Excerpt from The Impact of Group Context on Patterns of Groupware Use: A Study of Computer Conferencing as a Medium of Work Group Communication and Coordination

This study examines the use of computer conferencing by three work groups in order to examine the group factors which influence the use of groupware technology. The paper first presents three work groups, describing group task, structure and process. Four modes of use observed are then briefly outlined, followed by a detailed account about each groups' use of computer conferencing and the common themes identified by team members. The next section analyzes the use patterns across the teams using a framework developed in the study. This framework draws on the small group theory of Hackman Gladstein (1984) and (schein, The summary section presents a set of considerations, based on the findings, for introducing similar groupware technology.

The study was conducted in a software engineering organization of a computer company. The three groups studied a research group, a senior management team, and a product development group-1 represent a variety of tasks and goals. The study examined the first year of conference use by the three groups. It focused on the use of computer conferences limited to group members rather than 'open' computer conferences that are used for communication beyond a work group. Electronic mail was a common means of communication in the software engineering environment and most engineering project teams also used computer conferencing. Both electronic mail and computer conferencing systems had been available in this software engineering organization for over ten years.

Data collection involved individual interviews, observation of the members' interactions, Current Address: Lotus Development Corporation, 55 Cambridge Parkway, Cambridge, Ma.and analysis of computer messages. Typically interviews involved an examination of the computer conference with the individual group member at his or her desk. The case study approach attempts to uncover use patterns and common themes rather than test specific hypotheses (yin, The findings of this study support previous research on groupware implementation (bullen, 1988, Orlikowski. 1992) yet distinguishes itself from the early work on conferencing (hiltz, 1984. Johanson. 1979) by the focus on use by existing work groups and the relationship between group context and patterns of use. The fundamental assumption underlying this study is what Markus and Robey (1988) label 'emergent', that is, social and technical factors interact to create patterns of technology use, and technology use is best understood in light of its social context.

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