Development and evaluation of a system to support team and organizational memory.

Abstract

A need exists to organize, integrate, and annotate information generated by business teams. Due to the "wicked" nature of this information, it is not amenable to conventional data management systems. It may exist in conventional electronic or paper files, or in the form of handwritten notes, business cards, or conversations. This dissertation seeks to investigate this domain by developing a prototype "Team Memory" system. Research questions address requirements identification, validation,and modification, as well as formulation of conclusions about the relationships and contributions of a Team Memory to an overall organizational memory. Background literature is presented from conceptual sources addressing organizational and group memory, and descriptions of similar systems. The systems development research approach is applied to the domain according to the following phases: conceptual framework development, requirements identification, architecture development, design, implementation, and evaluation. System requirements are identified by integrating relevant literature with an analysis of case study data from four longitudinal workgroups supported by an electronic collaboration system. A system architecture is proposed consisting of a User/Database Interface that queries a Team Memory relational database containing team context data (such as team member information, project status data, etc.) as well as locations for data related to team project but external to the system and currently located on local hard disks, file servers, organizational data bases, etc. A logical data model is developed by identifying relevant data entities and relationships. A prototype system is created by integrating graphically-interfaced database access applications with a relational database used as a Team Memory indexing system. The prototype evaluation process and results are presented and suggestions for system additions and modifications are outlined. Research contributions include new knowledge about the domain of Team Memory, insights into prototype evaluation processes, a system that can be further revised and evaluated, and ideas about relationships and characteristics of Individual, Team, and Organizational Memory support systems. Research limitations include the system's lack of integration with collaboration support applications and the absence of field testing. Future research is aimed towards overcoming these limitations and integrating the current system into a comprehensive collaboration support system.