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Unit 6: Collaboration Tools

A new tool may earn an advantage by emulating an existing tool and building a loyal user base. Notes
These loyal users may then discover the potential of the tool to support new uses and connections.
Finally, a tool should not appear before its time. It is possible for a tool to be released that is so
radically different, so unlike other tools, that it will bewilder potential users. The Apple Newton
was too far ahead of its time but became the foundation for subsequent handheld mobile devices.
Finding compelling, powerful, yet easy-to-use tools with the features that keep users engaged
and happy is a daunting challenge.

Self Assessment

State whether the following statements are true or false:
12. Lotus Notes is an example of a powerful, multi-featured collaboration tool that imposed
too large a resource burden on users and administrators.

13. A tool should appear before its time.
6.5 Implications for the Future

While Internet tools are ushering in new capabilities for collaboration, knowledge creation, and
collective intelligence, traditional collaborative activities are also being enhanced by these
tools. Participants can connect and communicate through more and richer channels to augment
conversation. In addition to communication by talking, collaborators can add video, shared
desktops, shared PowerPoint slides and flowcharts, and group Internet browsing. The sharing
of additional media can happen in an impromptu manner that sometimes allows individuals to
spontaneously reveal aspects of themselves. Tools that feel natural are more likely to promote
greater flexibility with interactions. In addition to facilitating traditional collaborative
relationships between parties that know one another, these tools also promote serendipitous
collaborations among strangers. Interested parties can find and identify one another based on
common interests and shared affiliations.
Additional channels allow participants to employ the medium that best fits a particular
communication and learning style. Visual collaborators can add a shared image, auditory
collaborators can post audio files or use VoIP tools, and people who prefer text have multiple
avenues of collaboration.
New collaboration tools and associated best practices are emerging almost daily. While users
may feel frustrated with their ability to keep up with the very latest, this frustration may be
misplaced. Instead, we might focus on the process of integrating a new tool for collaboration:
Think twice before discarding a tool that works.

In general, the tool that people know how to use and feel comfortable with and that is the first
one they reach for is probably the tool to use.

Did u know? Any new tool should introduce new capabilities over the tool it replaces.
Important improvements are those that permit or promote new and better ways of doing things.
The tool that allows cheaper voice communication may gain a foothold against a more expensive
tool. The tool that permits sharing of files during a voice communication may win fans for its
convenience. The tool that seamlessly integrates with other tools is more likely to be adopted.
Ultimately a tool should respect user time and reflect the values of the user. While a tool may
appear to be a neutral communication medium, the uses that fans and users come up with is
likely greatly influenced by the features and capabilities of the tool itself.

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