A taxonomy for synchronous groupware architectures

In this paper we present a taxonomy for distribution architectures of synchronous groupware. As demonstrated by our own groupware platforms DreamTeam and QuickStep, a certain architecture may be a suitable for one scenario, but may have many disadvantages in another scenario. Former taxonomies divide distribution architectures into centralized, replicated and hybrid ones. Such a classification is not expressive enough to argue about pros and cons of a specific realisation, thus in the past discussions about distribution architectures were very emotional. Discussions about best architectures are going on. A taxonomy with stronger expressiveness would help to clear up this discussion. Our taxonomy distinguishes five basic architectures and several subtypes. It allows discussing aspects of distribution architectures in detail. We used this taxonomy to classify some groupware platforms. A list of criteria at the end of this paper demonstrates the influence of specific architectures on groupware usage.