Tasks are often explicit, observable and concrete. Work is often tacit, invisible and amorphous. The challenge in developing a groupware application lies in understanding, explicating and then supporting the invisible work. The chapter provides some insight into the process of developing groupware applications by first describing some new methodologies for generating requirements. The chapter also addresses the technical and social issues that emerge when deploying a groupware application in an organization.
Application deployment is one of the most challenging aspects of developing a groupware application.
The chapter concludes with a case study of an application designed to support coordination and communication in distributed teams. The case study brings together the topics of Methodology, Design and Deployment in a concrete setting. This chapter is concerned with workflow, its systems, its models, its problems and promises. Workflow management systems assist in the specification, modeling, and enactment of structured work processes within organizations. Since the turn of the decade, over 200 new workflow products have been introduced into the world market.