Classifying Groupware

7/29/2019 Classifying Groupware

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C l a s si fy i ng G r o u p w a r eJonathan D. Fouss, K ai H. Chan gDepartment of Com puter Science and Software EngineeringAubu rn UniversityAuburn, AL 36849-5347{foussjd,kchang} @ eng. auburn.eduA b s t r a c t - T h e d e f i n it i o n o f w h a t g r o u p w a r e i s c a n b e at o p i c o f g r e a t d e b a t e a n d i s o f t e n v e r y b ro a d . T h i s a l l o w sm a n y t y p e s o f s o f t w a r e t o e a r n t h e n a m e g r o u p w a r e b u tm a k e s i t v e r y d i f fi c u l t t o c o m p a r e a p p l i c a t io n s a n d t o d oa n y k i n d o f b a c k g r o u n d r e s e a r c h i n t he f i el d . T h i s p a p e ra t t e m p t s t o b r i n g s o m e o r g a n i z a t i o n t o t h e c h a o s a n d s e r v ea s in t ro d u c t io n to g ro u p w a re .1. Introd uctionS i n c e t h e b e g in n i n g o f t h e h u m a n r a c e , m a n h a s h a d t a s k s t oc o m p l e t e a n d h a s s o u g h t w a y s t o m a k e t h o s e t a sk s e a s i e r t oa c c o m p l i s h . T h i s l e d t o t he f o r m i n g o f g r o u p s to l e s s e n th el o a d o f a n i n d i v i d u a l a n d t h e c o n t i n u a l d e v e l o p m e n t o f t o o lsto a id in th e w o rk . In th a t r e g a rd , l i tt l e h a s c h a n g e d in th em o d e m w o r k p l ac e . I t is q ui te c o m m o n f o r g r o up s o fin d iv id u a l s to w o rk to g e th e r , o r c o l l a b o ra t e , t o c o mp le tes o m e p r o j e c t . T h e t o o l o f c h o i c e i s t h e c o m p u t e r , w h i c h i sc e a s e l e s s l y b e i n g g i v e n m o r e p o w e r a n d c a p a b il i ti e s .T h e c o m p u t e r ' s p u r p o s e i s t h e s a m e a s a n y t o ol : t o h el pu s e r s c o m p l e t e t a sk s m o r e q u i c k l y a n d m o r e e a s i l y. T h i sm a y i n v o l v e m a t h e m a t i c a l l y s im u l a t i n g o r m o d e l i n g s o m ep h e n o m e n a o r s i m p l y a ll o w i n g a u s e r t o t y p e a p a p e r .R e g a r d l e s s o f t h e s i ze o f t h e t a s k , c o m p u t e r s h a v et ra d i t io n a l ly fo c u s e d o n in c re a s in g a n in d iv id u a l ' sp r o d u c t i v i t y a n d h a v e s o m e w h a t i g n o r e d t h e f a ct t h a t m a n yp r o j e c t s a r e w o r k e d o n b y g r o u p s . T h e d e v e l o p m e n t o fl o c a l a r e a n e t w o r k s h a s a l l o w e d u s e r s t o m o r e r e a d i l y s h ar ei n f o r m a t i o n a n d o f f e r e d n e w w a y s o f co m m u n i c a t i o n . T h i sh a s b e e n e x t e n d e d f u r t h e r w i t h e x t r a o r d i n a r y g r o w t h o f t h eIn te rn e t . Y e t , t h e c o mp u te r i s st i l l l a rg e ly s e e n a n d u s e d a sa to o l t o h e lp a n in d iv id u a l c o m p le te w o rk .2 . C S C WComputer Supported Cooperative W ork ( CSCW) is ar e l a t i v e ly n e w a r e a o f r e s e a r c h t h a t d e a l s w i t h i s s u e si n v o l v e d i n g r o u p w o r k a n d h o w t e c h n o l o g y c a n a i d t hep r o c e s s . I r e n e G r i e f a n d P a u l C a s h m a n c o i n e d th e p h r a s e" c o m p u t e r s u p p o r t e d c o o p e r a t i v e w o r k " i n 1 9 84 [ 1 , 2 ] .T h e r e h a s b e e n s o m e d e b a t e t h a t t h i s t e r m i s a n

in a p p ro p r i a t e t i t le fo r t h e r e s e a rc h f i e ld . T h e ty p ic a lc o m p la in t i s t h a t t h e p h ra s e d o e s n o t a d e q u a te ly d e f in e th ef i e ld , a n d th e w o rd s th e m s e lv e s a re to o r e s t r i c t iv e [ 1 , 3 , 4 ] .Computer i s t y p i c al l y u s e d t o m e a n a l l t e c h n o l o g y a n d n o tju s t s p e c i f i c a l ly c o mp u te r s . Supported i s e s s e n t i a l lya n y th in g t e c h n o lo g y d o e s to h e lp th e g ro u p . Cooperative su s e d to r e fe r t o a ll g ro u p in t e ra c t io n s s u c h a s c o mp e t i t i o n ,c o n f l i c t , a n d c o o p e ra t io n . Work y p ic a l ly r e fe r s to th e t a s ko r p ro d u c t i t s e l f b u t n o rm a l ly in c lu d e s s o c ia l i n t e ra c t io n a n dc o m m u n i c a t i o n . S t r i ct a d h e r e n c e to t h e a c t u a l m e a n i n g o ft h e p h r a s e d o e s n o t e n c o m p a s s t h e w h o l e a r e a o f r e se a r c ht h a t h a s c o m e u n d e r t h e u m b r e l l a t e r m C S C W [ 4] . T h e t e r mh a s n o w c o m e t o r e p r e s e n t a m u l t i d i s c i p li n a r y f i e l d t h a tf o c u s e s o n t w o a r e a s o f s tu d y : o n e , t h e h u m a n a s p e c t o fg r o u p s ( c o o p e r a t i v e w o r k ) a n d t w o , t h e t e c h n o l o g ic a l a s p e c to f g r o u p s ( c o m p u t e r s u p p o r t ) w h e r e a g r o u p i s a s e t o fin d iv id u a l s a t t e mp t in g to a c c o mp l i s h a t a s k . T h e v a r io u sd i s c ip l in e s in v o lv e d in th i s a re a o f r e s e a rc h in c lu d ec o m p u t e r s c i e n ce , s o c i o lo g y , p s y c h o l o g y , a n d m a n a g e m e n ts c i e n c e to n a me jn s t a f e w . [2 , 3 , 4 , 5 ]A n o t h e r c o m m o n t e r m i n th e f i el d , groupware, h a s h a ds i m i l a r p r o b l e m s . T h e r e h a s b e e n m u c h d i s c u ss i o n , t h o u g hl e ss t h a n t ha t a b o u t C S C W , a b o u t w h a t e x a c t l y is g r o u p w a r ea n d h o w to c l a s s i fy i t [4 , 6 , 7 , 8 ] . A g e n e ra l ly a c c e p te dd e f i n it i o n w o u l d b e a n y c o m p u t e r a p p l i c a t i o n ( s o f tw a r e o rh a rd w a re ) th a t i n s o m e w a y s u p p o r t s g ro u p a c t iv i t i e s [4 , 8 ].T h e d r a w b a c k t o t h i s d e f in i t i on i s t h a t i t is v e r y b r o a d a n de n c o m p a s s e s m a n y d i f f e r e n t t y p e s o f a p p l ic a t io n s . F o re x a mp le , a t o o l t h a t a l lo w s in d iv id u a l s to s imu l t a n e o u s lyc o n t r ib u t e t o a s i n g l e w r i t te n d o c u m e n t w o u l d b e c o n s i d e r e dg r o u p w a r e b u t s o w o u l d a n e t w o r k o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m a n d a ne - m a i l s y s t e m .

D u e t o t h e b r o a d d e f i n i t io n o f t e n g i v e n t o g r o u p w a r e , i ti s n e a rl y i m p o s s i b l e t o d e v e l o p a w a y t o c o n t r a s t a n dc o m p a re v a r io u s g ro u p w a re to o l s . In li t e ra tu re th e re a reg e n e r a l l y t w o a p p r o a c h e s t o c r e a ti n g a t a x o n o m y f o rg ro u p w a re . T h e f i r s t a p p ro a c h d e f in e s c h a ra c te r i s t i c s th a tc a n b e u s e d t o d i s t i n g u is h b e t w e e n d i f f e r en t g r o u p w a r ea p p l ic a t io n s . T h e s e c o n d a p p r o a c h g i v e s s o m e c o m m o nc a t e g o r ie s o f g r o u p w a r e a p p l ic a t i on s .

