What Are the Different Types of Groupware Software?

Groupware is a network software concept that defines applications used by a group (group) of people.

Groupware system

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Groupware is a network software concept that defines applications used by a group (group) of people.

Based on network connection users, users operate through the network to improve the productivity of the group as a whole.

E-mail is a good example of groupware. It enables users to communicate with each other and coordinate activities. Here, groupware is a term that defines many different things in many different places. A true groupware includes allowing users on different systems to interact and coordinate work on a project. Editing a file and sending it to another user to watch it is not a group example, but it is very close.

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Groupware system

Groupware Groupware is a network software concept that defines an application used by a group (group) of people. It is based on the assumption that because the network connects users, these users should interoperate through the network and improve as a whole. Set of productivity. E-mail is a good example of groupware. It enables users to communicate with each other and coordinate activities. Here, groupware is a term that defines many different things in many different places.

A true groupware includes allowing users on different systems to interact and coordinate work on a project. Editing a file and sending it to another user to watch it is not a group example, but it is very close. An example of groupware is a centralized network that looks at the schedule of group members and schedules meetings at time slices where everyone can participate.

Another example of groupware is the Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) feature in Windows for Workgroups. Different users on the Internet provide components such as graphics, text, and spreadsheet information for a master document called a compound document, as shown in Figure G. Shown in -2. A component in a compound document maintains a link to a file on the workstation where the component is created. If the file on the workstation is changed, the components in the compound document linked to this file are also changed. For example, an artist can modify the artwork in a compound document by simply editing the file stored on his computer at any time. The next time the marketing department opens the compound document, any changes in the art file will be automatically updated in the compound document. .

Furthermore, a scheduling application can hold a meeting on the Internet. Participants need only sit at their workstations, then open the document on the screen and operate on the document together to negotiate a project. When the document is opened, it will appear on the screens of all participants, and any change in the document will appear on everyone's screen. Synchronizing teleconferences and video conferences can help users coordinate each other's activities. In fact, a desktop video conferencing system running under Microsoft Windows can be used to allow users to watch other users on one window while operating documents in other windows.

In addition, an interesting groupware concept is bulletin board and interactive meetings. A bulletin board is a place where you can pass information to other users to watch and respond to it. Typically, corporate affairs and schedules can be sent to the bulletin board area. Hot headlines will have a strong response and response. People can read information from bulletin boards and can send their information to bulletin boards. Of course all conversations can be stored on disk and printed out. In stant documentation!

Bulletin boards typically have message conversations, and an interactive meeting is a scheduled event, which can be analogized with a meeting that publishes a unique idea. A company can schedule a meeting where all employees can submit documents about company policies and new product development. Emphasize that people can only see when the information scrolls or they participate

To the message. The entire session can be stored and printed for future reference. Participants can enter or exit without interrupting the meeting, and they can use a "joystick" instead of their name if they prefer to remain anonymous. Once groupware applications are in place and users begin to benefit from them, traditional communication methods are discarded. Meetings seem increasingly inconvenient due to travel and inefficient use of time. In fact, the meeting becomes a daily event, and the participants attend the meeting by e-mail at their convenient time. E-mail

Messaging is becoming a way to communicate with others, especially when others have a hard time contacting them over the phone. When users can attach various messages such as sound, graphics, and video images to electronic messages and send them instantly, even postal shipments seem outdated.

Listed below are some of the advantages and expectations of groupware:

In an organization, groupware promotes collaboration and helps people communicate and collaborate in a joint project.

Groupware coordinates the interactions between people and processes.

Groupware helps to define the flow of documents and the work that must be done on a project.

Groupware puts shared information into a structured compound document and provides users with the only way to share information. Documents become a centralized place to store shared information.

Ideally, groupware should enable everyone in a collaborative project to complete their assigned tasks in a more efficient way.

Ideally, groupware simply specifies ways to share information and help users collaborate with existing applications, rather than special application software from a vendor.

Electronic Mail and Groupware

One of the most important components of groupware today is e-mail. The electronic messaging system provides a "backbone" where any group of users can collaborate on projects and operate on shared documents. In fact, e-mail can be called cheap groupware because its messaging service allows people to negotiate with each other.

Electronic messaging is a store-and-forward technology. When you send a message to a user, you put it in the user's mailbox, and the recipient can read the message at a later time. You can also attach documents and graphic files to your messages, which will greatly simplify the task of exchanging documents with other users. Think about the original approach: put the document in a shared directory, and then call the user to tell them that the file is already in the directory. If the user is a remote user, you must use a modem and deal with related issues such as agreed line speeds, protocols, data bits, and other factors. With e-mail, each user can dial into a central electronics using their own application. Post office, where they put in and give messages.

One development trend of e-mail is the ability to put a variety of different types of objects (information collections) into messages. For example, users using Microsoft or other companies' e-mail applications can insert sound recordings and TV clips into e-mails. Middleware products make this easy. E-mail is becoming a standard feature on the menus of many applications. Almost every Windows-based product has or will have an "email" option on its menu, so users can send and receive mail directly from the application.

