Role Conflict in Groupware

Groupware and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) systems are usually considered collaborative, but some kinds of group activity can actually be competitive. People can have different roles which conflict because they are trying to satisfy different intermediate goals associated with their roles, even though there may appear to be a single consistent goal. This paper examines the differences between systems with one role and with several roles, how this potential conflict between the different roles arises, and provides a number of design rules to reduce the problems of this conflict. These rules are illustrated by an example of a large collaborative system involving many different roles.