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3. Grou pw are C haracterist icsT h e t e r m g r o u p w a r e d e s c r ib e s a n e x t r a o r d i n a r i l y l a r g e c l a sso f s o f t w a r e a p p l i c a t io n s . T h e s e a p p l i c a t i o n s v a r y g r e a t l y i ns c o p e a n d p u r p o s e b u t a r e a l l li n k e d b e c a u s e t h e y i n s o m ef o r m o r f a s h i o n fa c i li t a te g r o u p w o r k . T o h e l p b r i n g s o m eo r g a n i z a t io n t o t h e c h a o s a n d g i v e s o m e m e a n s o f

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c o m p a r i s o n , c h a r a c t e ri s ti c s o f g r o u p w a r e h a v e b e e nd e v e l o p e d .B y f a r th e m o s t c o m m o n c h a r a c t e r is t ic f o u n d i n

l i t e ra t u r e desc r i bes t he t i me i n t e r ac t i on be t w een g r o upm e m b e r s . T h i s m a y r e f e r t o h o w t h e s o f tw a r e h an d l e sc o m m u n i c a t i o n b e tw e e n t h e m e m b e r s , h o w t h e m e m b e r sw o r k o n t h e p r o j e c t , o r b o th . A n a p p l i c at i o n th a t i sasynchronous a l lo w s a s i n g le u s e r t o w o r k o n t h e p r o j e c t a ta t im e . W h e n a u s e r c o m p l e t e s h i s w o r k , th e p r o j e c t i sp a s s e d o n t o t h e n e x t m e m b e r . I n a synchronous app l i ca t i onm u l t i p le u s e r s a r e a l l o w e d t o w o r k o n t h e p r o j e c ts i m u l t a n eo u s l y . A s y n c h r o n o u s s y s t e m w o u l d b e r e a l- t im e .[2, 3 , 5 , 8 , 9]

L o c a t i o n o f g r o u p m e m b e r s i n r e l a t i o n to e a c h o t h e r isa n o t h e r c h a r a c t e r is t ic u s e d t o c l a s s i f y g r o u p w a r eapp l i ca t i ons . L o ca t i on i s t yp i ca l l y spec i f i ed to be s amepl ace o r d i f f e r en t p l ace . S a m e p la c e m e a n s t h e g r o u pm e m b e r s a r e a c t u a l l y in t h e s a m e l o c a t io n . F o r e x a m p l e , a l lg r o u p w o r k m a y b e d o n e i n a c o n f e re n c e r o o m a n d t h ea p p l i c a ti o n m a y b e d e s i g n e d t o h e l p o u t d u r i n g t h em e e t i n g s . Different pla ce s i m p l y m e a n s t h a t f a c e to f a c ec o m m u n i c a t i o n i s u n a v a i la b l e . T h i s c o u l d m e a n t e a m a r e i nv a s t l y d i f f e r e n t g e o g r a p h i c l o c a t io n o r s i m p l y n o t i n t h esame r o om wi t h eac h o t he r . [ 2 , 3 , 5 , 8 , 9 ]

T h e cha r ac t e r i s t i c s desc r i b i ng t he t i mi ng and l oca t i ono f g r o u p w a r e a r e o f t e n u s e d t o c r e a te a t w o b y t w o g r i d u s e dt o c l a s s i f y g r ou pw ar e [ 2 , 5, 8 , 9 ] . F i gur e 1 shows ane x a m p l e o f th i s a n d s o m e e x a m p l e s o f w h a t f i t s i n t o e a c hc a t e g o r y . I t is i m p o r t a n t to n o t e t h a t m a n y g r o u p w a r eapp l i ca t i ons ma y ac t ua l l y ove r l ap and f i t i n t o mul t i p l el oca t i ons i n t h i s g r i d .G r o u p w a r e c a n

f l e x ib i l it y o f t h e t h r e e t y p e s a n d a l lo w s f o r g r e a t e re f f i c i enc y i n cap t u r i ng da t a . [ 9 ]A n o t h e r c h a r a c te r i st i c u s e d t o c l a s s i fy g r o u p w a r e i s t h e

m e t h o d t h e s y s t e m u s e s t o c o o r d i n a t e u s e r a c t i v it y .G r o u p w a r e c o o r d i n a t i o n c a n b e s e q u e n t ia l , p a r a ll e l, o rr ec i p r oca l . Sequential i n d ic a t es t h a t o n l y o n e m e m b e r i sa c t i v e l y w o r k i n g o n t h e p r o j e c t a t a n y ti m e . W h e n o n em e m b e r c o m p l e t e s h i s w o r k o n t h e p r o j e c t , it is p a s s e d o n t ot he nex t . Inparal le l c o o r d i n a t io n , e a c h t e a m m e m b e r i sw o r k i n g i n d e p e n d e n t l y o n a p a r t o f th e p r o j e c t , b u t t h e w o r ki s be i ng done s imul t aneous l y . An d reciprocal c o o r d i n a t i o nm e a n s t h e m u l t i p le g r o u p m e m b e r s a r e w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r o na p a r t o f th e p r o j e ct . A g r o u p w a r e s y s t e m m a y s u p p o r t as i n g le t y p e o f c o o r d i n a t io n o r s o m e c o m b i n a t io n . [ 1 0 , 1 1 ,12]

Anot he r cha r ac t e r i s t i c , closeness o f collaboration [ 10],i s ve r y s imi l a r t o t he coor d i na t i on cha r ac t e r i s t i c . T h ec l osenes s cha r ac t e r i s ti c a t temp t s c l a s s i f y g r ou pwa r e byd e f i n in g a s p e c t r u m t o m e a s u r e h o w c l o s e l y t o g e t h e r t e a mm e m b e r s w o r k . O n o n e e n d o f t h e s p e c tr u m i s division oflabor. T h i s i n d ic a t e s th a t i n d i v id u a l g r o u p m e m b e r s w o r ki n d e p e n d e n t l y o n t h e i r a ss i g n e d p a r t. C o l l a b o r a t i o n ta k e sp l a c e w h e n t h e i n d iv i d u a l p a r t s ar e c o m b i n e d . T h e o t h e re n d o f th e s p e c t r u m i s shared mind. S h a r e d m i n d m e a n s t h epr o j ec t is no t d i v i ded f o r ind i v i dua l t a sks bu t r a t he r t heg r o u p w o r k s i n u n i s o n t o c o m p l e t e t h e p r o j e c t .

C o m m o n t a s k d i m e n s i o n f o r m s a n o t h e r s p e c t r u m t h a tc a n h e l p t o c l a s s i f y g r o u p w a r e . Common task dimension isa m e a s u r e o f h o w t i g h t ly c o u p l e d i n d i v i d u a ls a r e i nc o m p l e t i n g w o r k . T h e l o w e n d o f t h e s p e c tr u m w o u l d b es o m e t h i n g l ik e u s e r s o n a m a i n f r a m e t i m e s h a r i n g s y s t e m s .E a c h u s e r i sa l so be

c h a r a c t e r iz e d b yl o o k i n g a t t h ed e g r e e t o w h i c h t h et e c h n o l o g y s u p p o r tsg r o u p m e m b e r s .G r o u p w a r eapp l i ca t i ons can beclass i f ied as f - , k- ,o r w - g r o u p w a r e . I na n f - g r o u p w a r esys t em, t he r e i s a

Same P l a c e Different Placetraditional face toSynchronous face meeting video conferencing

Asynchronous assembly line e-mail system

Figure 1

w o r k i n gi n d e p e n d e n t l y o nd i f f e r en t t a sks bu t i ss t i l l a group in as e n s e b e c a u s e t h e ya r e a l l w o r k i n g o nt h e s a m e m a c h i n e .I n t h i s case t he use r sa r e l o o s e l y c o u p l e d .S o m e s o r t o fs o f t w a r e r e v i e ws y s t e m t h a t a l l o w e ds i n g le w o r k s t a t io n c o n t r o l l e d b y t h e p e r s o n i n c h a r g e o f

o r gan i z i ng t he m ee t i ng , t he f ac i l i t a t o r . T he f ac i l i ta t o r usest r a d it io n a l m e t h o d s t o r u n t h e m e e t i n g a n d g a t h e ri n f o r m a t i o n f r o m t h e o t h e r g r o u p m e m b e r s a n d t h e n i n p u tst he r e su l ts i n t o the com put e r . T he i de a i s t o use a so f twar ea p p l i c a ti o n t o i n t e rp r e t a n d o r g a n i z e t h e g r o u p ' sb r a i ns t o r mi ng . K- g r oup war e sys t ems a l so ca l l f o r a s i ng l ec o o r d i n a t in g w o r k s t a ti o n , b u t e a c h g r o u p m e m b e r h a s s o m ew a y t o i n p u t i n f o r m a t i o n d i r e c t ly in t o t h e s y s t e m s u c h a s ak e y p a d . T h e s o f t w a r e a p p l i c a t io n w o u l d l i k e l y b e s o m e s o r to f v o t in g s y s te m . A w - g r o u p w a r e s y s t e m a l lo w s e a c h g r o u pm e m b e r t o h a v e a w o r k s t a ti o n . I t p e r h a p s a l lo w s t h e g r e a t e s t

m u l t i p le u s e r s t o s i m u l t a n e o u s l y r e v i e w a p i e c e o f c o d ew o u l d r e p r e s e n t a t i g h t ly c o u p l e d s y s t e m o n t h e o t h e r e n d o ft he spec t r um. [ 8 ]A shared environment dimension s p e c t r u m i s a ni n d i c a ti o n o f t h e l e v e l o f i n f o r m a t i o n t h e g r o u p w a r e s y s t e m sp r o v i d e s a b o u t o th e r u s e r s a n d t he e n v i r o n m e n t . T h e l o we n d o f th i s s p e c t ru m w o u l d b e a b a s i c e - m a i l s y s t e m s i n c e i tp r o v i d e s v e r y l it tl e i n f o rm a t i o n a b o u t t h e e n v i r o n m e n t . A ne l e c t ro n i c c l a s s r o o m s y s t e m w o u l d b e a n e x a m p l e o f t h eh i g h e n d o f th i s sp e c t r u m . T o s i m u l a t e t h e e x p e r i e n c e o fc l a s s r o o m e l e c t ro n i c a l ly , th e s y s t e m w o u l d n e e d t o

