Groupware CSCW, evaluation, design. Designing and evaluating groupware systems is exponentially more difficult. In addition, the tasks to be supported by a groupware application are likely to be quite different to those supported by a single user application. There must be support for individual work as well as group efforts. The panel is to identify criteria that can be applied either to guide design or to help a purchaser select from alternative groupware applications.
Some criteria arise because of demands on the individual.
The need for ease of use and low cognitive effort in human-computer interaction may be particularly important in a groupware application where the user's primary task is communication. Others arise because of demands on the group. A commonly identified problem with software is that members of a group may not be aware what the other members are doing. Finally, some criteria arise because of demands on the organisation, e.g., the requirement for critical mass. It sounds banal to state that the interactions in group activity are complex, but when it comes to supporting such interactions via technology, it seems that even the banal, or seemingly obvious, needs to be made explicit.