Page 95 - DMGT505_MANAGEMENT_INFORMATION_SYSTEM

Management Information Systems

Notes to others, and other activities. Sometimes called collaborative software, groupware is an integral
component of a field of study known as Computer-Supported Cooperative Work or CSCW.
Collaborative software (also referred to as groupware or workgroup support systems) is software
designed to help people involved in a common task achieve their goals. Collaborative software
is the basis for computer supported cooperative work. Such software systems as email,
calendaring, text chat, wiki, and bookmarking belong to this category. It has been suggested
that Metcalfe’s law — the more people who use something, the more valuable it becomes —
applies to such software.
Collaboration, with respect to information technology, seems to have several definitions. Some
are defensible but others are so broad they lose any meaningful application. Understanding the
differences in human interactions is necessary to ensure the appropriate technologies are
employed to meet interaction needs. There are three primary ways in which humans interact:
 Conversations
 Transactions
 Collaborations

5.8.1 Conversations

Conversational interaction is an exchange of information between two or more participants
where the primary purpose of the interaction is discovery or relationship building. There is no
central entity around which the interaction revolves but is a free exchange of information with
no defined constraints. Communication technology such as telephones, instant messaging, and
e-mail are generally sufficient for conversational interactions.

5.8.2 Transactions

Transactional interaction involves the exchange of transaction entities where a major function
of the transaction entity is to alter the relationship between participants. The transaction entity
is in a relatively stable form and constrains or defines the new relationship. One participant
exchanges money for goods and becomes a customer. Transactional interactions are most
effectively handled by transactional systems that manage state and commit records for persistent
storage.

5.8.3 Collaborations

In collaborative interactions the main function of the participants’ relationship is to alter a
collaboration entity (i.e., the converse of transactional). The collaboration entity is in a relatively
unstable form.

Examples include the development of an idea, the creation of a design, the achievement of a
shared goal.
Therefore, real collaboration technologies deliver the functionality for many participants to
augment a common deliverable. Record or document management, threaded discussions, audit
history, and other mechanisms designed to capture the efforts of many into a managed content
environment are typical of collaboration technologies.

90 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY