Introducing Sticky Studio
Sticky Studio is a collaborative whiteboard that is simple to use, while supporting the depth and richness of the interconnected nature of the challenges we face.
The idea for Sticky Studio emerged early in the COVID-19 pandemic. With everyone suddenly thrust into remote work environments and confined to small rectangles on Zoom, we reflected as a team on how we might add value to this new reality. We considered building real-time collaboration directly into Kumu, but felt we’d be able to iterate more quickly with a new product. We also wanted to create a better experience; one that was more purpose-built for the earlier, messier part of brainstorming and sense making, which is often involved in complex challenges.
Fast forward a year and Sticky Studio is live! Give it a try by opening up a free account and let us know what you think. Keep reading to learn about some of the principles that shape our work.
Keep it simple by starting with what’s possible in the physical world
The problems we face are complex enough, we don’t need tools that add further complexity. When you are already overwhelmed by a complex challenge, a clunky tool or process can introduce friction that sends you into a tail spin. People of very different backgrounds and abilities can do so much when they are in the same room together — with a whiteboard, some stickies, and some pens (plus a few stickers for voting). These elements are the foundation of Sticky Studio. By building upon what people have experienced in the physical world, the platform feels intuitive and avoids the unnecessary friction that other tools introduce.
Treat relationships as first-class citizens
Many collaborative whiteboards place far more emphasis on individual stickies, and relegate relationships to obscure drawing functions. We believe relationships are as (or more) important than stickies, and our inability to see these inter-dependencies is a big source of many of the challenges we face in the world. Therefore, we’ve made it as easy as possible to create relationships. We’ll also soon be adding in parity for profiles, so they behave similarly whether you are selecting a sticky or a relationship.
Maintain the depth and richness of conversations
It’s all too easy to participate in a rich conversation, yet, end up with a map that only makes sense to those who created it. This is a big barrier to influencing others and shifting behavior, and a principle that has both process and platform implications. We’ve built Sticky Studio to make it easy for people to add context to each sticky and relationship. This context might include a definition of an important term, or a rationale for why two stickies are connected. We’ve also built in room for people to ask questions and share comments and dissent. Even with all of this, it still takes diligence to capture this nuance live, so make sure to assign one or a few people to this task in your next session.
Balance real-time and asynchronous collaboration
Many whiteboards default heavily to live, real-time collaboration. You’ll see this in how voting sessions are designed, and how many other interface choices are made. Our experience is that although many of the efforts that rely on Sticky Studio have some periods of real-time collaboration, they often end up getting built out over an extended period of time. It then becomes critical to quickly catch up on recent changes, see where there are active discussions that may warrant responses, and coordinate efforts on the remaining steps. We’re still building out much of this layer and believe it is essential for supporting the scale and depth of impact we aspire to.
Support simple scaffolding and re-use
Understanding a complex challenge often means engaging a number of different stakeholder groups to benefit from a diversity of perspectives. This might take the form of a similar exercise done many times with different groups. We’ve made it easy to turn any board into a template and quickly copy that template to reduce friction with the existing content. We’ve also included a basic set of shapes and functionality for creating different scaffolds, so you can create a structure that supports groups in quickly sharing their perspectives and insights.
Easily transfer to Kumu for effective storytelling
Sticky Studio is built for the earlier, messier brainstorming and sense making work around complex challenges. As you’re moving out of this stage and into sharing your new understanding with others, you may reach a point where additional tools for styling, unfolding, and analyzing your map become essential. That’s where Kumu comes in: we’ve made it easy to transfer your work to Kumu whenever the time is right.
How you can help
We’re excited to share Sticky Studio with you and would love your feedback on how we can improve the platform to better support your work. Send us an email at support@sticky.studio or reach out to us on Twitter (@stickystudioapp).
Visit Sticky.Studio to sign up for a free account and start creating your own boards with others right away!
