Internet Groupware Systems for Project Management: Experiences from a Longitudinal Study

Abstract

This paper describes a longitudinal study of practical experiences with three different groupware systems over a period of three years. The findings are based on surveys conducted each year among the project participants. The most recent groupware system, used in 2002, offers numerous services of which almost exclusively the central document database, the group calendar, and the to do list were used. From the user?s perspective the main advantages were improved access to information and increased control of performed work. However system use consumed additional time and personal contacts among the users were reduced. Overall, users see more advantages than disadvantages and state that they would use a groupware system in future projects again. The comparison of the observations of the last three years shows that user interface usability and reliability are decisive factors for perceived usefulness and system acceptance.