The only problem with e-mail systems is that there are so many systems and such systems have been used. When an organization prepares to integrate systems and users, managers will face the task of exchanging messages in these different e-mail systems.

For example, Joe, the sales office, should be able to send messages to Hany, the management office using Lotus Notes, using Microsoft Mail.

There are several ways to do this exchange:

Transferring the entire company to an e-mail system is an unlikely proposal.

Establish a gateway that can translate messages from one system to another. However, a gateway is required for each different system, or you can use Novell's Message Processing Service (MHS) as a gateway into most standard systems.

The e-mail backbone network provides a common protocol environment for the exchange of e-mails. A gateway is still needed for each different type of E-mail system, but at this time the gateway is connected to the backbone network. Like Novell MHS, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) and X. The 400 standard uses this method.

Select the message exchange system as the central e-mail router and translate messages between systems if necessary. One such product is Enterprise Switch (EMX) at Softswitch (Wayne, PA).

Warkflow Softare workflow software

Workflow software combines electronic messaging and document management with image processing. The concept is to move a document by sending the document through several levels of processing to a groupware member who has equipment and skills to operate the document or has the authority to sign and validate the document. Although workflow software is not considered a true groupware application, it facilitates collaboration among workgroups as tasks are handled automatically.

Here are some key features about workflow software:

The document contains routing information that enables the document to be assigned to pre-designated users and devices.

Documents can be accessed simultaneously.

A document is viewable when it is "under construction" until it exits the workflow process.

Workflow software includes file orchestration system, queue and workflow management software to maintain system operation.

Authorized users can stop activities at many levels, locking some or all documents from further editing.

Workflow software can provide security through verification and digital signatures:

The receiver is convinced that the sender is authenticated and the document is identifiable and has not been modified during transmission; the sender is confident that any modification to the document by the authorized party can be detected.

Workflow systems from Action Technologies (Alameda, California), DEC (Maynard, Mass.), IBM (White Plains, NY), Lotus Development (Cambridge, Mass.), And other companies are all effective, such as Windows The graphical user environment is well suited for workflow applications, where graphics, text, and other elements from different applications are integrated into the document as objects and flow in the graphical user environment.

Enabling Technulogies

Standards are emerging that make community features part of an application and make those features work across platforms. Some standards are mentioned below, and some standards are discussed under corresponding entries elsewhere in this book.

Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) SGML defines a standard method for storing information into a document. Exceeds the ASCII code standard by providing some ways to integrate or share information created by other environments. SGML documents can be viewed as "smart documents", while ASCII documents are viewed as "dumb" documents. The file contains attributes that define each section or component, such as the layout format of a segment, table, header, or page. The included information can be transferred to any other system, just format the document in the same way. SGML is the primary tool for making workflow applications that cross multiple vendor boundaries.

Windows Open System Architecture (WOSA) WOSA is a Microsoft architecture that specifies how to build applications that cross different platforms and allow information to flow freely within the enterprise. With WOSA, developers can make applications with easy access to e-mail, back-end databases, and host connections. Any application running in the Windows environment can access these resources.

Apple Open Collaborative Environment (AOCE) Apple Computer's AOCE is specifically designed to unify workgroup and workgroup flows in a network environment. The implementation environment consists of a series of application programming interfaces (APIs) and software modules that use applications to communicate with the following services:

Message exchange between applications.

E-mail enables applications so that users can send e-mails from within their applications.

A search naming service that stores user names and addresses and online resources.

Authentication services to verify user login and provide global access authorization for users.

A digital signature that attaches a legal electronic signature to a document.

GroupWare Products

E-mails and document images are becoming an important aspect of groupware, and captured documents (on fax and print) can be shared by all users. Optical character recognition (OCR) also provides a way to obtain documents, scan documents, and convert them into computer-readable text. Some general groupware products are discussed below. Microsoft Windows for Workgroups is a complete workgroup environment. It is a network operating system that includes many tools and applications that help users share information and collaborate. Listed as follows:

Object Linking and Embedding (OLE) is used to build online composite documents.

A simple messaging system enables many users to hold "teleconferences" online.

Microsoft mail e-mail software enables users to exchange E-mail messages.

The Microsoft schedule group scheduling software enables users to schedule meetings and track the schedule.

Banyan provides Intelligent Messaging Service (IMS), a product that lets users store, manage, and route documents and messages. It provides E-mail and workflow software.

Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) provides Teamlind products and All-in-1 integrated office systems. All-In-1 connects users to PATHWORKS (a DEC network operating system), which provides connectivity, X. 400E-mail service, file conversion, VAX Notes group meeting software and Team Route workflow application.

Lotus Development's Notes is a groupware package designed for large organizations. It provides messaging, database, and document processing capabilities.

Wordperfect Office provides integrated E-Mail, calendar, schedule, task management and workflow software.

Related entries: Compound Documentation; Documentation Exchange Standard; Document Management Standard; Documentation Management; Electronic Mail; Imaging images, imaging, mapping; Information TransferAPIs, E-mail Email messaging API; Inter-Application APIs APIs between applications; Workflow Software workflow software.