GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEMS

7.5 GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEMS

Most groupwork takes place in meetings. Despite the many criticisms of the effectiveness and efficiency of meetings, people still get together in groups to discuss issues and to work.

Meetings can be effective despite the fact that up to 80 percent of what is discussed in a meeting is either forgotten or remembered incorrectly/ See DSS in Focus 7.5 for a description of what does and does not work in meetings. 3M Corporation's 3M Meeting Network (www.3m.com/meetingnetwork/) and technography.com have information, surveys, and tips about how to run more effective meetings. The goal of groupware, as it was specifically developed as group support systems (GSS), is to support the work of groups throughout every work activity-including meetings.

Despite the inefficiency of meetings, groupwork can and does provide some benefits, and some dysfunctions. In DSS in Focus 7.6, we identify a set of potential benefits, or process gains, of collaborative work. Even so, collaborative work can often be plagued with dysfunctions called process losses (see DSS in Focus 7.7).

The goal of GSS is to increase some of the benefits of collaboration and eliminate or reduce some of the losses. Researchers have developed methods for improving the processes of groupwork, and some of these methods are group dynamics. Two representative methods are the nominal gronp technique (NGT) and the Delphi method. These methods are manual approaches to supporting groupwork. See Lindstone and Turroff (1975) and the Web Chapter on these topics for details.

The limited success of such methods as NGT and the Delphi method led to attempts to use information technology to support group meetings. The major technology is called a group support system (GSS). At the start of the 1990s, this term was coined to replace group decision support system (GDSS) because researchers recognized that collaborative computing technologies were doing more than supporting decision-making.

A group support system (GSS) is any combination of hardware and software that enhances groupwork. GSS is a generic term that includes all forms of collaborative computing. GSS evolved after information technology researchers recognized that technology could be developed to support the many activities normally occurring at face-toface meetings (idea generation, consensus building, anonymous ranking, voting, etc.).

A complete GSS is still considered a specially designed information system, but since the mid-1990s many of the special capabilities of GSS have been embedded in productivity tools. For example, Microsoft NetMeeting Client is part of Windows. Most GSS are easy to use because they have a Windows GUI or a Web browser interface. Most GSS are fairly general and provide support for activities like idea generation, conflict resolution, and voting.

An electronic meeting system (EMS) is a form of groupware that supports any- time/anyplace meetings. Group tasks include, but are not limited to, communication, planning, idea generation, problem-solving, issue discussion, negotiation, conflict resolution, system analysis and design, and collaborative group activities such as document preparation and sharing (Dennis et al., 1988, p. 593). Typically EMS include desktop videoconferencing, whereas in the past GSS did not. However, there is a blurring between these two concepts, so today they should be considered synonomous,

GSS settings range from a group meeting at a single location for solving a specific problem (e.g., building design; see DSS in Action 7.4) to multiple locations held via

CHAPTER 7 COLLABORATIVE COMPUTING TECHNOLOGIES: GROUP SUPPORT SYSTEMS