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s o m e h o w p r o v i d e m a n y e n v i r o n m e n t a l c u e s a b o u t th e u s e rsand t he s t a t e o f t he c l a s s. [ 8 ]T h e t y p e o f o u tp u t s u p p o r t e d b y t h e g r o u p w a r e s y s t e mi s ano t he r m e t ho d o f c l a s s if i ca t i on [ 9 ]. T h i s do es no t r e f e r t op h y s i c a l r es u l ts g e n e r a t e d b y t h e s y s t e m s u c h a s a d o c u m e n tb u t r a t h e r w h a t a w a r e n e s s e a c h g r o u p m e m b e r h a s a f te ru s i n g t h e s y s t e m . T h i s c l a s s if i c a ti o n s y s te m c a n b e m o d e l e da s a t h r e e -t i e re d p y r a m i d . A t t h e l o w e s t l e v e l, e a c h m e m b e ri s s im p l y a w a r e o f th e o t h e r m e m b e r s ' o p i n i o n s a b o u t th epr o j ec t . T h i s i s r e f e r r ed t o a s share opinions. T h e n e x tlevel i s sha red opinions. T h i s m e a n s t h a t t h e g r o u p h a scom e to a consensu s abou t t he p r o j ec t ' s goa l s and p r i o r i ti e s .T he t op l eve l i nd i ca te s t ha t eve r yo ne in t he g r oup has a c l ea ru n d e r s t a n d i n g a b o u t w h a t m u s t b e d o n e t o c o m p l e t e t h epr o j ec t and t he pa t h t ha t w i l l be f o l l owed . I t is ca l l ed ashare d mental model.

T her e a r e numer ous cha r ac t e r i s t i c s , spec t r ums , andt e rm s t h a t h a v e b e e n p r o p o s e d t o h e l p d e s c r i b e a n d c l a s s i f yg r o u p w a r e , b u t n o s i n g l e m e t h o d s e e m s t o b e a d e q u a t e .H o w e v e r , b y u s i n g a c o m b i n a t i o n o f th e t e c h n i q u e s , i t i sposs i b l e t o ge t a r easo nab l y c l ea r p i c t u r e o f a pa r t i cu l a rapp l i ca t i on ' s capab i l i t i e s and g i ve some means f o rc o m p a r i s o n . A f a i r l y c o m p l e t e p i c t u r e c a n b e d e s c r i b e d b yl o o k i n g a t h o w a n a p p l i c a ti o n h a n d l e s t h r e e a r e a s:Communica t i on - h o w i d e a s ar e s h a r e d b e t w e e n g r o u p

m e m b e r s ,Collaboration - h o w d a t a is s h a r e d b e t w e e n g r o u pm e m b e r s , a n dCoordinat ion - h o w w o r k i s s h a r e d b e t w e e n g r o u pm e m b e r s . [ 8]T h e s e a r e as a r e e a s i l y d e s c r i b e d u s i n g t h e p r e v i o u s l yd i scus sed c l a s s i f i ca t i on me t ho ds .

4. G roupware TaxonomyA c o m m o n w a y t o c l a s s i fy s i n g le - u s e r a p p li c a ti o n s i s t odesc r i be t ypes o f app l i ca t i ons based o n t he f unc t i ona l i t yt h e y p r o v i d e . F o r e x a m p l e , so m e c o m m o n s in g l e - u s era p p l i c at i o n t y p e s w o u l d b e p r o d u c t i v i t y a p p li c a ti o n s ,deve l opment app l i ca t i ons , and en t e r t a i nment app l i ca t i ons .T h e s e t y p e s c a n b e f u r t h e r d iv i d e d . S p r e a d s h e et s , w o r dp r o c e s s o r s , a n d p r e s e n t a t io n s o f t w a r e a r e e x a m p l e s o fsub t ypes o f p r od uc t i v i t y app l i ca ti ons . I t is pos s i b l e toc l a s s i f y g r ou pwa r e i n a s i mi l a r mann er . T h i s appr oach a l sos e e m s t o b e m o r e u s e f u l t h a n t h e f ir st . H o w e v e r , th eg r o u p w a r e t a x o n o m y te n d s t o h a v e m o r e o v e r l a p t h a n i ns i ng l e - use r app l i ca t i ons and va r i e s g r ea t l y in l i te r a t u r e . T h ef o l l o w i n g g r o u p s h a v e b e e n d e v e l o p e d f r o m [ 2 ], [ 5 ] , [6 ] ,[8] , and [13] .Message-based SystemsM e s s a g e - b a s e d s y s t e m s a r e t h e o l d e s t a n d m o s t p r im i t i v et y p e o f g r o u p w a r e b u t a re s t il l t h e m o s t c o m m o n . T h e i d e ai s s im p l e : m e s s a g e s c a n b e p a s s e d f r o m o n e u s e r t o a n o t h er .M e s s a g e s a r e g e n e r a l l y t e x t -b a s e d , b u t a n y t y p e o f d a t a c a nb e i n c l ud e d . T h e p r i m a r y u s e o f s u c h s y s t e m s is

c o m m u n i c a t io n s , b u t m a n y d o p r o v i d e s i m p l e m e c h a n i s m st o s h a re f il e s. T h e m o s t c o m m o n e x a m p l e o f a m e s s a g e -b a s e d s y s t e m i s e l e c t r o n i c m a i l , m o r e c o m m o n l y r e f e r r e d toas e-mai l . [8 , 13]T h e r e h a v e b e e n e a s e s t ud i e s t h a t s h o w e - m a i l c a n b e ause f u l t oo l f o r co l labor a t i on . Ho wev er , s tud i e s have a l soshow n t ha t t he r e a r e de f i c i enc i e s i n us i ng e - m a i lco l l abor a t i on . E - ma i l does no t p r ov i de soc i a l o r cogn i t i vec u e s a b o u t t h e o t h e r g r o u p m e m b e r s a n d i s h i g h l y s u b j e c t t omi s i n t e r p r e t a ti on . I t i s ine f f ec t i ve when i t comes t onego t i a t i on and r e so l v i ng con f l i c ts , and t he succes s o f suchc o l l ab o r a t io n s s e e m s t o b e s t r o n g ly d e p e n d e n t o n t h ep e r s o n a li t ie s o f t h e g r o u p m e m b e r s . T h e r e i s v e r y l i m i t edm e a n s t o m o n i t o r p r o g re s s o f i n d i v i d u a l w o r k o r o f th ep r o j e c t a s a w h o l e . S t u d ie s h a v e s h o w n t h a t f a c e -t o - f a c emee t i ngs a r e s t il l ve r y he l p f u l i n such s i t ua t i ons [ 2 , 11 , 12 ,13 , 14]. Ano t he r p r ob l em wi t h e - ma i l is tha t t yp i ca l l y onea d d r e s s r e c e iv e s a l l o f a u s e r ' s m a i l a n d n o t ju s t t h e e - m a i lr e l a t ed t o t he co l l abor a t i on . Dep end i n g on t he use r , t hec o l l a b o ra t i o n e -m a i l m a y b e a s m a l l p a r t o f h i s r e g u l a r e -m a i l w h i c h m e a n s t h e r e i s a d a n g e r i t m a y b e o v e r l o o k e d o re v e n d e l e t e d a n d h i n d e r t h e c o l l a b o r a ti o n p r o c e s s . T h i sp h e n o m e n o n i s s o m e t i m e s r e f e r re d t o a s " in f o r m a t i o nover l oad . " [ 8 ]

S e v e r a l s p e c ia l iz e d v a r i a n ts o f e - m a i l h a v e b e e nd e v e l o p e d i n a n a t t e m p t t o a d d r e ss t h e g r o u p w a r el i mi t a ti ons o f e -ma i l . Coo r d i na t o r [ 3 , 6 , 8 , 10 , 11] appea r st o b e o n e o f th e m o s t m e n t i o n e d g r o u p w a r e a p p l i ca t io n s i nl i te r a t u r e . Ho we ver , th i s is no t beca use t he p r oduc t ' s mer i tb u t r a t h e r b e c a u s e i t s e e m s t o b e o n e o f th e f i r s t c o m m e r c i a la t t empt s a t g r oupw ar e . T h e bas i c i dea is to make e - m a i lm u c h m o r e s t r u c tu r e d b y a d d i n g a f e w a d d i ti o n a l f ie l d s a n di ncor por a t i ng ' speech - ac t ' r o l e s i n t o t he e - ma i l t oo l . T h eh o p e w a s t h a t t h e s p e e c h - a c t m e t h o d o l o g y w o u l d h e l p p a s sa l o n g t h e i n t en t o f t h e s e n d e r a n d a l l o w t h e w h o l e d i a l o g u et o b e v i e w e d i n a l o g i c a l m a n n e r. I n p r a c t ic e h o w e v e r , u s e r st e n d e d n o t t o u s e t h e s y s t e m ' s f e a t u r e s a n d r e d u c e d i t b a c kt o c o m m o n e - m a i l.

