With the rise in working from home and remote learning, digital collaborative platforms such as Miro have become more important than ever before. This collaborative whiteboard tool succeeds in connecting teams from across the globe to deliver more value to everyone, no matter your tech skills or geolocation.
The reason for Miro’s success can be summed up through my first experience using the platform. When I stepped into the collaboration space, Miro’s design and user interface immediately spoke to me, figuratively and quite literally via a help bot. The site was functional, friendly, and held an eagerness to teach you all of the above (Miro, 2020).
One of the many pros of Miro is that the depth of functionality doesn’t seem daunting. Alongside the pre-made templates is a myriad of customisation tools, each mapped out with how-to tutorials and exemplars. My first experience using Miro was for the Design 100 challenge in which I created a ‘Persona board’ to gain an idea of the attributes prospect employers may have. I found the pre-made template very easy to use and was able to customise my board with stickies, photographs and colours to create a unique design.
Image: Miro persona board via Miro by Clara Schroeder
Once the basics are mastered there are a myriad of training courses on offer. This feature is perfect for growing companies as it allows them to upskill employees in an effective manner. As Miro is ever refining its tools, announcements are made via the Miro blog to show users how to make the most of new features (Miro, 2020). ‘Stickies capture’ is a new feature which helps users digitise hand-written notes using a camera. This creates an easy way to convert analogue techniques onto the digital platform and accommodates for users who prefer to have tangible copies of their work, making the switch to digital media easier and faster (Miro, 2020).
Live collaboration is key for productivity in teamwork. The toolkit of sharing boards, presentations, mentions, comments and a live chat allows for seamless collaboration which pushes past boundaries faced by location-diverse teams (Miro, 2020). Optimal usability is also ensured via the compatibility of Miro’s software with platforms such as Airtable and Notion to allow for the successful implementation of ideas in one space. Miro has thus played a key role in shaping the way we collaborate remotely via online platforms. Miro’s thoughtful design features allow for ‘dynamic social interaction and collaboration across national and cultural boundaries’ which are lacking across other online collaboration spaces (OECD, 2011).
However, nothing beats in-person discussion. One cannot reach the organic results achieved via in-person teamwork, it’s near impossible to digitise a team who brain-storm and create in a hands-on manner, especially when it comes to product design and the discussion of nuances such as feel and texture. These flaws are universal to online collaboration and are difficult to overcome in a physically distant environment.
Ultimately, Miro merges functionality with accessibility to become the solution to digital collaboration in the age-of-online.
Works Cited:
Miro. (2020, April 6). About. Retrieved from Miro: https://miro.com/about/
Miro. (2020, April 6). Miro Blog. Retrieved from Miro: https://miro.com/blog/
Miro. (2020, April 6). Miro Dashboard. Retrieved from Miro: https://miro.com/app/dashboard/
Miro. (2020, April 6). Stickies Capture. Retrieved from Miro: https://miro.com/stickies-capture/?utm_source=what%27s%20new&utm_medium=first%20post&utm_campaign=announcement
OECD. (2011). Virtual Worlds: Immersive Online Platforms for Collaboration, Creativity and Learning. OECD. IDEAS Working Paper Series from RePEc.
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