Groupware applications for collaborative access to shared resources and tasks

Groupware Applications

Information and communications technology brought about various benefits especially in the milieu of business. Aside from automating business processes that proved invaluable in streamlining business operations and provided efficient and effective means of achieving organizational objectives, workplace and group collaboration improved via various groupware applications. These groupware applications or collaborative software are "designed to facilitate the work of groups [and] to communicate, cooperate, coordinate, solve problems, compete, or negotiate (Foraker Labs, 2011)." Groupware applications are available in various functions and technologies; however, implementing groupware applications though may not be as simple as it seems because there various challenges involved in the initiative. For instance, there might be resistance to change from some sectors of the organization and these groups may reason out that "the former business process is working just fine!" Others may deem groupware applications implementation as intrusive on the current operational tempo of the business.

The problems with regards to implementation of groupware applications have been experienced by most organization engaging in the initiated. Nonetheless, majority of groupware applications implementations have proven successful especially when the project plan thereto included detailed change management, social marketing, and user familiarization plans. These efforts ensured "buy-in" from stakeholders and gradually introduced the new system to them. In one implementation success story of "The McLaughlin Company, a Washington, D.C.-based commercial lines agency, [the company] replaced all of its workstations with new, specially constructed computer workstations featuring 17-inch dual gas plasma screen monitors, synchronized by Matrix software with both office databases. At a cost of $1,000 per workstation, the purchase was the best money the agency ever spent. (Strazewski, 2004)" The change enabled the company to "provide instant visual access to virtually all of a client's file (Strazewski, 2004)" thereby facilitating faster and efficient work processes.

The success stories of groupware applications implementations are nothing new. In our organization, we experienced the same "birth pains" but eventually overcame the challenges and ended up successful. The groupware application implemented is a document management system (DMS) that enabled us to digitalized existing documents and minimized paper-based outputs. Since our organization relies heavily on contracts, proposals, plans and other business documents, the previous business process entailed printing these documents and routing them for review before final printing. The process involved using lots of paper but when the DMS was implemented, documents were electronically routed to reviewing and authorizing individuals and when comments have been garnered, the final paper is then printed. Indeed, the DMS save a lot of time and resources that proved invaluable in providing for a more efficient and effective business process. One of the key change management and social marketing strategies used was peer review of the planned groupware application project. The stated intended peer review objectives were clear, everyone understood objectives; and followed through on intentions (O'Connor, 1999, p. 16); thus, providing valuable inputs that helped paved the way to a successful groupware application implementation. Of course there was resistance at first from some stakeholders but when they found out that they have a stake in the project, they exhausted all efforts to ensure the success thereto. Since they were part of the project since day one, when the system roll-out occurred, there was no problem whatsoever when it comes to using the new system and the learning curve was less. During the user training, the sessions became more of a system validation and process improvement since everyone was familiar with the DMS groupware application. The end result is a groupware application project success story that further improved our organization's competitive advantage via improved workflow and business processes.