Integrating groupware technology into a business process improvement framework

Much of the evaluative research on groupware in organisations so far has been preoccupied with the role of groupware as a new interaction media to replace or extend face-to-face communication in groups. It has focused on gains and losses from a group interaction point of view, typically disregarding the impact of other functions such as group access, and contribution to information concerning the organisation. This paper tries to bridge this gap with an action research on the effects of the introduction of an asynchronous groupware system to support business process improvement groups in a service company based in Brazil. The research suggests that improvements on business redesign efficiency and effectiveness can be attained not only from asynchronous groupware support to group communication, but also from public sharing of historical information about previous business process improvement efforts, and by providing a repository of information about business processes that could be candidates for improvement. The paper finishes with the proposal of an explanatory model, describing the relationship between the introduction of technology, its integration with a business process improvement meta-process, and its effects on the efficiency and effectiveness of that meta-process.