Post on 26-Dec-2015
Topic includes
• Bulletin boards
• Structured message system
• Computerised meeting rooms
• Video conferencing
• In relation to Groupware email is the– most popular– least expensive– most successful
• Systems vary with respect to the amount of support provided for Groupware functions
Bulletin boards
• Contributions are submitted by users to a specific conference or newsgroup
• Contributions may be moderated by a bulletin board administrator
• Following possible moderation, contributions are made available to all users of the service.
E-mail v Bulletin Boards
• In e-mail the message author selects the recipients, though some distribution lists may be administered centrally.
• In bulletin boards, it is the recipient who decides what to subscribe to.
• Senders do not know who will read their contributions.
• Contributions may be moderated.
Question
• Does the “mail box” you use provide enough functionality to be the core of a Groupware system ?
Definition of Groupware (1)
• Lynch et al. (1990)– “groupware is distinguished from
normal software by the basic assumption it makes; groupware makes the user aware that he is part of a group, whilst most other software seeks to hide and protect users from each other …”
Definition of Groupware (3)• Refined by Preece [1994] (who adapted Shneirderman [1992]) (definition of CSCW)
» Same time Different times
Same place face-to-face Asynchronous interaction
(class rooms, (project scheduling, co- meeting rooms) ordination tools)
Different place Synchronous distribution Asynchronous distribution
(shared editors, video (email, bulletin boards, windows) conferences)
Asynchronous Groupware
• E-mail– originally “point to point”
communication– snail mail but with greater speed and
efficiency
• Newsgroup– extension of email– centrally stored– ordered / structured
Issues
• Electronic etiquette
• changes in group dynamics
• allows the employees to feel “connected”
• problems of authority, control and influence
• junk mail
• structure
Structured Messages
• Structured messages systems represent an attempt to provide users with better methods of organising, classifying, filtering and managing messages
• creation of “intelligent” processes which delegate tasks to agents
Information Lens
• Malone et al. 1987, 1989
• an environment for intelligent email management using semi-structured messages
• methods for mail management via the specification of rules for processing messages
Object Lens and Oval
• Malone et al 1988, 1992
• representation of “things” in the world as semi structured objects with template based interfaces
• summarising collection of objects into views
• development of rule based agents
Multimedia mail
• Allows data other than text– images– audio– video
• IBM 1995, Wang Labs 1989
• MIME - multipurpose Internet mail extensions
Computational mail
• Embedding of programs within email (Borenstein 1993)
• active messages can carry out particular interactions with recipients in addition to transmitting information
Language / Action Perspective
• One way in which interdependencies amongst co-workers can is achieved is through language
• Winograd defines conversation as a means– to indicate a co-ordinated sequence of
acts that can be interpreted as having linguistic meaning”
Co-ordinator
• Each message is treated as a move in a conversation.
• A request can be followed by – accepting that request– declining the request– offering an alternative– nothing
• Each leads to other steps
Workflow
• In e-mail the focus is on the process of messaging
• In workflow processing, the focus is on messages that define process
Co-operative Hypertext
• focus instead on the corpus of messages or other computer documents and their interrelationships
• web of complex information is recorded and structured into a hypertext– examples, collaborative knowledge
building, asynchronous collaborative writing, organisational memory
Organisational Memory
• Conklin (1992)– organisations must shift from a document
and artefact orientated paradigm to one that embraces process as well
– software that integrates three technologies
• hypertext• groupware• rhetorical method (Issue based information
system)
Rhetorical method
• Can improve quality of dialogue
• by providing structures for discussions about complex problems
• improved conversation record– recorded by thread rather than time
Lotus Notes
• Most successful organisational memory product
• is “an integrated communications and data base network application designed to gather, organise and distribute information among work groups, regardless of individual members physical locations”
– Connor (1992)
First major user of Notes
• Price-Waterhouse– three major business issues
• Nobody knew who had the knowledge needed to solve a particular problem
• PW professional were constantly re-inventing the wheel
• need for better communication» Laube, PW Chief Information Office
– introduced from the top-down
Advantages
• Increased structure raises potential for automation, for example in:– Message-base searching (e.g. with keywords)
• Tracing conversation threads• Automatic routing to relevant users.• Formalised model of conversation:
– focuses attention
– clarifies actions
– clarifies deadlines
Disadvantages
• Rigid message structure leads to bending of message types etc.
• Over use of reminders can lead to sabotage and widespread disillusion
• Formal communications model can straight-jacket communications.