Groupware

Computer software for group collaboration is intended for people who are geographically dispersed and might not otherwise work with each other. One approach was invented by Murray Turoff in the 1960s for the U.S. Department of Defense’s ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency Network) which was the forerunner of the Internet. Computer software that connects groups of people to collaborate on the same project is commonly known as "groupware”. Murray Turoff, the inventor of computer conferencing in the 1960’s who put the Delphi process on computer networks, calls this phenomenon “Computer- Mediated-Communication”. When groupware is used specifically for participatory decision-making, it is referred to as “group decision support systems (GDSS). In scientific research settings, groupware that connects research workers in different locations to the same set of databases for multimedia teleconferencing is increasingly referred to as “collaboratory”. Generally, these systems allow for electronic mail (From one –to-one and one-to many), shared editing of documents, common database access, and graphic systems to visualize the work in progress. More specific groupware functions include: 1) Simultaneous collection and display of members responses to questions and issues, so that all responses are available to stimulate new ideas and improve thinking; 2) Organization of electronic brainstorming sessions or other sources into defined categories for further analysis. 3) Arrangement of group ideas into a graphical or spatial outline format on which member of the group can individually add to or comment on the developing outline. 4) Evaluation of alternatives by ranking a list on a scale according to criteria generated by the group, which could be the number of people affected, extent of impact, ability to effect policy, etc. 5) communication by electronic mail as an aside to another member (or members of the group. 6) Electronic links (hypertext database) between documents, issues, terms, and definitions from which group members are able to select a highlighted node in order to activate its link to cross-referenced definitions, concepts, or documents; and 7) Simultaneous collaborations on the creation, editing, or annotation of the same documents.