allPM.com :: The Evolution of Web-based Collaboration

The Evolution of Web-based Collaboration

Published on Monday, October 21, 2002 - 02:02 PM

As PUBLISHED BY: CRMGuru.com.

By Sandeep Tiwari, speeDEV, Inc.
http://www.speeDEV.com

Collaborative technologies have been around for many years in many forms, but most have failed to live up to their promises. Now, Web-native collaboration technologies are finally beginning to deliver practical solutions to globally-distributed teams working round-the-clock with industry-specific processes.

Outlining the Need

Web-based collaboration technologies are used frequently in areas like manufacturing, software development, professional services and engineering projects, which remain, remarkably, some of the few areas of human endeavor that are largely not automated. Traditionally, a project manager uses generic tools (phone, emails, word processor, spreadsheet, project management software) that are not specifically designed for the entire development process. Because of the inadequacy of these tools, the project managers get overwhelmed in no time, being a single controlling point for the project.

As projects become more complex and distributed, more and more people of various skill sets become involved in executing a project successfully, creating a labyrinth of ommunications, teams and deadlines to manage. Today's Web-native collaboration technologies are designed to help manage these challenges.

Early Examples

The concept of Web-based collaboration technologies was first expressed in products like e-Room, IntraSmart and Availl, which provided a convenient place to store archives, save group contact information, host discussion boards, and offer 24x7 access to a group's collective work. Later versions of this basic technology added collaborative whiteboards, file collaboration, and real-time file mirroring features.

The number of vendors consolidated drastically in the dot.com bust, and the surviving ones are strong and serve their purposes well. But these Web-based tools are essentially shared drives, and they are just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the potential power of collaborative technologies. None were built around a process or workflow, and none contain any inherent awareness or intelligence about the documents and activities happening there. As tools to assist the collaborative process, as opposed to simply hosting it, these technologies are considered "dumb."

Process-Aware Technologies

A different group of technologies sprung up in the mid-1980s as software platforms specifically for managing processes. These client/server-based process management software platforms were typically industry-specific and designed to manage well-defined, repeatable processes found in industries such as manufacturing and engineering. Companies including Rational (Requisite PRO, ClearQuest), Telelogic (Doors) and Starbase (Caliber RM) developed an array of point-solution products tailored to specific industries and specific processes.

However, collaboration features were not initially included in these process management products because most engineering and development teams were located under one roof at the time, and collaboration was accomplished via in-person meetings and hallway exchanges. While most of these process management products now have added Web interfaces to allow anywhere/anytime access, the Web-based functions are typically not as robust as the client/server functions, and the underlying client/server architecture forever limits the extent to which these products can be used as true collaborative platforms for distributed teams.

After solving initial challenges with hanging databases (due to users not logging out and just closing the browser windows), and incomplete database transactions with users attempting to rollback, etc., these products find that they are further challenged with providing more of the core "power" functionality of their respective products to the globally distributed Web-based managers and users.

The Future of Collaboration

The future of collaboration technologies is being defined by the evolution of collaboration itself. No longer is it enough to manage complex projects using a one-size-fits-all process management platform, or a process-unaware Web meeting room, or point solution. Today, it is not uncommon to find globally-distributed teams collaborating on a software development project or engineering assignment. And no longer are these teams working on linear, repeatable processes. Today, a collaboration platform needs to accommodate parallel and simultaneous tasks so that projects can progress quickly. A collaboration platform needs to address challenges and capabilities including:

* Need for structured process tools that can manage simple as well as complex methodologies, in addition to the repeatable process.

* Account for multiple time zones and shared roles within the workflow.

* Provide easy management interface (driven by business person, not engineer).

* Status reporting of the overall process from start to delivery.

* Provide full functionality over the Web (Web-native architecture) to all users, with status reporting.

* Allow flexibility to be specific -- for well-defined vertical applications -- and a suite of common capabilities -- for generic applications.

* "Snap-fit" emerging technologies like Voice over IP (VOIP), video, secured file-sharing, etc. with open architecture.

These capabilities are already available today in a few products. But in the not-too-distant future, collaboration technologies will need to integrate deeply with the specific tools used in each industry such as software development, healthcare, aerospace engineering, etc. As project managers and development teams continue the organizational evolution to achieve greater competitiveness in the global economy, Web-based collaboration technologies will continue to deliver targeted flexible applications, that are plug and play with other emerging technologies, that only Web-native, standards-based technologies can deliver.

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Sandeep Tiwari is VP of Sales & Marketing at speeDEV, Inc., a vendor of collaborative process management software targeted at engineers and software developers. He can be reached at sandeept@speedev.com.

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