Software Quarterly

People Flow


Failure to address the people component of collaborative computing is as much to blame for its slow acceptance in the workplace as the delayed arrival of workgroup applications, according to Ronni Marshak, a computer industry analyst with the Patricia Seybold Group in Waltham, Mass.

In a report on workgroup computing, Marshak suggested several ways to implement groupware technologies advantageously. They include:

Set expectations. What new problems are you trying to solve? How can certain groupware solutions help do that in your environment?

Create pilot programs. Start with a small part of the organization and create a pilot program based on explicit, well-defined problems.

Determine return on investment. Rather than determining productivity increases from the amount of work completed, find ways to measure the quality of the work that can be attributed to sharing information.

Build buy-in at all organization levels. For strategic groupware applications to succeed, the technology should be championed from the top of the organization down, and end users should be encouraged to provide feedback about what is and isn't working.

Train your people. Group solutions depend on everyone using technology, not just a few. Provide training that's specific to the part of the organization in which your people work.

Provide support. In addition to introductory training sessions, make someone responsible for supporting your groupware applications. That way, users who catch on fast won't be constantly interrupted by employees who don't.

Following these suggestions -- especially the last three that focus on people considerations -- can go a long way toward overcoming potential barriers, which could prevent your organization from fully benefiting from groupware technology.

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