A medium-sized information technology company was the site for a case study exploration of two workflow systems, a tender assessment system and a services request management system that were developed in the groupware software, Lotus Notes. The main objective of the research was to explore the features of Notes that contributed to or detracted from successful development and implementation of the systems. An additional objective was the exploration of organisational impacts of the workflow systems. Fifteen hours of interviews with developers, managers and users were undertaken. Findings were that Notes is an easy environment to develop basic workflow systems.
Email is integrated with form-based document databases to provide basic workflow features.
The non-relational database structure was also seen as a limitation. In part the limitations may be attributed to the education and training of the developers. Managers were positive about the increased control the systems gave them. Users found the interface easy to use and were positive about the usefulness of the system, however reservations were expressed about the increased managerial control and the dehumanisation of the workplace. This case study examines the development of a government sponsored information system project designed to support a large number of community housing organisations in South Australia.