Collaboration Information Systems and Teamwork: Human-side of Software development

Collaboration • Collaboration: occurs when

2 or more people work together to achieve a common goal, result or work project

• Collaboration requires feedback and iteration

• Feedback: members review each others work and makes revisions

This effort proceeds in a series of;

• Iterations: series of members providing feedback, then making revisions, then repeating this process over & over again until the project is complete

Collaborative Information Systems

• To support collaboration, Information systems need to be able to provide a mechanism for;

»Communication»Content management»Workflow control

Business Process Management (BPM) or Ad-hoc workgroups

• The 3 collaboration drivers are not equally important for all collaborations…..

• In ad-hoc workgroups, its seldom worthwhile to create and formalize workflows

Required Characteristics of Collaboration Drivers

• Communication requires members to be able to give and receive critical feedback and the system needs to be able to support multiple methods of communication

• Success requires team members be able to do what is necessary to complete the project

Virtual Teams & Virtuality

• Content management requires a means to manage multiple users that are contributing and changing documents, schedules, task lists, assignments, and so on….

• Factors that will effect collaboration include;

• unique dimensions of virtuality include;

• geographic dispersion,• electronic dependence,• cultural diversity, and• dynamic structure.

Components of a Collaboration Information System

Hardware• Client Computers• Server Computers

– Servers can be maintained within the firm

– Servers can be maintained external to the firm (Google Docs, Windows Live)

software• Google Docs &

Spreadsheets• Microsoft Groove (now

replaced with MS SharePoint Workspace)

• CMS: Moodle, Joomla, Blackboard…….2nd Life (?)

• Google Wave……

Software• Google Docs & Spreadsheets

Free, only need Web browser to use

• Microsoft SharePoint Setup on a server computer User need only browser to use Integrated with Microsoft Office Can be expensive for business users

Additional components of collaboration systems

Data Procedures People

DocumentsDiscussion listsTask listsWikis & Blogs

Using the softwareTeam Collaboration

Communication and collaboration skills

Decisions and Proceduresfor Project Phases

• Synchronous communication Team members meet at the same time, but not

necessarily at the same geographic location. It may include conference calls, face-to-face-meetings, or

online meetings.

• Asynchronous communication Team members do not meet at the same time or in the

same geographic location. It may include discussion forums or email exchanges.

Types of Communication

Technology Available to Facilitate Communication

• Don’t require everyone to be in same place at same time• Virtual meeting tools

Conference calls—can be difficult to arrange the right time Multiparty text chat—easier to arrange if everyone has mobile texting Videoconferencing—requires everyone to have the proper equipment Email—most familiar but has serious drawbacks in content

management Discussion forums—content is more organized than email Team surveys—easy to manage but don’t provide very much

interactive discussion

Virtual Meetings

Three Categories of Sharing Content

Your choice depends on the degree of control your team needs to complete their tasks

How do businesses collaboration systems?

• Problem Solving• Project management• Decision-makingDecision making occurs in 3 levels in

organizations– Operational----TPS Reports (also called transactional)– Managerial (department level)– Strategic (CEO, CFO, CIO, CTO, CSO, COO, etc….)