As a result of the global COVID-19 pandemic, the way the world works, collaborates, and plays has changed. Commerce has stalled with travel, hospitality, education, retail, and health sectors particularly affected. This paper is based on an XP 2020 panel organized by Steven Fraser and featuring Aino Corry, Steve McConnell, and Rachel Reinitz. The panel discussed the impact of COVID-19 on knowledge workers, the acceleration of digital workplace transformation, and anticipated long term effects from the pandemic in the context of agile practices. Four key observations emerged from the discussion: First, virtual collaboration between those working from home is enabled by a variety of communication tools – substituting for face-to-face interactions. Second, agile work practices are harder to perform given the virtual nature of meetings and interactions. Third, communication tools are not always adequate for high-bandwidth or informal interactions, such as brainstorming, side discussions, or hallway conversations. Fourth, forming new teams and onboarding staff is challenging in a virtual work environment.
Research partnerships between industry and academia are grown through relationships, a desire for innovation, and opportunities for sponsorship. Relationships mature through the mobility (virtual or otherwise) of academics, graduates, and seasoned industry professionals. From an industry perspective, innovation is driven by a need to grow product portfolios, market share and rejuvenate the corporate talent pool. Academics may be more motivated by the search for knowledge, the desire to publish, and the need to move education yardsticks by keeping curriculum relevant and mentoring top students. Research in an industry context ranges from in-house "labs" to a hybrid combination of company acquisitions and -or university partnerships. Tech talks, facilitated workshops, forums, sabbaticals, internships, grants, equipment donations, and corporate philanthropy -not to mention active engagement between researchers are all part of the mix. Panelists will discuss and debate the merits various of research engagement strategies.
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