C O S M O S [ 1 5] a n d I n f o r m a t i o n L e n s [ 3 , 8 ] a ls o a t te m p tt o enhanc e e - ma i l by add i ng ad d i t i ona l f i e lds t o t het r ad i ti ona l e - ma i l message . Aga i n , t he i dea was t ha tr e q u e s ti n g u s e r s t o p r o v i d e m o r e i n f o r m a t io n , e - m a i l w o u l db e m o r e s t ru c t u r ed a n d p r o v i d e b e t t e r c o l l a b o r a t iv ee n v i r o n m e n t . O n e n o t e w o r t h y fe a t u r e o f C O S M O S w a st ha t it a ll owed g r ou p me mb er s t o be a s s i gned spec i f i c r o l e sa n d t a s ks i n t h e p r o j ec t . H o w e v e r , n e i t h e r p r o d u c t w a sw i d e l y a c c e p t e d b e c a u s e u s e r s d i d n o t s e e t h e b e n e f i t sj u s t if y i n g t h e e x t r a w o r k a n d t i m e i t t o o k t o c r e a t e a n e - m a i lmessage .S o m e o f t h e i d e a s o f t h e s e t h r e e a p p l i ca t io n s c a n b es e e n in m o r e m o d e m e - m a i l to o l s . W h i l e th e i d e a o f a d d in gcom pul so r y fi e l dsd i d no t f l our i sh , t he i dea o f f i lt e r i ng e -m a i l d id . M o s t c o n t e m p o r a r y e - m a i l t o o l s su c h a sM i c r o s o f t ' s O u t l o o k E x p r e s s [ 1 6 ] , M i c r o s o f t ' s w e b b a s e d e -m a i l t o o l - H o t m a i l [ 1 7 ] , E u d o r a [ 1 8 ] , a n d N e t s c a p e ' sC o m m u n i c a t o r [1 9 ] a l l o w u se r s t o s e t u p a r e a s o n a b l y

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sophis t i ca ted m e tho d of f i l t e r ing e -m a il . Th i s typ ica l lyinvo lves c rea t ing ru le s tha t ins t ruc t the e -m a i l too l to w a tchfor ce r ta in keyw ords in the heade r o f the e -m a i l m essage .Upo n iden t i fy in g a m essage , the ru le m a y ins t ruc t the too l tode le te the m essage , fo rw ard i t to ano the r addres s , o r p lace i tin a specif ied folder.

Ano the r m e th od o f enhanc ing e -m a i l i s to u ti l ize asc r ip ting l anguage ins ide the e -m a i l m essage . In th i s wa ythe m essage i s s t il l tex t , bu t the too l i s p rogram m ed wi thadded in te l l igence to in te rpre t spec ia l com m ands ins ide them essage . Im a i l [8] and ME S S E [13] a re exam ples o fsys tem s tha t have im p lem ented th i s type o f s tra tegy . New ere -m a i l too l s such a s Mic roso f t ' s Out look Expres s [16],Mic r osof t ' s web based e -m a i l too l - Hotm a i l [17] , Eudora[18] , and Ne tseape ' s Com m u nica tor [19] pe rm i t the use o ft h e h y p e r t e x t m a r k u p l a n g u a g e ( H T M L ) i n s id e o f m e s sa g e s .How ever , the p r im ary reason fo r th is i s to a l low form a t t ingin e -m a i l and no t to enhance co l l abora t ion ab i li t ie s .F i l t e ring , add ing c om p ulsory f i e lds , and s c r ip tingl a n g u ag e s a l l e n h a n c e e - m a i l a n d c a n b e f o u n d t o s o m ed e g r e e i n m o s t c o n t e m p o r a r y e - m a i l sy s t e m s . T h e y d o t e n dt o s o l v e t h e ' i n f o r m a t i o n o v e r l o a d ' p r o b l e m b u t d o n o t t r u l yenhance the co l l abora t ive ab i li t ie s o f e -m a i l. Wh i lece r ta in ly use fu l , e -m a l l by i t s e l f i s no t eno ugh fo r t eam s tocons i s ten t ly co l labora te o n a p ro jec t .

E -m a i l i s p r im ar i ly a pe rson- to -pe rson com m u nica t ionm edium . M os t too l s do p rov ide the capab i l ity to s end orcopy m essages to m ul t ip le ind iv idua l s, bu t th i s i s no t ve rye f fec t ive fo r l a rge g roups . In o rde r to sha re in form a t ionwi th l a rge r g roups an d to s im p l i fy the m a in tenan ce o f thel i st o f m e m b e r s , s o m e m o d i f i e d f o r m s o f e - m a i l h a v e b e e ndeve loped . [5 ]Ma i l ing l i st s e rve rs and new sgroups a re the m o s tk n o w n m o d i f i c a t io n s . B o t h p r o v i d e t h e m e a n s t o b r o a d c a s tm essages to a g rou p bu t fun c t ion in s l igh t ly d i f fe ren tm anners . A l i s t s e rve r m a in ta ins a ros te r o f e -m a i laddres ses. W hen an e -m a l l m essage i s s en t to the li s t, i t i sfo rward ed to a l l the e -m a i l addres ses in the ros te r. The o n lywo rk requ i red o f the use r i s to f ind a l i s t s e rve r tha t dea l swi th top ic s o f in te re s t and subsc r ibe to i t. S ubsc r ib ingtyp ica l ly invo lves s end ing an e -m a i l m essage to the s e rve rwi th a specif ic messa ge in the bod y (e .g. subscribe garners. )[5 , 2 0 ]

New sgroups work in a s im i la r m anner , bu t requ i re theuse r to occas iona l ly check fo r new m essages . W hen th i s i sd o n e a l l n e w m e s s a g e s t h a t h a v e b e e n p o s t e d t o t h e g r o u pare download ed to the use r ' s too l . New groups a l so a l lowthe use r to s ee the p rogres s ion o f a conversa t ion bygrouping re sponse m essages w i th the o r ig ina l m essage . [5 ,20]

I n t h e c o m m e r c i a l w o r ld , t h e m o s t k n o w n g r o u p w a r eapplicat ions are Lo tus Notes [6, 20, 21, 22, 23] and i tscom pe t i to rs (Mic rosof t Exchange [21, 22 , 24] , Nove l lGro upw ise [21, 22, 25], and Netscape Co Uabra [22, 26]. )The m a jor fun c t ion o f these app l ica t ions i s to be a m essage ,or discuss ion, server. Essen t ia l ly, these appl icat ions prov ide

the neces sa ry fun c t iona l i ty to p rov ide s t anda rd e -m a i l , l i s ts e rvers , and newsgrou ps to the loca l a rea ne tw ork on w hichthey a re ins tal l ed . The y m ay a l so be conf igu red to beacces s ib le v ia the In te rac t . These app l ica t ions do have o the rco l l abora tive fea tu res tha t wi l l be d i s cus sed l a te r , bu t a repr im ar i ly m essage -based sys tem s .Due to the boom of In te rne t use, s eve ra l app l ica t ionsb a s e d o n w e b t e c h n o l o g y a n d s t a n d a r d s h a v e b e e ndeve loped and of fe r s e rv ices s im i la r to Lotus Notes . Them ajor bene f i t o f these app l ica t ions i s tha t on ly a w ebbrowser i s requ i red on the c l i en t m achines whereas spec ia lc l i en t so f tware i s requ i red fo r Lo tus Notes a nd com pe t ingproduc t s . Th ey a l so t end to be m uch cheape r . How ever ,m os t o f the web app l ica t ions o f fe r on ly a s ing le fea tu re andrequ i re the purchase o f seve ra l p roduc t s . F or exam pleproduc t s l ike Ne tThread , Rad Net , Al la i re F orum s , andW e b F o r u m s u p p o r t o n l y th e n e w s g r o u p f u n c t i o n a l it y f o u n din Notes . [27, 28]C o o r d i n a t i o n S y s t e m sThis type o f g roupw are re fe rs to sys tem s tha t he lp g roupm em bers coord ina te the i r ac t iv it i e s [5 , 8 ]. Coord in a t ionsys tem s can be thoug ht o f f rom two pe rspec t ives. F i r s t ,the re a re g roup ca lenda r and s chedul ing app l ica t ions . Theseappl ica tions a re des igned fo r use by an yon e in the g roup . Inthese app l ica tions , the use r i s typ ica l ly p resen ted w i th som es o r t o f c a l e n d ar / a p p o in t m e n t b o o k c o m b i n a t i o n i n w h i c h h ecan s chedule in own ac t iv i ti e s . Dep ending on the use r ' sp r iv i l eges , the use r m ay be ab le to v iew o the r use rs 'ca lenda rs and m ak e appoin tm ents in them . Use rs a re a l sotyp ica l ly a l lowed to s chedu le a m ee t ing an d inv i t e o the ruse rs. The app l ica t ion wi l l then au tom at ica l ly cheek theo the r use rs ' s chedules fo r conf li c t s . I f none a re found , them ee t ing i s s cheduled and the inv i t ees a re no t i f i edau tom at ica l ly . S om e schedul ing app l ica tions wi l l even he lpuse rs sha re re sources , such a s confe rence room s , and a vo idconf l i c ts . The re a re s eve ra l p roduc t s o f th i s na tu rec o m m e r c i a l l y av a i la b l e i n c l u d i n g M e e t i n g M a k e r [ 6 , 2 9 ] ,OnT im e [6 , 30 , 31] , Ca lenda r Mang er [31 ] , CyberS ched ule r[31], and Tim eCru iser [31]. The re are a lso appl icat ionssuch a s pe rsona l in form a t ion m ana gers (P IM s) tha t inc ludeschedul ing am ong seve ra l o the r fea tu res . Con su l tan t [32] ,Organ ize r [33], and Ou t look [34] a re exam ples o f P IM s ofth i s type . W ord P e r fec t Off ice com es wi th a u t i l i ty ca l l edCent ra l tha t g ives s chedul ing capab i l i t i es to tha t pack age[35].T h e s e c o n d t y p e o f c o o r d i n a t i o n s y s te m i s f r o m t h em an ager ' s v iewpoin t . The bas ic idea beh ind such sys tem sis to p rov ide p ro jec t m anagers the capab i l i ty to t rack apro jec t ' s p rogres s . Th i s a l lows the m anage r to coord ina tethe p ro jec t t eam ' s e f fo r t s and re sources to a s sure the p ro jec ti s com ple ted on t im e . A typ ica l sys tem of th i s type a l lows am ana ger to c rea te a p lan to com ple te the p ro jec t andde lega te pa r t i cu la r t a sks to t eam . Tea m m em bers rece ivethe i r a s s ignm ents on- l ine and m ak e s ta tus repor ts the s am eway. S ys tem s typ ica l ly have the capab i l i ty to gene ra te

