Group Matrix: A collaborative modeling tool.

Abstract

This work focuses on the development and evaluation of a Group Matrix to enable groups to collaboratively construct an organizational model. Group Matrix extends the range of activities that can be successfully supported in a group environment by providing parallel channels of communication so that meeting participants can express the relationships between elements of a model. Group Matrix has become an integral part of Enterprise Analyzer, a combination of methodology, tools and techniques for supporting organizational process redesign. Electronic Meeting Systems (EMS) provide an environment for making meetings more effective by introducing technology and structure to the meeting process. Enterprise Analyzer blends methodology, techniques and tools for supporting end-users in modeling, systems development and process reengineering by building from the knowledge gained from the EMS experiences. The Enterprise Analyzer toolkit, including Group Matrix, has been used by eight groups from two large organizations to develop models for information systems development and organizational process redesign. Group Matrix provides a comprehensible interface for participants to establish relationships in the information architecture and to prioritize information and activities in Enterprise Analysis, thus supplying an enabling technology for a new group process. The use of Group Matrix has prompted enhancements and design changes reflected in the current version and in the two hybrids developed during the course of this project, and has yielded greater understanding about this new group activity. Traditionally, the task of creating and using an information systems model has been the exclusive domain of the analyst. End-users and organizational members contribute, but their knowledge is synthesized from interview data obtained by the analyst in creating the model and is reflected in a language and structure recognizable only by the analyst. The analyst is also responsible for resolving any conflicting information. A model jointly created by end-users and analysts using Group Matrix, however, can serve as a medium for defining requirements that are commonly understood by end-users, as well as analysts.