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The success of the proposed Department of Homeland Security rests on effective collaboration by departments and agencies. Indeed, across government, rising mission complexity and a reduction in the size of the workforce put a premium on effective collaboration. The temptation is to throw technology at the challenge - technology vendors are happy to oblige - and wait for collaboration to sprout. Technology is, and will remain an important component of collaborative solutions, but if it is used on a stand-alone basis, collaboration will fail. A realistic approach to collaboration means understanding the change it represents and taking logical steps to develop it as an organizational asset.

It is tempting to bypass all the messy human and bureaucratic stuff by issuing an edict: Thou Shalt Collaborate. This usually makes the edict-issuers feel good but rarely produces anything except surface compliance without a thorough implementation program. The roadmap to true collaboration has four steps: Discovery, solution design, solution rollout and measurement of progress.

In the discovery phase, a number of critical questions need to be answered. Why collaborate? An answer like "we need to work together better" is noble but entirely inadequate. What specific mission objectives will be better realized via collaboration? Within those objectives, which business processes will require collaboration? Is the mission objective important? If it isn't, there won't be enough momentum for change. Is the leadership committed to collaboration? What kind of technology is required? Does the organization already own it or does it need to buy it? If the latter, how long will it take to clear procurement and security hurdles? How big a cultural leap are we talking about? Are things like promotion systems going to support or strangle collaboration?

If this seems complicated, it's because it is. A collaborative effort adds a whole level of complexity to already busy work days. Do I have authorization to share information with a counterpart in another agency? Who takes the lead, and if it isn't me, what are the implications for budget and promotion headroom in my organization? Who owns the resources and who puts out-year money into whose budgets? How do I get access to the collaboration technology server through my firewall? Do I put my long-term career at risk by working with a long-term bureaucratic rival? This level of detail is where collaborative efforts will succeed or fail. The discovery process makes sure that the next step - solution design - takes these things into consideration.

Using information gathered in discovery, it is important to design a solution that integrates the work of team members with collaborative technology. Remember, people will need to change the way they work and, in most cases, learn new software. Teams need to talk through why they are collaborating, how they will organize their work and how they will use the software. Without confidence in their ability to use the technological tools, collaboration will suffer. It is best to do some pre-configuration of the technology before training so that trainees quickly see the relevance of the technology and understand the benefits of learning how to use it. The interests of other stakeholders, such as senior executives and information technology professionals, also need to be incorporated into the solution design.

The third step in the process is rolling out the solution. The rollout sequence needs to ensure that training facilities are ready to go, logistics are coordinated and users of the new approach have a favorable experience. But be prepared to adapt to changes along the way. Plans involving human beings and software are inherently messy and rarely survive implementation in their original form.

Even after the best rollouts, measurement of progress is required. During and after the rollout, it is important to track indicators that tell how well the collaborative effort is working. This can be done in part by listening to users during training and consulting programs, paying attention to how well the collaborative software is being used and conducting surveys where appropriate.

If you need better collaboration to achieve your mission, take the time to do it right. Balance the human, technical and organizational aspects needed for lasting success. Don't expect technology to be a "silver bullet" solution. Put together a transition program that supports your workforce. In short - get real.

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