Methodology

Methodology is a set of scripted activities or procedures. It describes how things are done. We can also think about them as processes.

The methodology specifies a set of procedures and associated tools (see infrastructure) to help agents organizes activities within the organization, and achieve their shared goals in the context of projects and ventures.

Methodology is a structural elements in an organization, see more on organizational structure. As such, it must be considered in parallel with other structural elements such as culture and ethos, infrastructure, governance, and organizational interface. In other words, it cannot be considered in abstraction of these other structural elements.

Methods are composable and they can be nested within other methods.

Relation with NRP-CAS

Methods are understood as processes

Categories of methods

There are basic methods, which are used to compose more complex methods. All basic methods must be compatible with the organizational culture and ethos, with its governance and must be compatible with its infrastructure. In terms of infrastructure, these methods will make use of tools to be properly implemented or instantiated.

Basic methodologies

For internal coherence and consistency, all these basic methodologies must be compatible with the principles of openness and transparency behind the OVN model. These properties will be inherited by more complex methodologies.

Communication

...to be developed

Coordination

...to be developed

Collaboration

...to be developed

Harvesting methods

Harvesting is about capturing and depositing relevant information. We can call it documentation. For example, during a meeting, someone is assigned the role of harvester, which means that this agent takes notes and stores them in a content repository for easy access and retrieval. The methodology of documentation of a meeting (the meeting notes) prescribes a format for the produced document (perhaps based on a template that the organization is using); prescribes access (perhaps everyone involved is invited to edit) and perhaps the final document is made public for everyone to read and comment on; etc.

See Sensorica's meeting minutes template.

Decision making

...to be developed

See more on Governance

Complex methodologies

Capacity

The capacity methodology is about creating the conditions for the organization to conduct its operations. For example, the organization must be composed of individuals that cover the entire skills set required to complete its mission. Also, the organization must have at its disposal all the required resources, monetary, materials (consumables, equipment and tools, physical spaces). The organization may also need to establish relations with other organizations within its ecosystem to complement its capabilities, capture opportunities and better disseminate / distribute its deliverables.

The outreach methodology is part of the capacity methodology, to send signal in order to acquire resources and skills, for example.

Outreach

The outreach methodology is part of the Capacity methodology.

Outreach is about purposeful communication, i.e. how the organization communicates with the world in order to achieve various objectives.

Deliverables

Deliverables is about processes that lead to the creation of a physical or digital resource. The methodology used is highly dependent on what is developed / produced / created.

For example, research and development (R&D) is a complex activity that may go through different stages. In Sensorica, affiliates use the following stages: ideation, design considerations, design and prototyping. There are cycles between these stages, i.e. the group can go back from prototyping to design based on results of tests on the prototype. They may adjust design considerations and even go back to ideation, if necessary.

Templates may be used for R&D activities, which encapsulate best practices and standardize the process. See for example Sensorica's Template for Deliverables].

The R&D methodology contains the Harvesting methodology.

Dissemination

Dissemination is about creating the conditions for propagation and adoption of deliverables of the organization. For example, it requires finding stakeholders, early adapters and users, understanding their needs and their modes of operation and making sure that they can easily find, understand and use the deliverable.

The dissemination methodology can invoke the outreach methodology.

Network of networks

Methodologies must be designed to allow federation with other OVNs or other type of networks-type organizations.

Think in terms of protocols that can be adopted by similar organizations, or that can be easily adopted.

This is part of the growth strategy and mechanisms of the p2p economy.

See more on Networks of networks.