Collaboration Tools

By Dr. Steve O'Neil, N'Fusion, Inc.

In these days of climbing travel costs, falling corporate profits, and a penchant for all but the savviest companies to cut R&D dollars to enhance short-term profits, an increasing amount of attention is being paid to finding ways of containing the design and development cycle. This has always been a concern for those of us who have worked for transnational corporations; but now even companies that collaborate with partners in the next town are increasingly concerned about the direct and indirect costs of conducting this type of business.

eRoom charges monthly "rent" on its collaboration software

Even in regional relationships, the cost of faxes, Fed Ex'ing documents, messengering bids, etc. can add up to a considerable piece of change over a year's time. Lord forbid we should include the cost of face-to-face meetings! Now comes the recent trend toward collaborative design that was first conceived to document design work, expedite workflow, decrease costs (and costly mistakes due to lack of controls and communication), and keep stakeholders happy. Market researchers estimate that by the end of 2000, there were over 1,000 collaboration packages in the marketplace. Most of these programs combine a number of existing technologies, then add a dash of their own medicine, to provide individuals and entire companies with the capability to get products to market faster, cheaper, and more reliably.

Although you may not realize it, you are probably already using collaborative tools in your daily work. Some of these might include e-mail, scans, media storage cassettes, bulletin boards and discussion groups, shared files and databases, archived data and designs, instant messaging, and ftp. If you are not taking advantage of these basic tools, you can realize immediate productivity gains by giving them a try as soon as possible. Some of the more complex resources which are available include Web conferencing (also known as "teamware"), Webcams, video conferencing, whiteboarding, and project management software. Most of these products exist as either server-based tools, Web-based tools, or both. The following products should give you a good idea of what is available now--only inexpensive and free solutions were considered. Keep in mind that some full-blown (perhaps over blown?) enterprise solutions can run from $200,000 to well over $1,000,000 just to get them up and running. I doubt if one company in 1,000 needs this type of "help."

eRoom, which you can find at http://www.eroom.net/, is a hosted Web application run under the ASP (Application Service Provider) model in which users are charged a monthly fee for the use of software. In the case of eRoom, fees are based on the number of users and the amount of data handled. A basic plan might be 2 conference rooms with 10 members each at a cost of about $500/month. The model works as a control center for project processes. Users can set up schedules, customized databases, workplace templates (for best practice capture), messaging, personal calendars, and other features that can be accessed through most Web browsers.

One of my personal favorites is Microsoft Project 2000 which allows individual users and groups of users to build project workflows, assign tasks, link tasks, assign (and accept or reject) resources, apply costs, and set milestones for single or multiple projects. A full version of this software runs about $300. You can get a free trial disk by registering at http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/trial.htm. For the full skinny on its capabilities, as well as how you can integrate this tool into a group setting using Microsoft Project Central, download the Product Enhancements Guide (about 1.5MB) from http://www.microsoft.com/office/project/2000PEG.htm.

For those of you in need of a more visually oriented tool for your design work, e-Vis is worth a look. Find it at http://www.e-vis.com/. Designed primarily for manufacturing concerns and their supply chains, this package provides a workspace for users at any location with Internet access. Some of the features include shared desktops, 2D and 3D visualization capabilities, secure connectivity, automatic change notifications, threaded discussion groups, and electronic whiteboarding. This is another ASP product; that is, the application resides on the Web and is accessed through your browser. It supports both Windows and Unix platforms and can provide online CAD translation services (CAD, IGES, STEP, DXF, STL and VRML, at last look). Pricing starts at about $90/month/user for 50MB of disk space per account.

MyPlaceWare provides free virtual conferencing services

For those who can't resist a freebie, there is My.PlaceWare at http://www.myplaceware.com/servlet/mpw/home. This is the cheap and dirty solution for those who need to communicate over long distances but don't like flying coach and eating pretzels. With this service, you can stage live graphical and interactive meetings with only a Web browser and dial-up access. Log on and reserve virtual conference room space by selecting a meeting time and providing e-mail addresses of your attendees. Automatic notifications are then sent to the attendees. My.PlaceWare allows you to load PowerPoint slides, live application demos, audience polls, whiteboards, text slides, Web tours, and streaming audio and video to any remote audience. Another freebie you probably already have loaded on your machine but may be unaware of is Windows NetMeeting. This is another freebie which is widely used in the design community. Check it out at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting/. You can find other resources by visiting About's "Web Collaboration Software" page at http://netconference.about.com/internet/netconference/cs/webcollaboration1/index.htm.

Steve O'Neil, Ph.D. is President of N'Fusion, Inc., an editorial and Internet consultancy which aids technology companies in integrating their print and online strategies, improving advertising and branding accountability, and building end-to-end e-commerce solutions. The company is headquartered in the Tampa Bay, FL area with offices and affiliates throughout the US, Europe, and the Pacific Rim. Steve can be reached at stephenjo@earthlink.net or 727-742-9169.