NVivo Collaboration Cloud

Collaboration Cloud is an NVivo add-on module allowing teams to collaborate on NVivo projects. It stores projects securely in the cloud, providing a space to pass work between team members—project managers upload master projects that collaborators download and work on, then the collaborators upload their versions for the project managers to download and merge back into the master.

Collaboration Cloud is a yearly subscription service, purchased from the myLumivero portal. The basic pack allows five people to collaborate, and you can buy further seats singly (contact Lumivero Sales). Enterprise organizations should contact Lumivero Sales.

Collaboration Cloud is accessed from NVivo Windows and NVivo Mac (Release 1). Only project files created in Release 1 are compatible, and it is not possible to work cross-platform (with both Windows and Mac) on single projects. All users require internet connections.

NOTE  Each collaborator should have their NVivo Windows or Mac license to download, update, and upload their copies of NVivo projects.

Workflow overview

Initial subscription setup
  1. The purchaser of Collaboration Cloud (or the administrator of an enterprise license) is the first Collaboration Cloud administrator—the account administrator. This person adds users to the subscription in the myLumivero portal. Assignment of a user seat in the portal is a prerequisite for role assignment within Collaboration Cloud. Add users to account (account administrator only)
  2. The account administrator assigns workspace owner and (optionally) additional administrator roles from the USERS page (access here or open Collaboration Cloud from NVivo). Assign account roles
Initial workspace setup
  1. A workspace owner uploads an NVivo project to Collaboration Cloud, creating a workspace (of the same name) for the project. The uploaded file is version 1 (V1) of the master file. Create a workspace
    The workspace owner is automatically made a workspace manager for the workspace.
  2. The workspace owner/manager opens the workspace and adds other users to it. They must be assigned workspace roles: workspace manager, collaborator, or both. Add users and assign roles (and share master file)
    By default, V1 of the master file is 'shared' with collaborators, meaning it is made available for them to download.
Collaborators work on the project

NOTE  Each collaborator should have their NVivo Windows or Mac license to download, update, and upload their copies of NVivo projects.

  1. Collaborators open the workspace in Collaboration Cloud and download the V1 master file. Download the project master version
  2. They each work on their copies of the master file in NVivo on their local machines, and when ready, upload these (file name unchanged). Upload your work and mark as ready to merge
    Their uploaded files appear as 'V2' on their personal Versions pages.
  3. Collaborators tick a checkbox to inform the workspace manager that their versions are ready to merge into the master. Upload your work and mark as ready to merge
Workspace manager collects and merges
  1. The workspace manager sees that collaborators have marked their copies as ready to merge, and downloads the copies. Download collaborators' work
  2. The workspace manager merges the copies with the V1 master file in NVivo. Merge collaborators' work
  3. If required, the workspace manager uploads the updated master file (V2 master file) and the process is repeated. Upload a new project master version

Roles

Users have access to Collaboration Cloud under one or more of 4 different roles.

There are two account roles, for general account administration and the creation of project workspaces, and two workspace roles, allowing actions within individual workspaces.

NOTE  Collaboration Cloud roles are mutually exclusive—they do not include permissions granted to the other roles. Therefore, users must be assigned all the roles necessary for the different actions they will need to perform. For example, workspace managers can manage master files but not upload their own coding on a project file. To do this they must be made collaborators as well as workspace managers.

Account roles
  • Administrator: Administrators can assign workspace owner and administrator roles within Collaboration Cloud accounts. Assign account roles If necessary (e.g. the current workspace owner is absent) they can make themselves a workspace owner and manager of a workspace created by another user.
    While any user who has been assigned a Collaboration Cloud seat can be made an administrator within the Collaboration Cloud account, only the original purchaser or the administrator of an enterprise license is the account administrator and can access the account in the myLumivero portal, where user seats are assigned and unassigned. Add users to account (account administrator only)
  • Workspace owner:Workspace owners can create workspaces (by uploading new projects), Create a workspace set workspace status to active or complete, and delete workspaces they created Workspace status and deletion. They are automatically made workspace managers in the workspaces they create (see below).
Workspace roles

Log into Collaboration Cloud

All users, in all roles, log into Collaboration Cloud from within NVivo (Windows or Mac). They must be logged into NVivo with the correct profile and account for the Collaboration Cloud subscription. myLumivero

Within NVivo, click Collaboration Cloud on the Welcome screen or, if a project is open, Collaboration Cloud on the Modules tab in the ribbon.

NOTE  If you are using NVivo 14, open the project, select the Modules tab in the ribbon and click Collaboration Cloud.

In addition, account administrators can log into the USERS page in a web browser (https://collaboration-web.mynvivo.com), to assign workspace owner and administrator roles.

The main screens

This section introduces the two main screens of Collaboration Cloud. The interface is basically the same for all users, but different features are available depending on user role.

WORKSPACES tab

The home screen of Collaboration Cloud, for all users, is the WORKSPACES tab. It lists all the workspaces that the user has access to.

NOTE  Click on a workspace name to open it.

On this screen, workspace owners have the option to create new workspaces, change workspace status, and delete workspaces they have created Instructions for workspace owners

Administrators also see the USERS screen here, where they assign account roles. Assign account roles

Workspaces tab, showing 3 workspaces

Individual workspace tabs

When you click on a workspace name on the WORKSPACES tab, it opens a tab for that workspace. The tab lists the workspace users with actions that can be applied to them (dependent on the current user's role).

On the left of the screen:

  • Click Upload to upload project file versions to the workspace
  • Click Versions to view and download project file versions (and share them—workspace managers only)
  • Click Add to add users to the workspace (workspace managers only)
  • Click Info to see workspace stats and (workspace managers only) change the workspace name

 

Instructions for administrators

Instructions for workspace owners

Workspace owners create new workspaces, where users on a project share and track project file versions. They can change the status of workspaces they create (active or complete) and rename or delete their workspaces (see below).

Workspace owners are automatically made workspace managers in the workspaces they create.

Instructions for workspace managers

Workspace managers manage the users within a workspace. They also upload and share project file master versions and collect collaborators' work to merge into the master version.

Workspace owners are automatically made workspace managers in workspaces they create.

Instructions for collaborators

Collaborators' tasks are:

  1. download project master versions that have been shared with them,
  2. work on these in NVivo, on their local machines,
  3. upload their edited versions to Collaboration Cloud, and then
  4. change their status to ready to merge.
  5. Repeat the above steps for any further editing rounds.

Data retention

Projects uploaded to Collaboration Cloud are kept indefinitely (unless deleted by users) while subscriptions remain valid.

Data cannot be accessed once a subscription expires—the subscription must be renewed to regain access.

If an expired subscription is not renewed within ninety days of expiration, the account—including all data—is deleted.

For further information refer to Lumivero's End User License Agreement.