The term ‘Groupware’ can be defined as physical, technological and cultural tools. It helps out in becoming good performing teams for a group of people. Groupware is a set of software tools that helps in communicating and collaborating with one another; e-mailing can be considered as a good example for this. These tools include process and task, support and structure, and multimedia interfaces. Groupware offer the corporate infrastructure that fastens its performance and support the team people in attaining their destiny.
A Groupware technology consists of distance conferencing, email chat, and virtual communities. Distance conferencing permits for learning and sharing knowledge by making use of computers and telecommunications. This is capable of doing many things competently. This technology helps in communicating with the people who are at remote places and also it can share information. It helps in conducting training classes and to hold meetings for the members who are at different places.
Groupware technology offers a giant group of people to give their input and receive instant response of feedback that has been processed and analysed. Distance conferencing provides a forum for interacting, learning and sharing ideas. Learning groups are accumulation of individuals who intends to focus on their self learning and development in a particular area of interest such as information technology, and public speaking. Learning groups can make use of distance conferencing if the part takers are geographically scattered.
Groupware can be divided into three segments on the level of collaboration. They are as follows: communication tools, conferencing tools and collaborative management tools.
An electronic communication tool send messages, files, data, or documents between people and hence facilitates the exchange of information. Examples include:
E-mail
Faxing
Voice mail
Web-Publishing
Electronic conferencing tools ease the sharing of information, but in a more interactive way. Examples include:
Data conferencing: networked Pc’s share a common “white board” that each user can alter.
Voice conferencing: telephones allow users to communicate.
Video conferencing (and audio conferencing): networked Pc’s share video or audio signals internet forums (also known as message boards or discussion boards) - a virtual debate platform to facilitate and manage online text message.
A video conference is also known as a video teleconference. It is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to communicate via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called visual collaboration and is a type of groupware.
Chat rooms: a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage real-time text messages.
Electronic meeting systems (EMS): a conferencing system built into a room. The special purpose room will usually contain a large screen projector interlinked with numerous Pc’s
Collaborative management tools: facilitate and manage group activities, examples include
Electronic calendars also called time management software: schedule events and automatically notify and remind group members.
Project management systems: schedule, track, and chart the steps in a project as it is being completed.
Work flow systems: collaborative management of tasks and documents within a knowledge based business process.
Knowledge management systems: collect, organize, manage, and share various forms of information
Extranet systems: collect, organize, manage, and share information associated with the delivery of a project.
An extension of groupware is called as collaborative media, software that allows several concurrent users to create and manage information in a website. Collaborative software also known as groupware is application software that integrates work on a single project by several concurrent users at separated workstations. . In its modern form it was trailblazing by Lotus Software with the popular Lotus Notes application running in connection with a Lotus Domino Server, some historians argue that groupware was scheduled by earlier monolithic systems such as NLS.
Future prospects:
A Groupware technology consists of distance conferencing, email chat, and virtual communities. Distance conferencing permits for learning and sharing knowledge by making use of computers and telecommunications. This is capable of doing many things competently. This technology helps in communicating with the people who are at remote places and also it can share information. It helps in conducting training classes and to hold meetings for the members who are at different places.
Groupware technology offers a giant group of people to give their input and receive instant response of feedback that has been processed and analysed. Distance conferencing provides a forum for interacting, learning and sharing ideas. Learning groups are accumulation of individuals who intends to focus on their self learning and development in a particular area of interest such as information technology, and public speaking. Learning groups can make use of distance conferencing if the part takers are geographically scattered.
Groupware can be divided into three segments on the level of collaboration. They are as follows: communication tools, conferencing tools and collaborative management tools.
An electronic communication tool send messages, files, data, or documents between people and hence facilitates the exchange of information. Examples include:
Faxing
Voice mail
Web-Publishing
Electronic conferencing tools ease the sharing of information, but in a more interactive way. Examples include:
Data conferencing: networked Pc’s share a common “white board” that each user can alter.
Voice conferencing: telephones allow users to communicate.
Video conferencing (and audio conferencing): networked Pc’s share video or audio signals internet forums (also known as message boards or discussion boards) - a virtual debate platform to facilitate and manage online text message.
A video conference is also known as a video teleconference. It is a set of interactive telecommunication technologies which allow two or more locations to communicate via two-way video and audio transmissions simultaneously. It has also been called visual collaboration and is a type of groupware.
Chat rooms: a virtual discussion platform to facilitate and manage real-time text messages.
Electronic meeting systems (EMS): a conferencing system built into a room. The special purpose room will usually contain a large screen projector interlinked with numerous Pc’s
Collaborative management tools: facilitate and manage group activities, examples include
Electronic calendars also called time management software: schedule events and automatically notify and remind group members.
Project management systems: schedule, track, and chart the steps in a project as it is being completed.
Work flow systems: collaborative management of tasks and documents within a knowledge based business process.
Knowledge management systems: collect, organize, manage, and share various forms of information
Extranet systems: collect, organize, manage, and share information associated with the delivery of a project.
An extension of groupware is called as collaborative media, software that allows several concurrent users to create and manage information in a website. Collaborative software also known as groupware is application software that integrates work on a single project by several concurrent users at separated workstations. . In its modern form it was trailblazing by Lotus Software with the popular Lotus Notes application running in connection with a Lotus Domino Server, some historians argue that groupware was scheduled by earlier monolithic systems such as NLS.
Future prospects:
Groupware use has progressed from simple e-mail, file transfer protocol (FTP), and file sharing to list servers, discussion forums, workflow systems (e.g., EVS's CRMS [Comment Response Management System]), and web site interactive, collaborative management. EVS continually scans technologies for potential uses. Prototypes with distributed objects and push technology are under development. Other web-based systems for distributed meetings continually arise and are evaluated.
The future for these technologies is good. EVS is placed to combine many collaborative elements from its projects, such as messaging, evaluation tools, administrative control, and human interfaces. These elements are being combined for distributed project management, distributed meetings, and emergency system prototypes such as the Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM).
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