This page describes several types of groupware applications and their associated
design options. Comparing those design options across applications yields interesting
new perspectives on well-known applications. Also, in many cases, these systems
can be used together, and in fact, are intended to be used in conjunction. For
example, group calendars are used to schedule videoconferencing meetings, multi-player
games use live video and chat to communicate, and newsgroup discussions spawn
more highly-involved interactions in any of the other systems.
Consider how these systems can be integrated in other ways. We are still quite
far from developing the grand groupware system that encompasses every type of
communication, and we will probably never get there since the possibilities
are constantly evolving with changes in both our patterns of social interaction
and the technology we have available.
Email is by far the most common groupware application
(besides of course, the traditional telephone). While the basic technology is
designed to pass simple messages between 2 people, even relatively basic email
systems today typically include interesting features for forwarding messages,
filing messages, creating mailing groups, and attaching files with a message.
Other features that have been explored include: automatic sorting and processing
of messages, automatic routing, and structured communication (messages requiring
certain information).
Newsgroups and mailing lists are similar in
spirit to email systems except that they are intended for messages among large
groups of people instead of 1-to-1 communication. In practice the main difference
between newsgroups and mailing lists is that newsgroups only show messages to
a user when they are explicitly requested (an "on-demand" service), while mailing
lists deliver messages as they become available (an "interrupt-driven" interface).
Workflow systems allow documents to be routed
through organizations through a relatively-fixed process. A simple example of
a workflow application is an expense report in an organization: an employee
enters an expense report and submits it, a copy is archived then routed to the
employee's manager for approval, the manager receives the document, electronically
approves it and sends it on and the expense is registered to the group's account
and forwarded to the accounting department for payment. Workflow systems may
provide features such as routing, development of forms, and support for differing
roles and privileges.
Hypertext is a system for linking text documents
to each other, with the Web being an obvious example. Whenever multiple people
author and link documents, the system becomes group work, constantly evolving
and responding to others' work. Some hypertext systems include capabilities
for seeing who else has visited a certain page or link, or at least seeing how
often a link has been followed, thus giving users a basic awareness of what
other people are doing in the system -- page counters on the Web are a crude
approximation of this function. Another common multi-user feature in hypertext
(that is not found on the Web) is allowing any user to create links from any
page, so that others can be informed when there are relevant links that the
original author was unaware of.
Group calendars allow scheduling, project
management, and coordination among many people, and may provide support for
scheduling equipment as well. Typical features detect when schedules conflict
or find meeting times that will work for everyone. Group calendars also help
to locate people. Typical concerns are privacy (users may feel that certain
activities are not public matters), completeness and accuracy (users may feel
that the time it takes to enter schedule information is not justified by the
benefits of the calendar).
Collaborative writing systems may provide
both realtime support and non-realtime support. Word processors may provide
asynchronous support by showing authorship and by allowing users to track changes
and make annotations to documents. Authors collaborating on a document may also
be given tools to help plan and coordinate the authoring process, such as methods
for locking parts of the document or linking separately-authored documents.
Synchronous support allows authors to see each other's changes as they make
them, and usually needs to provide an additional communication channel to the
authors as they work (via videophones or chat).
Shared whiteboards allow two or more
people to view and draw on a shared drawing surface even from different locations.
This can be used, for instance, during a phone call, where each person can jot
down notes (e.g. a name, phone number, or map) or to work collaboratively on
a visual problem. Most shared whiteboards are designed for informal conversation,
but they may also serve structured communications or more sophisticated drawing
tasks, such as collaborative graphic design, publishing, or engineering applications.
Shared whiteboards can indicate where each person is drawing or pointing by
showing telepointers, which are color-coded or labeled to identify each person.
Video communications systems allow two-way or multi-way
calling with live video, essentially a telephone system with an additional visual
component. Cost and compatibility issues limited early use of video systems
to scheduled videoconference meeting rooms. Video is advantageous when visual
information is being discussed, but may not provide substantial benefit in most
cases where conventional audio telephones are adequate. In addition to supporting
conversations, video may also be used in less direct collaborative situations,
such as by providing a view of activities at a remote location.
The Usability First site maintains a bibliography of papers
on the user interface design of video communications systems.
Chat systems permit many people to write messages
in realtime in a public space. As each person submits a message, it appears
at the bottom of a scrolling screen. Chat groups are usually formed by having
listing chat rooms by name, location, number of people, topic of discussion,
etc.
Many systems allow for rooms with controlled access or with moderators to
lead the discussions, but most of the topics of interest to researchers involve
issues related to unmoderated realtime communication including: anonymity, following
the stream of conversation, scalability with number of users, and abusive users.
While chat-like systems are possible using non-text media, the text version
of chat has the rather interesting aspect of having a direct transcript of the
conversation, which not only has long-term value, but allows for backward reference
during conversation making it easier for people to drop into a conversation
and still pick up on the ongoing discussion.
Decision support systems are designed
to facilitate groups in decision-making. They provide tools for brainstorming,
critiquing ideas, putting weights and probabilities on events and alternatives,
and voting. Such systems enable presumably more rational and even-handed decisions.
Primarily designed to facilitate meetings, they encourage equal participation
by, for instance, providing anonymity or enforcing turn-taking.
Multi-player games have always been reasonably
common in arcades, but are becoming quite common on the internet. Many of the
earliest electronic arcade games were multi-user, for example, Pong, Space Wars,
and car racing games. Games are the prototypical example of multi-user situations
"non-cooperative", though even competitive games require players to cooperate
in following the rules of the game. Games can be enhanced by other communication
media, such as chat or video systems.
©1998 Tom Brinck
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