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var ious cha r t s , such and Gant tt and P ER T, an d m ak e t im eand cos t e s tim a tes . Mic rosof t ' s P ro jec t i s an exam ple o fth i s type o f app l ica t ion a s i s CA-S uperP ro jee t ,TurboP ro jec t , and T im e L in e S o lu t ions . [36]A s l ig h t v a r ia t io n o f t h e m a n a g e m e n t t y p e o fcoord ina t ion sys tem is the workf low sys tem [5 , 20] . Thebas ic p r inc ip le o f wo rkf low sys tem s i s tha t m os t bus ines sproces ses a re accom p l i shed by com ple t ing a s e r i e s o f t asksin a spec i f ic o rde r . The proces s o f com ple t ing these sub-ta sks can be com ple ted and t racked by rou t ing a m essagebe twee n ind iv idua l s. These sys tem s typ ica l ly a l low ther o u te t o b e p r e d e f m e d a n d a l l o w a m a n a g e r t o s e e t h ecur ren t s t a tus o f the p ro jec t be ing ru n th rough the sys tem .L i k e s c h e d u l i n g s y s te m s , w o r k f l o w s y s t e m s m a y b e s ta n d -a lone p roduc t s like P a ram et r i c Corpora t ion ' s WindC hi l l[37] and Ac t ionW orks Met ro [38] o r in tegra ted in to a l a rge rs y s t e m li k e F i l e N E T ' s V i s u a l W o r k F l o m o d u l e i n P a n a g o n[39].Aga in Lotus Notes [6, 20 , 21 , 22 , 23], Mic roso f tExchange [21, 22, 24], NoveU Groupwise [21, 22, 25], andNetscape C ol labra [22, 26] a re am on g the m os t popula rschedul ing app l ica t ions . Al l fou r e i the r have a ca lend a r andschedul ing bu i l t in to the sys tem or p rov ide an ad d-onproduc t to g ive tha t capab i l ity . The s am e i s t rue fo rm an agem ent coord ina t ion sys tem s . In the ve ry leas t , theseappl ica tions p rov ide s im ple wo rkf low m anag em ent .Confereneing systemsWh ereas the p r im ary func t ion o f m essage -based sys tem s i sto p rov ide a synchrono us com m unica t ion , the m a in purposeof confe renc ing sys tem s i s to p rov ide o r enhan cesynchrono us com m unica t ion . The app l ica t ion typ ica l lythough t o f in th i s a rea i s v ideo confe renc ing where use rs canac tua l ly have a face - to - face com m u nica t ion , bu t the re a reo the rs. Co nfe renc ing sys tem s can b e ca tegor ized in to th reebas ic a reas : confe ren e ing too l s , confe renc ing a ids , andconta ct tools . [2, 6 , 22]Conferencing tools are applicat ions that actual lyprov ide a m eans fo r use rs in d i f fe ren t locat ions tocom m unica te in rea l - tim e . The m edium for th isc o m m u n i c a t i o n m a y b e v i d e o , a u d io , t e x t, o r s o m ecom bina t ion . F ur the rm ore , the app l ica t ion m a y be aspec ia li zed ha rdware dev ice , suc h a s p roduc t s o f fe red by theC-P hon e Corpora t ion [40]. How ever , m os t re sea rche rs anddeve lope rs t end to focus on desktop conferencing [8, 22]. Indesk top confe renc ing , the con fe renc ing too l i s a pa r t o f theuse r ' s co m pu te r sys tem , whic h g ives the use r theconvenience o f rea l - tim e com m un ica t ion whi le s t il l hav ingacces s to h i s works ta t ion [6 , 22] . Tex t -based cha t p rogram ssuch a s IRC [20] a re s t i ll the m os t com m o n app l icat ions , bu taud io and v ideo app l ica t ions a re becom ing m ore p reva len t .Mo s t advance confe renc ing too l s such a s In te rne t P hone[41] , CU -S eeM e [42], a nd Ne tM ee t ing [42] a l low use rs touse t ex t , aud io on ly , o r aud io and v ideo fo r rea l - tim ec o m m u n i c a t i o n .

Conferencing aids are appl ica tions tha t enhance anex i s t ing confe rene ing sys tem and a re o f ten pa r t o f a desk topc o n f e r en c i n g ap p l ic a ti o n . T h e t w o m o s t c o m m o n e x a m p l e sof such app l ica t ions a re whi teboa rds and app l ica t ion sha r ingprogram s. In wh iteboa rd appl icat ions [5] a l l userspa r t i c ipa t ing in the confe rence a re p resen ted wi th win dow inwhich they can p lace t ex t and graph ic in form a t ion . Aschanges a re m ade a l l use r v iews o f th is wind ow a re upda tedto re f lec t these changes . The w indo w bas ica l ly becom es asha red s c ra tch pad tha t a l lows use rs to he lp sor t ou t ideas .Visua l Rendezvous [43] i s an exam ple o f th i s type o fapp l icat ion , and CU -S eeMe [42] and Ne tM ee t ing [42] havewhi teboa rd u t i l i ti e s a s com ponents .Appl ica t ion sha r ing program s a re s im p ly u t il i t ie s tha ta l low a use r to ac t iva te an app l ica t ion on h i s desk top a ndsha re it wi th the people in the confe rence . Depen ding onthe sof tware th is m ay m ean o the r use rs a re s im ply a l lowedt o v i e w t h e w o r k o r t h a t t h e y c a n a c t u a l l y b e g i v e n c o n tr o lo f the app l icat ion . S om e sha r ing u t il i t ie s on ly a l low ce r ta inappl icat ions to be sha red. Visua l Rendezv ous [43] a l lowssha red web brows ing , whi le Ne tm ee t ing [42] a l lows anyappl ica tion to be sha red .O n e o f t h e d r a w b a c k s o f u s i n g c o n f e r e n c i n g to o l s i stha t the m ee t ing m us t typ ica l ly s e tup in advance us ingchanne l s ou t s ide the con fe renc ing too l . Contact tools he lpa l l ev ia te th i s p rob lem by keep ing t rack o f who i s cur ren t lyava i l ab le fo r a confe rence . Th i s a l lows spontaneousconfe renc ing to t ake p lace . An ap p l ica t ion o f th i s typeusua l ly a l lows a use r to spec i fy people tha t he w ants to beaware o f when the y are on l ine . Once the use r has beenm ade aw are o f a pe rson ' s p resence on l ine , the use r cancontac t the pe rson to s e t up a con fe rence th rough the con tac ttoo l . ICQ [44] , Yaho o!M essenger [45], and Ne tscape AOLIns tan t Messenger [46] a re con tac t too l s tha t works in th i sw a y .Group decision support systems (GDSS)Groupw are app l ica t ions o f th is type a t t em pt to t ake in toaccount the v iews o f eve ryone in the g roup and presen ts o m e s o r t o f s u m m a r y t o a i d i n t h e d e c i s io n m a k i n g p r o c e s s[5, 8, 20, 22]. Th e goal is to e i ther speed up the process ,im prove the dec i s ion qua l i ty , o r bo th . GD S S can beca tegor ized accord ing to the l eve l o f dec i s ion-m aking theysuppor t [20 , 22] . Leve l 1 sys tem s a re ve ry s im i la r to theconfe renc ing sys tem s desc r ibed above bu t p rov ideaddi t iona l func t iona l i ty to he lp m ee t ing organ iza t ion , toencourage pa r t i c ipa t ion , and to a l low vo t ing to t ake p lace .T h e s e s y s t e m s t y p i c a l l y p r o v i d e s u m m a r y i n f o r m a t io n a b o u tthe ideas p resen ted and vo t ing re su l t s. Leve l 2 sys tem s havethe s am e fu nc t iona l i ty a s l eve l 1 sys tem s bu t a l so addfea tures to he lp a l l ev ia te unce r ta in ty and c la r i fy a g rou p ' spos i t ion on the top ic . Th i s i s typ ica l ly accom pl i shed byapply ing m ore s t ruc ture to the p roces s. F or exam ple , thesys tem m a y a t t em pt to pu t the g roup ' s ideas in to a pa r t i cu la rdec i s ion m ak ing m ode l such a s p lann ing an d f inanc ia lm ode l s o r re source a l loca t ion m ode l s . F ina l ly , the re a re

