A Method for Evaluating Work Group Productivity Products

Numerous software products claiming to improve work group productivity are makingtheir way into the marketplace. How is a manager to decide whether or not to invest inthese products? This paper proposes a suitable method of formulating the evaluationproblem for work group application products. The issue of normal software evaluationis considered first. Then group work is described and contrasted with individual workactivities. A two-level evaluation strategy consisting of broad coverage and detailedanalysis 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 usedto illustrate how this methodology may be applied.