[Chapter 1] 1.4 Groupware nirvana and reality

1.4 Groupware nirvana and reality

For years, groupware vendors have touted structured solutions to these communication problems. Often these solutions do leverage email, but harness it to software that:

coordinates the flow of messages according to some model of a business process,
relates messages to roles and activities defined within that model, and
stores messages in a central database.

These are great ideas, and in certain situations they can be usefully applied. What characterizes those situations? Well-defined workflow, clearly-understood roles, agreed-upon milestones, and fully-specified deliverables are what pave the way for successful business process automation. Every enterprise has at least a few main-line business processes that qualify. And then there's everything else - the ad-hoc, amorphous, fast-paced buzz of communication that weaves in and around the main-line processes. Teams form and split, plans change, training occurs, documents evolve, communication flows across the corporate border to and from vendors, subcontractors, and partners. All this stuff, happening all the time in realtime, is what really defines the daily reality of a modern knowledge worker. It's messy and highly idiosyncratic. Software systems that impose order on this chaos just don't exist. Could they? Yes, but to support a corporate culture with a groupware system deeply attuned to that culture requires serious customization. In section three we'll explore ways to customize and extend the standard Internet communication tools. Here in section one, we'll focus on how use them more effectively.


	Practical Internet Groupware By Jon Udell 1st Edition October 1999 (est.) 1-56592-537-8, Order Number: 5378 384 pages (est.), $29.95 (est.)


1.3 What's wrong with email?		1.5 The conferencing dimension

Practical Internet Groupware

1.4 Groupware nirvana and reality