Hi Scott,

I am also new to Clearspace, so hopefully I'll be able to answer your question from a perspective you can relate to .

Spaces are the closest thing to the hierarchical/folder paradigm we're all accustomed to. Typically, an organization will model their Spaces based on their "traditional" hierarchy, i.e. functional groups like Sales, Marketing, Engineering, Human Resources, etc. The idea is that while users may occasionally have cross-functional needs that require them to visit a variety of spaces, they will generally spend most of their time and energy in the space dedicated to their functional area. In this way a community administrator can set up Clearspace to model the functional and logical divisions most users will expect. Users do not necessarily belong to a specific Space, but you may want to configure their permissions based on their role within the organization.

Groups, on the other hand, can be used to bring people together in the kind of informal social networks that form spontaneously within an organization. Groups might form, for example, between a handful of employees from different functional areas who happen to handle a particular customer account. Or a set of individuals interested in a new innovation initiative might create a group to bounce ideas off of one another. Or people who root for the same football team might convene for a "water cooler" discussion. Groups are likely to evolve to mirror the organizational culture, whatever that may be. Users may be members of any number of groups.

Lastly, a Project is a place for managing the status of a specific project against its goals. It offers similar features to many other project management software products, and allows the same social software features that are used throughout Clearspace. A Project resides within a particular space.

Hopefully that clears things up for you. I would also encourage you to take your time exploring Jive's Support and Clearstep communities, where you will find a wealth of information regarding how best to configure Clearspace to fit your specific needs.

Regards,

Karl