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l e v e l 3 s y s t e m s t h a t a d d e v e n m o r e s t r u ct u re . T y p i c a l l ys u c h s y s t e m s a t t e m p t t o a c t u a l l y s t r u c tu r e t h e m e e t i n gp r o c e s s . F o r e x a m p l e , th e s y s t e m m a y u s e r u le s o f o r d e r t od e t e r m i n e t h e o r d e r in w h i c h g r o u p m e m b e r s s p e a k .

T h e f i rs t G D S S w e r e i m p l e m e n t e d a s e l e c tr o n i cm e e t i n g r o o m s . E l e c t r o n i c m e e t i n g r o o m s a r e s p e c i a l lyb u i l t c o n f e r e n c e r o o m s t h a t h a v e t e c h n o l o g y a d d e d t oi m p l e m e n t G D S S . T h e D e c i s i o n S u p p o r t L a b o r a t o r y a t th eU n i v e r s i t y o f A r i z o n a [ 8 , 2 0 , 2 2 ] i s o n e o f t h e b e t t e r k n o w ne x a m p l e s o f t h is t y p e o f G D S S . H o w e v e r , th i s is a ne x p e n s i v e e n d e a v o r , a n d m o s t G D S S a r e n o w d e s i g n e d f o ru s e o n lo c a l a r e a n e t w o r k s o r t h e I n t e m e t . G r o u p S y s t e m s[ 20 , 47] , V i s i onQ ues t [ 20] , and T CB W or ks [ 20 , 48] a r e a llG D S S , b u t p r o v i d e v a r y i n g s u p p o r t l e v el s .M ult i -use r e di torsA s t h e n a m e s u g g e s ts , g r o u p w a r e i n t hi s c a t e g o r y a ll o wm u l t i p le u s e r s t o e d i t a s in g l e d o c u m e n t . A d o c u m e n t m a yb e t e x t - b a s e d , g r a p h ic - b a s e d , o r s o m e c o m b i n a t i o n s o t h i sc a t e g o r y w o u l d i n c l u d e c o l l a b o r a t i v e d ra w i n g t o o l s a n dco l l abor a t i ve wr i t i ng t oo l s. T oo l s in th i s ca t egor y haves i mi l a r cha r ac t e r i s t ic s t o t he conf e r enc i n g a ids desc r i bed i nt h e c o n f e r e n c i n g s e c ti o n . T h e d i s t in c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e t w o i st h a t c o n f e r e n c i n g a id s t e n d o n l y t o b e u s e f u l d u r i n g ac o n f e r e n c e a n d a r e n o t d e s i g n e d f o r t h e c r e a t i o n o fd o c u m e n t s . F o r e x a m p l e , a w h i t e b o a r d a p p l ic a t io n w o u l dn o t b e v e r y u s e f u l to a s i n g l e u s e r a n d w o u l d n o t b et y p i c a l l y u s e d t o c r e a t e a m e m o f o r t h e o f f ic e .

T h o u g h t h e r e h a v e b e e n m a n y a p p r o a c h e s t o m u l t i- u s e re d i ti n g , t h e y c a n b e d i v i d e d i n to t w o b a s i c c a t e g o r ie s :s h a r e d m i n d a n d d i v i s i o n o f la b o r [ 1 1 ]. I n a shared minds y s t e m , a ll g r o u p m e m b e r s c a n e d i t th e s a m e f i le a n d s u b m i tt he i r changes . A coo r d i na t o r w i l l t hen i n t egr a t e t he changesi n to a u n i fi e d d o c u m e n t . F o r e x a m p l e , G R O V E [ 8 ] i s ar ea l - t i me t ex t ed i t o r t ha t a l lows sha r ed i t ems t o be v i ew eda n d e d i t e d t h r o u g h t h e outline window. The w i n d o w n o to n l y p r o v i d e s t h e s h a r e d c o n t e n t s i n a n o u t l in e b u t a l s og r o u p i n f o r m a t i o n s u c h a s s e s s io n m e m b e r s a n d i t e mr ead / wr i t e pe r mi s s i ons . S E P I A [ 49] i s a sha r ed mi ndh y p e r t e x t s y s t e m t h a t p r o v i d e s v a r i o u s m o d e s , o r l e v e l s , o fc o l l a b o ra t i o n . I n t h e i n d e p e n d e n t m o d e , u s e r s m a y w o r k o nt he i r ow n t a sks w i t hou t i n t e r f e r ing w i t h each o t he r . I n t hel o o s e l y - c o u p l e d m o d e , u s e r s m a y s h a r e c e r t a in p u b l i ci n f o r m a t i o n w h i l e w o r k i n g o n t h e i r o w n t a s k s. I n t h et i g h t ly - c o u p l e d m o d e , u s e r s w i l l s h a r e t h e s a m e v i e w , b u tr e sour ces , e .g . , mo use a nd f i l e , a r e s t r i c t l y con t r o l l ed toavo i d con f l i c t s.

I n a division of labor s y s t e m , t h e d o c u m e n t i s d i v i d e di n to p a rt s o n w h i c h d i f f e r e n t m e m b e r s c a n w o r k . F o re x a m p l e , M I L O [ 5 0] s u p p o r t s d i s t ri b u t ed a s y n c h r o n o u sc o l l a b o r a t iv e w r i t in g b y c r e a t i n g s t r u c t u re d d o c u m e n t s i n ause r - de f i ned g r aph i ca l t ree - l i ke r epr esen t a t i on . T h e node si n t he t r ee a r e r e f e r r ed t o a s notes, a n d e a c h n o t e s t o re ssoc i a l i n f o r m a t i on such a s c r ea t o r , c r ea t i on ti me , and c r ea t o ra l o n g w i t h i ts d o c u m e n t s e c ti o n . N o t e s a l s o h a v ep e r m i s s i o n s s e t to c o n t r o l u s e r a c ce s s . T o g e n e r a t e a

c o m p l e t e d d o c u m e n t , t h e n o t e s o f t h e t r e e a r e m e r g e d .A l l i an c e [ 5 1 ] a n d D u p l e x [ 5 2] p r o v i d e f o r a s i m i l a r s c h e m eo f s t r u c tu r i n g d o c u m e n t s ; h o w e v e r , t h e s t r u c tu r e i s m o r ef or ma l i zed .Col labor ative P r ogr amm ingT h e r e a r e t w o d i s ti n c t ty p e s o f c o l l a b o r a ti v e p r o g r a m m i n gt oo l s . F i r s t, t he r e a r e too l s t ha t a r e des i gned t o he l p g r ou psc o l l a b o ra t e o n a p r o g r a m m i n g p r o j e c t . T h e s e t o o l s m a ys i m p l y p r o v i d e b a si c v e r s i o n c o n t r o l to h e l p k e e p m e m b e r sf r o m d e s t r o y i n g e a c h o t h e r ' s w o r k o r t a k e a n a c t i v e r o l e i nh e l p i n g t h e g r o u p b u i l d t h e p r o g r a m . A l t h o u g h v e r s i o nc o n t r o l [ 53 ] c a n b e a p p l i e d t o a n y t y p e o f f i le t h a t u n d e r g o e sr e v i si o n s , i t is c o m m o n l y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a p p l i c a ti o nd e v e l o p m e n t d u e t o t h e n u m e r o u s i t e r a ti o n s i n v o l v e d i n t h a tp r oces s . I t is o f t en a s soc i a t ed w i t h a g r oup co l l abor a t i ng ona p r o g r a m m i n g p ro j e c t . T h e m o r e a d v a n c e d s y s t e m s a res o m e t i m e s c l a s s i fi e d a s S o f t w a r e C o n f i g u r a t i o nM a n a g e m e n t ( S C M ) s y s t e m s , b u t t h e i r p r i m a r y f u n c t i o n iss t il l ve r s i on con t r o l .

