를 위한 교훈과 함께 협력의 모델이 되었습니다.
이번 호의 주제는 “협력”입니다. 가장 복잡한 집 구조물을 건설하고 유지하기 위해 편집자는 개미가 협력하는 방식에서 영감을 얻었습니다. 조직적 관점에서 흥미를 가지고 개미와 이들의 협력적이고 복잡한 행동에 대해 연구했습니다.
UX에서 협력적 도전과제에는 시간, 공간, 문화에 관계 없이 일하는 것이 포함됩니다. 이번 호의 기사에서는 더욱 잘 협력하는 데 도움이 될 기술과 도구에 대해 설명합니다.
전체 기사는 영어로만 제공됩니다.A capacidade das formigas de trabalhar em grupo para construir colônias, se comunicar e até mesmo sobreviver a inundações é um modelo inspirador de colaboração, com lições que podem ser utilizadas na experiência do usuário.
O tema desta edição é “Colaboração”. Os editores tiram inspiração da forma como as formigas trabalham em grupo, de forma colaborativa, para arquitetar e manter algumas das estruturas de ninho mais complexas da natureza. As formigas e seu comportamento colaborativo e complexo têm sido estudados com admiração de um ponto de vista organizacional.
Em experiência do usuário, os desafios colaborativos incluem trabalhar com diferenças de tempo, espaço ou cultura. Os artigos desta edição abordam as técnicas e ferramentas existentes para nos ajudar a trabalhar melhor.
O artigo completo está disponível somente em inglês.巣を作る、コミュニケーションを図る、さらに洪水によるリスクから身を守るためのアリの共同作業は、触発的なコラボレーションのモデルであり、UXの教訓となる。
本号のテーマは「コラボレーション（協力）」である。編集者たちは、自然界で最も複雑な構造を持つ巣のひとつと考えられているアリの巣を設計し維持するためのアリたちの協力的な共同作業から創造的刺激を受けた。アリとその協力的で複雑な行動は、感嘆を伴い、組織的視点から研究された。
UXでは、時間、空間、文化を超えて作業をすることを含む、各種の課題がコラボレーションに存在している。今号の記事は、我々が有効的に協力するために役立つテクニックとツールを扱っている。
原文は英語だけになりますLa capacidad de las hormigas de trabajar juntas para construir colonias, comunicarse e incluso sobrevivir a las inundaciones es un modelo inspirador de colaboración, que brinda lecciones para la experiencia de usuario.
El tema de este número es la “Colaboración”. Los editores se inspiraron en la forma en que las hormigas trabajan juntas, en colaboración, para diseñar y mantener algunas de las estructuras de anidación más complejas de la naturaleza. Se ha estudiado, con admiración, a las hormigas y sus comportamientos colaborativos y complejos desde una perspectiva organizacional.
En la experiencia de usuario, los desafíos colaborativos incluyen trabajar a través de la distancia del tiempo, el espacio o la cultura. Los artículos de este número abarcan técnicas y herramientas que nos ayudan a trabajar mejor.
La versión completa de este artículo está sólo disponible en inglés.
Mindy Maxwell is a UX research and design consultant based in Boston, MA. Outside of her practice, she’s been involved with UX Magazine as an author, contributing editor, and associate managing editor since 2010.