After the COVID-19 pandemic and various social restrictions that force teams to work remotely, whiteboard collaboration solutions have become indispensable for many companies.
The need to think and make decisions collectively, as well as visually manage projects, has led to the emergence of new tools; legacy office and project management tools did not provide the flexibility and simplification required for effective collaboration.
Draft.io is a popular choice in Europe, where renowned companies such as Axa, Enedis and SNCF use it as their visual management platform. Other options include Miro, Mural and Klaxoon.
Offering the Right Balance Between Freedom of Representation and the Ability to Structure Visual Knowledge
We created Draft.io after realizing that standard office tools like Word, Powerpoint, Excel, Google equivalents, and project management tools were not enough for collaborative thinking. Draft.io aims to provide an ideal environment for productive collaboration, creative problem solving and decision making.
First, Draft.io is designed to give users the same freedom and flexibility as a physical board. It allows you to collect various types of information effortlessly and present them in a way that makes sense. With this platform, you can easily describe and visualize complex problems in a flexible way, making it an invaluable tool for working on projects.
In addition, Draft.io offers many tools to assist in the creation of visual management masterclasses or artifacts that allow users to create streamlined and visually appealing content. These tools are designed to save time and improve user collaboration.
In addition, some useful features can make collaboration and decision making easier. For example, there is a voting feature that can help get everyone involved and make sure all opinions are heard. There is also a voting booth mode that allows people to share their ideas without feeling judged or influenced by others. This is a great way to prevent bias and ensure that all ideas are treated equally. All in all, these facilitator functions are incredibly valuable and can make a big difference in the success of a meeting or brainstorming session.
Draft.io offers more than just visual management tools. One of its outstanding features is the extended project management dimension. With visual management cards that include multiple fields such as id, status, and priority, it’s easy to keep track of all the important details. Plus, real-time two-way Jira integration makes it easy to manage projects seamlessly.
What is the Difference With Miro?
When choosing a platform for the office, it is important to consider the origin of the tool. Draft.io has tight integration with existing packages, which can make the transition smoother and more efficient. On the other hand, Miro’s closed environment may limit data reuse in other tools. Ultimately, it depends on your specific needs and your priorities in the tool.
In addition, there is a significant difference in the model used by Miro. No matter how often they use the solution, they seem to charge all users for secure collaboration within the organization. This means that even if someone only uses it once a year, they still have to pay. I think this can add up quickly for companies, especially with their business plan, which can be quite expensive. This can make it difficult for employees to collaborate and share information freely.
It is known that, on average, only about 25% of the organization’s employees are regular users of whiteboard solutions. That’s why Draft.io offers a plan that allows businesses to pay only the most active users. Random users can use Draft.io for free on shared boards.
What Are the Key Collaboration Features of Draft.io?
Polling Booth Mode
The voting booth mode allows participants to think individually without influencing each other. The goal is to prevent binding bias. Thus, when this mode is activated, the content of the stickers shared by a participant is not visible to other participants. After the participants have shared their ideas, the facilitator can reveal them individually or all at once.
Envelope
Envelopes are incredibly useful when it comes to organizing various objects in a dynamic and flexible way. They allow you to group various items, ideas, and concepts and then manipulate them as a whole. The concept behind envelopes is to bring the power of physical manipulation into the digital world to create intuitive and ever-evolving associations. With envelopes, we can take control of our digital environment and make it work for us efficiently and effectively.
Voting Session
The purpose of voting is to make the decision-making process impartial. The voting session feature allows participants to share their opinions without influencing others. It’s anonymous, so everyone can freely express their thoughts. The results can be exported in CSV format and used elsewhere or displayed on tabular objects.
Visual Control Card
Visual management is a vital aspect of team coherence and communication. The visual management map plays an important role in synthesizing the information needed for decision making. It is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of all relevant data in one place. What’s more, each map can contain up to 11 additional data fields, making it a powerful tool for organizing and analyzing information. Through visual management, teams can streamline their processes, reduce errors, and improve overall efficiency.
