What is GroupWare?

A Definition:

Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz coined the term 'GroupWare' in 1978, they defined it as a whole system of intentional group processes plus supporting software (What is GroupWare). That's a very broad definition but the emphasis is on group processes that are supported by software. GroupWare technology today is still vague and lacks a well-defined infrastructure. Every article you read related to GroupWare has taken this board definition and expounded on it.

One definition supported by Creative Networks is:

Computer software that supports groups of people engaged in a common task and that provides an interface to a shared environment. They go on to state that for software to qualify as GroupWare, it must possess at least one of the following three characteristics:

      1.    Foster collaboration and coordination between people,

      2.     facilitate information sharing,

      3.        or enable communication between groups of people.

GroupWare applications typically address one of the three C's of workgroup computing:

     1.       communications,

      2.       coordination,

      3.       and collaboration.

Communication deals with electronic messaging. Collaboration deals with facilitating a rich shared, virtual workplace. Co-ordination means adding the structure of business processes to communication and collaboration in order to emphasize enterprise policies. The following figure adapted from Lotus Corporation's definition of GroupWare, details how the three C's of workgroup computing converge into the GroupWare infrastructure.

GroupWare is available to help groups collaborate better in all the ways they work together, whether in the same place a the same time (as in face-to-face meetings) or in different places at the same time (as in conference calls), or in different places at different times (as via email), or even in the same place but at different times (as when shift workers pass in the night) (Suggestions for Selecting the Proper GroupWare Applications). David Coleman, GroupWare guru, list nine primary components: email/messaging, BBS, group calendaring and scheduling, electronic conferencing, desktop video conferencing, workflow, BPR and forms routing, electronic forums, and group documents (The, 1995). By no means is this list exhausted. Every software vendor is looking for ways to incorporate GroupWare technology into their product.

Features and Functions:

The concept of GroupWare encompasses a range of tools designed to make important data quick and easy to access. Since GroupWare relates to how people within an organization interact, GroupWare systems are closely tied to the strategic business objectives of an organization. The functions and features of GroupWare are routinely classified into categories that reflect their functionality within the organization. For most small businesses, the most useful GroupWare application categories are: knowledge sharing, group calendaring and scheduling, real-time meetings, bulletin boards, group document handling, and work flow. As with GroupWare technology, the categories are not clearly defined and seem to be dictated by software vendors instead of business analyst.  The following table list each category with the functions that are supported for the five basic.

Electronic Mail and Messaging:

Messaging is a general concept that applies to sending pieces of information between people and/or programs. Originally messaging systems were used to send simple ASCII messages between computers. Programs that could do this were known as electronic mail or email systems. As time went by, the concept of an email system was enlarged, to encompass programs that could process more sophisticated messages. These messages often consisted of bold characters, special fonts, and even embedded OLE objects. Many email packages also include general-purpose utilities to transfer text or binary files. Email today refers to packages, which can send free-form interpersonal message, which may optionally have files enclosed along with them.

Electronic mail is probably the most familiar GroupWare function to most organizations. In fact one of the most basic difference between the three top GroupWare providers and those from many smaller companies has to do with email. You cannot implement a comprehensive business intelligence system without incorporating the ability for users of the system to communicate with one another. Many organizations start with a basic messaging system and build their GroupWare technology completely around this GroupWare functionality.

Conferencing:

One of the earliest forms of conferencing was BBS (Bulletin Board Services). BBS services are very popular on the Internet, Intranet, and most corporate networks. This type of GroupWare lets you carry on conversations over long periods of what's known as "non real-time". Bulletin Board Systems consist of databases that store information, usually in the form of questions and answers. Users can add information to the database using electronic forms and they can search the database using queries and keywords.

Desktop conferencing serves as another form of GroupWare. Desktop conferencing uses a computer screen or "workstation as the conference interface, but it also runs applications shared by the participants" (1995, GDSS). In this shared workspace any of the individuals connect can make changes to an applications. This shared interactive workspace shows the same information on everyone's screen. With desktop conferencing systems, you can save the screen pictures as a permanent record of the discussion between participants. This eliminates note taking and provides a handy reference for re-evaluation of information at a later time.

