A METHOD FOR EVALUATING WORK GROUP PRODUCTIVITY PRODUCTS

Abstract

Numerous software products claiming to improve work group productivity are making their way into the marketplace. How is a manager to decide whether or not to invest in these products? This paper proposes a suitable method of formulating the evaluation problem for work group application products. The issue of normal software evaluation is considered first. Then group work is described and contrasted with individual work activities. A two-level evaluation strategy consisting of broad coverage and detailed analysis is introduced. Detailed analysis consists of functional performance, administration, and fit applied across task, group and communications domains. Examples, drawn from some of the products demonstrated at this Symposium, are used to illustrate how this methodology may be applied.