T h e m a i n p u r p o s e o f a v e r s i o n c o n t ro l s y s t e m [ 5 3 ] i s t ot r ack t he h i s t o r y o f r ev i s i ons m ade t o f i l e s. F i l e s a r en o r m a l l y s t o r e d in a c e n t r a l l o c a ti o n o r a r e p o s i to r y . F r o mt h i s l oca t ion , use r s can ch eck ou t a f i le , mak e r ev i s i ons t o i t ,and t hen pu t i t back . W h i l e t he f i l e i s ou t , t he f i l e is l ockeds o o t h e r u s e rs w h o t r y t o c h e c k i t o u t w i l l o n l y g e t a r e a don l y ve r s i on . W hen t he f i l e i s r e t u r ned , i t i s a s s i gned a newi den t i f ie r . I n t h i s way , t he r ev i s i on h i s t o r y i s ma i n t a i neda n d a n y v e r s i o n o f t h e f il e c a n b e r e t r i ev e d . M o s t s y s t e m sa l so h a v e s o m e m e t h o d t o c o m p a r e v e r s io n s t o s e e w h a tc h a n g e s h a v e b e e n m a d e .M o s t m o d e m s y s te m s t a k e a d v a n ta g e o f n e wt e c h n o l o g i e s t o i n c r e a s e t h e i r fu n c t i o n a li t y . F o r e x a m p l e ,M K S S o u r c e In t e g ri ty a n d S t a r T e a m c a n b o t h u s e t h e W o r l dW i de W eb t o d i s tr i bu t e f i l e s [ 53] . C l ea r C ase [ 54] isc l a s si f ie d a s a n S C M s y s t e m . A l t h o u g h i ts p r i m a r y f u n c t i o ni s ve r s i on con t r o l , i t a l so he l ps deve l ope r s ma nag e t heva r i ous bu i l ds o f the i r app l i ca ti ons . I t is ava i l ab l e on mo s tm a j o r o p e r a t i n g s y s t e m s a n d i n t e g r a t e s w i t h p o p u l a rd e v e l o p m e n t t o o ls . A d d - o n p r o d u c t s p r o v i d e a d d i t io n a lf unc t i ona l i t y . C l ea r Case M ul t i s i t e a l l ows geogr aph i ca l l ys e p a r a te d t e a m s t o s h a r e f i le s b y c o n t r o l l e d r e p l ic a t i o n o ft h e re p o s i t o ry . C l e a r G u i d e a d d s p r o j e c t m a n a g e m e n t t o t h eS C M s y s t e m a n d a l l o w s a m a n a g e r t o a s s i g n t as k s t oi nd i v i dua l s and t r ack t he p r ogr es s .

T h e r e a r e m a n y c o m p u t e r - a i d e d s o f t w a r e e n g i n e e r i n g( C A S E ) t o o l s a v a i la b l e c o m m e r c i a l l y . A l l a r e d e s i g n e d t os u p p o r t p a r t o r a l l o f a s o f t w a r e l i fe c y c l e , a n d m a n y h a v el i mi t ed co l l abor a t i ve capab i l i ti e s . I n mos t C AS E t oo l s , th i ss i m p l y m e a n s a l l g r o u p m e m b e r s h a v e a c c e s s t o a l l f il e s a n dt h a t t h e C A S E t o o l p r o v i d e s s o m e v e r s i o n c o n t r o l m e t h o d .S i m p l y O b j e c ts [ 5 5 ] , Q A S E [ 5 6 ], a n d I C O N I X [ 5 7 ] a ree x a m p l e s o f th i s t y p e o f to o l .

D e v e l o p m e n t k i ts t h a t c a n b e u s e d t o c r e a t e g r o u p w a r ea p p l ic a t io n s a r e t h e s e c o n d t y p e o f c o l l a b o r a t i v ep r o g r a m m i n g t o o l. T h e r e a r e n u m e r o u s k it s a v a i la b l e f o r a

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variety of languages, bu t most s im ply provide threeservices: a fram ewo rk for support ing groupwareapplications, s om e pre-b uilt groupw are applications, an d thenec essa ry libraries to crea te ne w applications. DistV iew[58] is a Java- based tool kit that fits this description and isbeing developed at the Univers i ty at Michigan. Tango [59]is a ver y s imilar product being dev eloped at SyracuseUnivers ity . GroupK it [60] from the Univers i ty of Calgary isTcl /Tk-based, and Egret [61] fro m the Univers i ty of Hawaiiuses E ma cs as its foundation.5 . Conclus ionResearc h in CSCW in general and groupware in part icularcan be a ra ther a rduous because o f the ra ther hazyboundaries that define groupware. By sol id ifying theseboundaries , the researc h in to th is area ca n be m ore focused.It is hope d that the information col lated here can be a sol idstart ing p oint for new research in to the area of groupw areand serve as a gu ide to the deve lopmen t o f new er and be t te rgroupwa re systems.6 . References[1] LianaJ Bannon and Kjeld Schmidt , "CSCW: FourCharacters in Search o f a Context" , Readings inGroupware and Computer-Supported CooperativeWork, M organ Kau fma nn Publishers, Inc., San M ateo,CA , 1993, pp. 50-56.[2] And ree Wo odcock, "Gu ide to Com puter SupportedCo-operat ive W ork",dougal.derby.ac.uk/andree/cscw6.html, 1997.[3] Richard Pow er and Lorel la Carminat i, "Com puterSupported Cooperat ive Work", Cooperation A mon gOrganizations: The Potential o f Computer Supported

Cooperative Work, Springer-Verlag, Germany, 1993,pp. 13-25.[4] Saul Greenberg, "Com puter-Supported Cooperat iveWo rk and Groupware", Computer SupportedCooperative Work and Groupware, Academic PressInc., San Diego, CA, 1991, pp. 1-7.[5] "G roup wa re", ww w.usabilityfirst.com/groupware/,1998.[6] Clive Holtham, "Groupw are: I t ' s Past and Future",Group ware in th e 21 st Century, Pra ege r Publishers,Westport, CT , 1994, pp. 3-14.[7] Rose Lockwood , "The Groupware Marke t" , ComputerSupport fo r Co-operative Work, John Wi ley & SonsLtd., Englan d, 1994, pp. 3-18.[8] C A Ellis, S J Gibbs, and G L Rein, "Groupware:Som e Issues and Experiences", Readings inGroupware and Computer-Supported CooperativeWork, Mo rgan Kau fma nn Publishers , Inc., San Ma teo,CA , 1993, pp.9-28.[9] Richard T Watson, Robert P Bostrom, and Alan RDermis, "Fr agm entatio n to Integration", Groupware in

the 21st Century, Praeg er Publishers, Westport , CT ,1994, pp. 29-39.[10] M Sharpies, J S Goodlet , E E Beck, C C W ood, S MEasterbrook, and L P lowm an, "Researc h Issues in theStudy of Com puter Supported Collaborat ive Writ ing",Computer Supported Collaborative Writing, Springer-Verlag, Germany, 1993, pp. 9-28.[11] M Sharpies, "Addin g a Little Structu re toCollaborative Writing", CSC W in Practice: AnIntroduction and Case Studies, Spring-Verlag, Berlin,1993, pp.51-68.[12] D Diaper, "Sm all-Sca le Collaborative W riting Usin gElectronic Mail" , CS CW in Practice: A n Introductionand Case Studies, Spring-Vedag, Berl in , 1993, pp.69-92 .[13] Kai H Chang, Liam Mu rphy, Jonathan D Fouss ,Timothy D D ol lar I I, Byong G L ee , and Yi fangChang, "Softw are Dev elopm ent and Integrat ion in aComputer Suppor ted Coopera t ive W orkEnvironment", Software - P ractice and Experience,Vol. 28(6), I99 8, pp. 657-679.

[14] G N Gilbert, "CSC W F or Real: Reflect ions onExperience", CS CW in Practice: An Introduction andCase Studies, Spring-Verlag, Berlin, 1993, pp.39-50.[15] A Kirkwood, S Fume r, W Ablard, B Clark, KDickerson, A M ercer, S O'Donn ell , Y Siu , and OWilliams, "Usa bility trailling fo r CS CW te cholog y:lessons from a s tructured messaging task", C S C W i nPractice: A n Introduction and Case Studies, Spring-Verlag, Berlin, 19 93, pp. 163-1 76.[16] Microsoft, "O utlook Express Hom e Page",www.microso t .eom/windows/oe, 1999.[ 17] Microsoft, "H otmail - The W orld 's FR EE W eb-basedE-mai l " , www.ho~ai l .com, 1999 .[18 ] Qualcomm, "Qualcomm 's Eudora P lace" ,www.eudora.com,1999.[ 19] Netscape, "N etscape Comm unicator" ,home.netscape.com /eummu nicator/v4.5 , 1999.[20 ] Efra im Turban and Jay E Aronson , Decision SupportSystems an d Intelligent Systems Fifth Edition, PrenticeHall, N ew Jersey, 1998.[21 ] Matt Kram er, "Groupware: Unleashing the Power",PC W eek Onl ine , ww w.zdnet .com/pcweek / ,ZD N e t ,1999.[22] Geo rge M Marakas, Decision Support Systems in the21 st C entury, Prent ice Hall , New Jersey, 1999.[23] "Lotus Notes",www.lotus .com/home.nsf/welcom/notes , Lotus, 1999.[24] "Microsoft BackO ffice - Exchan ge Server",www.microso f t .com/exchange ,Microsoft Corporation,1999.[25] "Novell : GroupWise", www.novel l .com/groupwise,NoveU, Inc., 1999.[26] "Netscape Collabra Server Datasheet" ,www.iplanet.com/products/infrastructure/messaging/n__eollabra/index.html, Sun -Ne tscape A lliance, 1999.