Group Decision Support:

Group Decision Support Systems (GDSS) represent a more sophisticated phase of Desktop Conferencing. GDSS supports electronic meetings systems and cognitive mapping/mind mapping sessions. These same-time-same-place meetings add a dimension of collaboration that encourages decision-making. A GDSS enables meeting participants to simultaneously "talk". As they talk, the computer sorts and sends ideas to each of the terminals at the same time. This saves a tremendous about of time, because everything is done electronically instead of manually. Members can read the information and type a response while they are reading. They don't have to wait until one person is finished to join the discussion. Each participant’s input is broadcast on all terminals simultaneously as discussion evolves. Group Decision Support Systems prevent any one person from dominating a meeting. Some GDSS provide an anonymous scheme, so that whatever you type in the terminal (i.e. your opinion) will not be protected. This means no one really knows who is typing what. This encourages team members to voice their opinions openly. Studies have shown that GDSS sessions can reduce meeting time while increasing group satisfaction and meeting effectiveness.

Group Document Handling:

Group document handling is GroupWare oriented to cope with document flow within an organization or between separate organizations making up a transaction team. Group document servers use a document database to keep up with who's got which version of what document and with whose contributions.  The database is updated and replicated as each change is made. A document server allows joint editing. In order to allow the authors access to parts of a document without excluding others totally, the documents that are stored in the server have to be well-structured documents. A lot of development is currently evolving in-group document handling. Many organizations see this as one of the greatest benefits of GroupWare technology. The Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) enables editing and processing of electronic documents and looks to become the standard for group documents. The SGML standard provides the approach and means to define the logical structure (Distributed Document Handling). Once a successful group document handling system is in place, workflow GroupWare can be implemented. This adds an additional level to group document handling.

Workflow:

One of the newer, more promising applications of GroupWare is to support workflow and workflow management--the routing of forms through a decision or signature chain, for example, with a common core database for recording each management action, tracking the progress of the decisions and commitments and enabling the completion of summary analysis. Workflow is the most complicated GroupWare feature.  Today the Internet is viewed by most Users as the ultimate front-end application for workflow systems. Most workflow processes involve a lot of customer interaction. All of these customers have different communication and computer system platforms; but they all usually support and access the Internet. The success of workflow software depends tremendously on the interoperability of applications.

The Impact of GroupWare on an Organization:

The promise of GroupWare is clear: to make groups more efficient and more effective by linking group members to each other and to important information more easily and quicker. How does group performance change when work is enriched by communication linkages and processing power? How do electronic groups affect the way traditional group member work? GroupWare is more than technology--it is also a cultural phenomenon.

Before you can begin to measure the impact GroupWare has on an organization, you must have a clear understanding of how groups are organized within the infrastructure of an organization.  This is an area where technology must converge with business goals and objectives.  Because it is so difficult to measure the output of many work groups, more attention has actually been focused on how GroupWare technologies affect a groups activities--the things group members do on a day-to-day basis. Information Technology is very important when making decisions about GroupWare applications to determine a realistic relationship between GroupWare functionality and the work group activity.

Collaborating electronically is an evolving process where new patterns are developed as an organization moves through the implementation process. GroupWare makes it easier for groups to work together by providing them with the tools they need to do their activities more efficiently. How much benefit an organization gets from any GroupWare system depends on the emphasis the organization puts on group work.

The greatest benefit of GroupWare is increased flow of information. By fostering collaboration and communication between people, GroupWare enables teams to function across many platforms. Global business processes are enabled by GroupWare applications like video conferencing, email and workflow. GroupWare helps individual and group productivity by automation of routine processes. Decision making GroupWare improves the decision making process by allowing decisions to be made locally by individuals who have immediate access to information. The learning process of an organization can be accelerated through GroupWare by providing training links and eliminating many communication barriers.