For group members to accept this new procedure, they need to be committed to the collaboration process as well as have support from top management. A typical example of a groupware product is the revision of a joint document. Some groupware products limit access to a document to one member at a time. Others offer real-time, simultaneous interaction that allows multiple users access to a single document at the same time. As one group member alters the document, the other members see the original document plus the proposed changes on their computer screen.
Documents can include text, image files, graphics, and in some cases video and sound.
As users become more comfortable with the editing and sharing capabilities of the software, productivity gains can be expected. For example, Burroughs Welcome, a pharmaceutical manufacturer, uses groupware to produce detailed research reports. The company has experienced as much as a 50 percent drop in time needed to process a report since implementing groupware. A second popular use of groupware is to support group planning sessions. Some organizations have designed a decision center where group members meet.