For a long time, collaboration and cooperation have meant the same thing to me. Actually, I use word ‘cooperation’ more often when talking about teamwork. Today I read an article called ‘Teamwork in Agile’ written by Bal Mahale. I realized after reading it that collaboration and cooperation are totally different. Here is Bal’s explaination:
People operate in cooperation mode when they divide the responsibilities and identify touch points (contract). In mathematical terms this is similar to 1 + 1 = 2. It means they are doing what is expected of each of the roles, but nothing beyond.
People work in collaboration mode when they build off each other’s strengths and knowledge to create something that is exceptional and beyond their individual abilities. In mathematical terms this is similar to 1 + 1 > 2.
Collaboration is not just working together. It should create something that is exceptional and beyond their individual abilities. Collaboration can be hard because we need to patiently explain to others what we do and why, while at the same time, remain open to criticism and be willing to change the way we do things. Similarly, we need to take a keen interest in others and how they do their work, while keeping an eye out for improvement.
If you want to know more detail about collaboration, please read Bal’s article. It can be found at http://scrumalliance.org/articles/335
