We all agree there’s value in visual collaboration. “A picture is worth a thousand words” runs through our minds as we attempt to articulate the value. But with so much support for collaboration, including at the executive level, why do we still get stuck attempting to show the tangible value generated?
I’ve found it stems from not having a sufficient model for measurement. Many leaders attempt to create a single measure, like money saved or headcount saved, but find no one measure captures it all.
A correct model appreciates 6 types of value from visual collaboration. To be brief, I’ll highlight 2 that demonstrate the approach to take when measuring the value from visual collaboration.
- Time Saved - This is widely used, because the math is easy: subtract “how long it used to take” from “how long it takes now.” But frequently we mistakenly try to turn it into money saved. It’s easy to do as well, just multiply the hours saved by an hourly rate and you have money saved...but when your CFO comes asking for the money saved so they can invest in some technology, you’ll find you took it one step too far since your pockets are empty. Don’t fall prey to that, if you saved time, keep it as a measurement of time.
- Efficiency/Productivity Gained - When the math above isn’t clean, it’s entirely okay to measure multipliers or percentages gained. The trick is to use ranges, allowing flexibility for the time being while we work out means to measure these later. This also makes it easier to gather a measure from someone. If asked if I’m 50% more effective, I may say no, but instead if I was asked: “how much more effective are you: 10-25%, 25-50%, 50-75%,” I can more easily pinpoint where I might fall.
There’s 4 others (like actual $$’s saved...it exists 
), and I’m planning to do a Lucid blog article on all 6 later, so be on the lookout for that. In the meantime, get started with these two if you don’t have a model yet and let’s discuss: what approaches are you finding successful in measuring the value of visual collaboration?