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[2 7] B i l l Ro b er t s , "S t i l l M i l es t o Go : W eb -b asedco l l ab o ra t i o n i s im p ro v in g , b u t No tes ru l es" , W e bW e e k , V o l . 2 , I s s u e 6 , M e c k l e r m e d i a C o r p , 5 / 2 0/ 19 9 6.[ 28 ] D a n i e l L a L i b e r te , " W W W C o l l a b o r a ti o n P r o j e c ts " ,w w w . h y p e m e w s . o r g / H y p e m e w s / g e t / w w w / c o l l a b o r a t io n .h tm l , 1 9 9 7 .[ 29 ] " M e e t h i g M a k e r G r o u p S c h e d u l i n g " ,w w w . m e e t i n g m a k e r 6 .c o m , O n T e c h n o l o gy , C o r p .,1999 .[ 30 ] " O p e n T e x t - O n T i m e " , w w w . o p e n t e x t . c o m / o n t i m e ,O p e n T e x t C o r p o r a t io n , 1 9 99 .[ 31 ] W i l l i a m W o n g , " M e e t i n g P la n n i n g M a d e E a s y " ,In t e rn e t Bu s in ess , www.zd n e t . co n f f en t e rp f i se / e -b u s in ess , ZD In c , 1 9 9 8 .[ 32 ] " C o n s u l t a n t " , w w w . c h r o n o s n e t . c o m / c o n s u l t a n t ,Ch ro n o s LC . , 1 9 9 8 .[3 3] "Lo tu s Org an i ze r " ,w w w . l o t u s . c o m / h o m e . n s f / w e l c o m e / o r g a n i z e r , Lo tu s ,1999 .[3 4] "M icro so f t Of f i ce - M icro so f t Ou t lo o k " ,w w w . m i c r o s o f t . c o m / o f f i c e / o u t l o o k ,Micro so f t , 1 9 9 9 .[ 35 ] " W o r d P e r f e c t O f f i c e 2 0 0 0 : H o m e P a g e " ,w w w . c o r e l . c o m / O f f i c e 2 0 0 0 , C o r e l C o r p o r a t i o n , 1 9 9 9 .[ 36 ] N e l s o n H . K i n g , " A c c o r d i n g t o P l a n " , P C M a g a z i n e ,ZDNet , 8 /2 1 /1 9 9 8 .[ 37 ] " W i n d c h i l l P r o d u c t I n f o rm a t i o n H o m e p a g e " ,w w w . p t c . e o m / w i n d e h i l l, P a r a m e t r i c T e c h n o l o g yCo rp o ra t i o n , 1 9 9 9 .[ 38 ] " A c t i o n W o r k s M e t r o " , w w w . a c t i o n t e c h . c o m , A c t i o nTec h n o lo g i es , I n c . , 1 9 9 9 .[ 39 ] " F i l e N E T : P a n a g o n I n te g r a t e d D o c u m e n tM a n a g e m e n t " ,w w w . f i l e n e t . c o m / s o l u t i o n s P r o d u c t s / p a n a g o n ,F i l e N E TCo rp o ra t i o n , 1 9 9 9 .[ 40 ] " C - P h o n e V i d e o C o m m u n i c a t i o n S y s t e m s " ,w w w . e p h o n e . c o m , C - P h o n e C o r p o r a t io n .[ 41 ] " V o c a l T e c C o m m u n i c a t i o n s - P r o d u c t s " ,w w w . v o c a l t e e . c o m / p r o d u e t s / p r o d u c t s. h t m , V o c a l T e cC o m m u n i c a t i o n s L t d ., 1 9 99 .[ 42 ] G r e g g K e i z e r , " M e e t i n g o f th e M i n d s " ,w w w ' c n e t 'c m / c n t e n t/ r e v ie w s / c m p a r e / n e t c n fe r e n ce , CNET, 1 9 9 7 .[ 43 ] " V i s u a l R e n d e z v o u s R e a l - T i m e W e b C o l l a b o r a ti o na n d C o n f e r e n e i n g " , r e n d e z v o n s . v i s u a l te k . e o m ,V i s u a l T e k S o l u t io n s , I n c .[ 44 ] " I C Q - W o r l d ' s L a r g e s t I n t e m e t O n l i n eC o m m u n i c a t i o n N e t w o r k " , w w w . i c q . co m , I C Q I n c. ,1999 .

[ 45 ] " Y a h o o ! M e s s e n g e r " , m e s s e n g e r . y a h o o .c o r n , Y a h o o !Inc. , 1999 .[ 46 ] " I n s t a n t M e s s e n g e r " , w w w . n e t s c a p e . c o m / a i m / ,N e t s c a p e C o m m u n i c a t i o n s C o r p o r a ti o n , 1 9 9 9 .[ 47 ] " O v e r v i e w o f G r o u p s y s t e m s P r o d u c t s " ,w w w . v e n t a n a . c o m / h t m l / o v e r v i e w . h t m l , V e n t a n aCo rp o ra t i o n , 1 9 9 9 .[ 48 ] " T C B W o r k s : W e b w a r e f o r T e a m s " ,t c b w o r k s . cb a . u g a . e du , T h e U n i v e r s i t y o f G e o r g i aResearch F o u n d a t i o n , 1 9 9 6 .[ 49 ] H I s h i i a n d N M i y a k e , " T o w a r d a n o p e n s h a r e dw o r k s p a c e : c o m p u t e r a n d v i d e o f u s i o n a p p r o a c h o fT e a m W o r k S t a t i o n " , Comm . ACM, 3 4 (1 2 ) , 1 9 9 1 , p p .3 7 -4 9 .[ 50 ] J o n e s , S ., " M I L O : A C o m p u t e r - B a s e d T o o l f o r ( C o -) A u t h o r i n g S t r u c tu r e d D o c u m e n t s " , M i k eSharp les(Ed .) , Spr inger-Ver lag , 1993 , pp . 185--202 .[5 1 ] De co u ch a n t , D . , V . Qu in t an d S . Kies l e r , "S t ru c tu reda n d D i s tr i b u te d C o o p e r a t i v e E d i ti n g i n a L a r g e S c a l eN e t w o r k " , G r o u p w a r e a n d A u t h o r i n g , R o y R a d a ( E d s ),Ac ad em ic P ress , 1 9 9 6 , p p . 2 6 5 - -2 9 5 .[5 2 ] P acu U, F . , A . S an d o z , an d A. S ch ip er , "Du p lex : AD i s t r ib u t e d C o l l a b o r a t iv e E d i t in g E n v i r o n m e n t i nL a r g e S c a l e " , P r o c e e d i n g s o f C S C W 9 4 , O c t o b e r1994 , pp . 165--173 .[ 53 ] R o b e r t D e l R o s s i , V e r s i o n C o n t r o l H i t s t h e W o r l dW i d e W e b , S o f t w a r e D e v e l o p m e n t , D e e . 1 9 96 , V o l . 4 ,No . 1 2 , Mi l l e r F reem an In c , p p . 6 4 -7 0 .[ 54 ] " R a t i o n a l S o ft w a r e : T h e e - d e v e l o p m e n t C o m p a n y " ,w w w . r a t i o n a l. c o m , R a t i o n a l S o f t w a r e C o r p o r a t i o n ,1999 .[ 55 ] " A d a p t i v e A r t s H o m e " , w w w . a d a p t i v e - a r ts . c o m ,A d a p t i v e A r t s P t y L t d , 1 9 99 .[ 56 ] " A E S - C o m p u t e r S y s t e m s P e r f o r m a n c e M o d e l i n g " ,

w w w . a s t e s . c o m , A S T E n g i n e e r i n g S e r v i c e s In c . , 1 9 9 9.[ 57 ] " I c o n i x H o m e P a g e " , w w w . i c o n i x s w . c o m , I C O N I XS o f tware En g in e er in g , In c . , 1 9 9 9.[ 58 ] " D i s t V i e w C o l l a b o ra t o r y T o o l k i t " ,w w w . e e c s . u m i c h . e d u / d i s t v ie w / , U n i v e r s i t y o fMich ig an , 1 9 9 8 .[ 59 ] " C o l l a b o r a to r y o n th e W e b : T A N G O " ,t ru r l .n p ae . sy r . ed u . t an g o , TANGO In t e rac t i v e .[ 60 ] " G r o u p K i t H o m e P a g e " ,w w w . c p s c . u c a l g a r y .c a / p r o j e c ts / g r o u p la b / g r o u p k it ,Un iv e r s i t y o f Ca lg ary , 1 9 9 8.[ 61 ] " C o l l a b o ra t i v e S o f t w a r e D e v e l o p m e n t L a b o r a t o r y " ,csd l . i c s .h awai i . ed u , Un iv er s i t y o f Hawa i i , 1 9 9 9.

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