Box 5.6 Groupware as Collaboration Tool
What is CSCW?
CSCW (Computer-Supported Cooperative Work) refers to the field of
study which examines the design, adoption, and use of groupware.
Despite the name, this field of study is not restricted to issues of
“cooperation” or “work” but also examines competition, socialization,
and play. The field typically attracts those interested in software design
and social and organizational behavior, including business people,
computer scientists, organizational psychologists, communications
researchers, and anthropologists, among other specialties.
How is Groupware Design Different from Traditional User Interface
Design?
Groupware design involves understanding groups and how people
behave in groups. It also involves having a good understanding of
networking technology and how aspects of that technology (for
instance, delays in synchronizing views) affect a user’s experience. All
the issues related to traditional user interface design remain relevant,
since the technology still involves people.
However, many aspects of groups require special consideration. For
instance, not only do million-person groups behave differently from
5-person groups, but the performance parameters of the technologies to
support different groups vary. Ease-of-use must be better for groupware
than for single-user systems because the pace of use of an application
is often driven by the pace of a conversation. System responsiveness
and reliability become more significant issues. Designers must have an
understanding of the degree of homogeneity of users, of the possible
roles people play in cooperative work and of who key decision-makers
are and what influences them.