History
Group ware is an extensive concept that largely goes beyond CSCW (Computer- Supported cooperative work). Some authors argue that they are the same. According to Cartensen, collaborative software or groupware is one of the components of CSCW. Cartensen that CSCW and by far groupware tackles problems of collaborative actions and how their coordination may be sustained by use of computer systems. Systems or applications such as emailing text chat and calendaring fall under this. When these applications are used outside the work place like use of Facebook, twitter and instant messaging they are referred to as social software. Metcalfe’s law has been suggested to apply to this software (Mohan et al, 2000 p.78). The law states that the more a product or service is used the more valuable it will be. Use of collaborative software has been cited as creating a collaborative working environment where people are supported in their individual and supportive work. This has given rise to a new breed of professionals who have come to be known as e-professionals. These professionals can work from any region of the world. Collaborative software will relate to the idea of collaborative work systems, making it conceivable to any form human grouping, which will help in both the formal and informal situations. Collaborative work systems are very important as a tool for analysis in attempt to understand the behavioral and organizational variables, which pertain to the CSCW (Baecker, 2008 p. 158).
Main body
Definitions by many others and computer gurus has left many questions about what really is groupware and is it an integral part of Computer- Supported cooperative work. Well a groupware or collaborative software is the software created and designed to help individuals involved in a certain task to solve it. The whole design of groupware is based on transforming how documents and rich media will be shared among people and thus enabling more efficient team collaboration. Collaboration requires people to work together in a coordinated way and towards fulfilling a common task. The accomplishment of this goal is the sole purpose of working as a group. In their attempt to do this groupware will help in communication, management and scheduling of the tasks (Coderre, 2007 p. 98).
Development of groupware may be in house or may be bought from vendors who will in turn offer support and updates. In an in house situation, an object manager is employed and will be responsible for creating services and products related to projects. At the same time he will also handle shared objects regarding projects via proxies and will work on them as required. In development, the developer needs to extend the basic central or in cases replicated object class and create interfaces that specify the methods that can be accessed remotely (El-Rewini, 2008 p.135).
Groupware has been used and is used in many instances with the result exceeding expectations. Many developments in groupware adoption and implementation have greatly improved since it was proven to work in the 1990s. The best example is the usage of the collaborative project management tools. This began in earnest in the mid 1990s when project’s input and output was now being done over the internet. This changed the traditional approach in project management where team members had to take their data to a location physically. It created the opportunity and efficient method of a person sending information remotely, thereby changing project management. Projects frameworks could be installed and made to fit a projects requirements and the best groupware incorporated in the system. This will not only enhance efficiency but will lower a projects cost and duration (Mohan et al, 2000 p.58).
The major difference between ordinary and groupware databases is that ordinary databases will have their fields in short text such as birth, address etc. An object database where groupware databases lie will contain records whose field will be more general. An example is in an office a paperless admission may be used where a graphic image is stored in the database as graphic image data. This database would still have other conventional field such as name and address though it offers greater flexibility than ordinary databases. The other aspect of groupware databases that makes it more superior than ordinary ones is that it is designed to allow storage and management of information from multiple locations. This means there is a central database and groupware application that will synchronize data starting with the most recent information. A user can also search the database a capability than is encompassed in the groupware application. The other advantage of groupware is that it enables additional avenues for communication of workgroups. Instant messaging and web conferencing are the best examples of how it has revolutionized project management and implementation. This goes a long way in helping work group members have the same relevant information in a timely manner and reduces the amount of time spent sifting through large stacks of information and more time dedicated to the project (Coderre, 2007 p.254).
People who oppose groupware cite several things when saying this. They include arguments that groupware decreases efficiency since a lot of productive work is done outside of the groupware and at times it takes a long time to synchronize schedules and a breakdown in one members schedule will through the rest into confusion. Another thing about groupware is that it is not always reliable since servers in given areas may breakdown and each member will have to work separately which contravenes the notion behind groupware. Groupware is expensive to deploy and maintain, though it is claimed to be cheaper than taking a business trip. This is true when you consider buying top groupware products that expensive to maintain and buy the updates. You are also, as a user tied down to the seller of this product and you are limited in options unless you leave all your data in search of a new vendor. Security is also compromised while using groupware and may find its way to unauthorized persons. They also claim that groupware does not support non-verbal communication (Rama & Bishop, 2006 p.87).
Conclusion
Groupware systems and applications are currently being implemented in enterprises. Many enterprises are now appreciating the competitive edge these systems offers. They have taken into buying or developing in house systems that help in management of projects. As individuals we tend to think to rely on previously learnt skills but as groups we get to learn and teach others, which is the sole importance of groupware. As more companies appreciate this innovation, there is expectation of creation and development of systems that will do much more than presently.
References
Baecker, R., (2008) The Morgan Kaufmann Series in Interactive Technologies Series Interactive Technologies. San Mateo, Calif.: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers
Coderre, D., (2007). Efficiency Through Automation. New York: John Wiley & Sons Inc.
El-Rewini, Y., (2008) IEEE Computings. Los Alamitos, Calif. [u.a.]: IEEE Computer Soc. Press.
Mohan, C., Barber, R., Watts, S., Somani, A., & Zaharioudakis, M., (2000). Evolution of groupware for business applications: a database perspective on Lotus Domino/Notes. Cairo, Egypt: In Proceedings of the 26th VLDB Conference.
Rama, J., & Bishop, J. (2006). Survey and comparison of CSCW groupware applications. Cape, South Africa: Gordon’s Bay.