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Chapter 9

Group Collaboration

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Encouraging Group Collaboration Collaborating with others includes:

Discussing ideas Sharing thoughts Commenting on the work of others Coordinating Schedules @ flow of

information

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Encouraging Group Collaboration (cont’d.) The principal difficulty with group

collaboration is that group members often are not at the same Location at the same time.

A second difficulty is that the composition of a group changes – individuals come into a workgroup, work for a while, then leave.

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Characteristics of Group Collaboration Two basic dimensions of collaboration:

1. Time: 1. Collaborating (working on an issue) can be

performed at the:1. Same time (ST)2. Different times (DT)

Location/Place:1. Collaborating (Working on an issue) can be

performed at the:1. Same Location (SL)2. Different Locations (DL)

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Characteristics of Group Collaboration (cont’d.) Forms of communication

Audio communication – talking to other people either in person or by telephone.

Visual communication – sights of people or other real things including facial expressions and body language.

Document communication - containing text, numbers, tables, Charts, graphs, Pictures, and other written representations.

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Characteristics of Group Collaboration (cont’d.) Conventional collaboration tools

Meetings (ST, SL) (Audio, Video, Document)

Voice mail (DT, DL) (Audio) Faxes (DT, DL) (Document) Overnight deliveries (DT, DL)

(Document) Regular mail (DT, DL) (Document) Conference calls (ST, DL) (Audio)

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Types of Workgroup Applications Groupware includes

Electronic messaging E-mail (DL, DT) Instant Messaging (DL, ST) E-Chatting (DL, ST)

Information sharing (DL, DT) Document conferencing Audioconferencing Videoconferencing Electronic conferencing Electronic meeting support Group calendaring and scheduling Workflow management

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Electronic Messaging (DT,DL)

E-Mail permits document communication between group members at different times from different locations. Tone, inflection, facial expression do not

come through. E-Mail software is needed to send and

receive e-mail. Examples include: MS Outlook, QUALCOMM, Eudora, and Lotus cc:Mail.

Files may be attached to an e-mail.

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Electronic Messaging (ST,DL) (cont’d.)

Instant messaging permits real-timee-mail messaging (Lotus Sametime).

Chat software permits two or more people to have an electronic “conversation” in real-time (BlackBoard).

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Information Sharing (DL,DT)

Information sharing is a workgroup application that involves sharing information among members of a group.

Information sharing allows audio, visual, and document communication to take place between group members at different times and different locations.

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Information Sharing (DL,DT)

(cont’d.) Best known information sharing

program is Lotus Notes, SoftArc’s FirstClass, and Accentuate Systems’ SamePage.

With these software, participants can create “document databases” to share information.

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Document Conferencing (DL, ST)

Document conferencing, also called data conferencing, is a workgroup application that provides collaboration on documents.

Document conferencing provides document communication between group members at the same time from different places.

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Audio conferencing (DL,ST)

Audioconferencing is a workgroup application in which two or more members of a group at different locations communicate with each other at the same time by voice over a computer network. An example is VocalTec’s Internet Phone.

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Videoconferencing (DL,ST)

Videoconferencing is a workgroup application in which members of a group at different locations can see each other at the same time that they talk to each other.

Videoconferencing allows audio and visual communications between group members at the same time from different places.

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Electronic Conferencing (DL,ST)

Electronic conferencing is combining document conferencing with videoconferencing (audio/visual). An example is InPerson by Silicon Graphic.

Electronic conferencing provides audio, visual, and document communication between group members at the same time (it may be used for collaboration at different times) from different places.

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Electronic Meeting Support (ST,SL) (ST,DL)

Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS) permit using computer systems to facilitate the meeting. An example is Ventana GroupSystem.

The principal advantage of EMS is that all contributions are anonymous.

Two types of system: Room systems (ST,SL)

Desktop systems (ST,DL)

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Electronic Meeting Support (ST,SL) (ST,DL)

Room EMS provides document communication between group members at the same time and the same place.

Desk top EMS provides document communication between group members at the same time and a different place.

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Group Calendaring and Scheduling (DT,DL)

Group calendaring and scheduling is a workgroup application that assists workgroup members in coordinating their time. An example is Meeting Maker by On Technology.

Group calendaring and scheduling allows a specific type of document communication between group members at different times and different places.

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Workflow Management (DT,DL)

Workflow management software coordinates the tasks performed by different individuals in a workgroup and the flow of documents between people (document routing). An example is FileNET Visual WorkFlo.

Workflow management allows document communication between group members working at different times and different places.

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Office Automation Office automation may include

individual applications such as word processing, desktop publishing, and presentation graphics.

It may also include workgroup applications such as e-mail, information sharing, calendaring and scheduling, and workflow management.

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Office Automation (cont’d.) Special applications include:

Voice processing – voice mail and automated attendant

Facsimile Unified messaging – e-mail, voice mail,

paging and fax are combined into one system

Document management Electronic filing – instead of paper document filing Image processing – digitized copies of graphs,

charts, photos, and other images

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The Virtual Work Environment

The virtual work environment consists of wherever and whenever people work.

Elements include: Virtual meetings Telecommuting Virtual offices Virtual companies

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Virtual Meetings A virtual meeting uses electronic

conferencing and meeting systems that permit the participants to take part on their own schedule. Thus, all participants are not meeting at the same time.

The meeting may last several days to allow all to participate.

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Telecommuting Telecommuting involves

“commuting” over the telephone, or other data communications channel, rather than commuting by car or public transit.

Initially, mainly computer professionals such as programmers telecommuted, but now many types of employees work this way.

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Telecommuting (cont’d.) Advantages include:

Reduced commuting costs for employees Reduced office space cost for employers Increased productivity and decreased

absenteeism Disadvantages include:

Cost of setting up a “home” office Lack of face-to-face contact with

coworkers

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Virtual Offices Virtual offices take telecommuting

an additional step. It refers to a situation that a large number of employees work at home or from nontraditional locations.

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Virtual Companies A virtual company exists in such a

way that it does not have a regular place of business.

Employees may work from home, from nearby rented space, a hotel room when traveling, or from a customer’s office.