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Table 8.2
Classifi cation of groupware technologies

Same time synchronous Different time asynchronous
Same place, colocated Voting presentation support Shared computers
Different place, distant Videophones Chat E-mail Work fl ow

work. Collaboration technologies are often referred to as groupware or as work group
productivity software. It is technology designed to facilitate the work of groups. This
technology may be used to communicate, cooperate, coordinate, solve problems,
compete, or negotiate. While traditional technologies like the telephone qualify as
groupware, the term is ordinarily used to refer to a specifi c class of tech nologies relying
on modern computer networks, such as e-mail, newsgroups, videophones, or chat.
Groupware technologies are typically categorized along two primary dimensions
(see table 8.2 ):
• Whether users of the groupware are working together at the same time (real-time or
synchronous groupware) or different times (asynchronous groupware), and
• Whether users are working together in the same place (co-located or face-to-face) or
in different places (non-co-located or distance).

Coleman (1997) developed the taxonomy of groupware that lists twelve different
categories:

• Electronic mail and messaging
• Group calendaring and scheduling
• Electronic meeting systems
• Desktop video, real time synchronous conferencing
• Non-real time asynchronous conferencing
• Group document handling
• Work fl ow
• Work group utilities and development tools
• Groupware services
• Groupware and KM frameworks
• Groupware applications
• Collaborative Internet-based applications and products
E-mail is by far the most common groupware application (besides, of course, the
traditional telephone). While the basic technology is designed to pass simple messages