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Collaborative and Workflow Tools Ntombenhle Mngomezulu Presented by Seminar #10

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Page 1: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Collaborative and Workflow ToolsNtombenhle

Mngomezulu

Presented by

Seminar #10

Page 2: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Collaboration

• Definition• E-Collaboration & virtual teams• Challenges of virtual teams• Drivers of e collaboration• Collaboration Tools• Collaboration Software• Workflow Tools

• Definition • Workflow Management• Challenges and benefits

Objectives

• Case Study• Discussion

Page 3: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Collaboration

Page 4: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Collaboration is a joint effort of multiple individuals or work groups to accomplish a task or project. (Reihmer,2009a)

• It is a process used to reach goals that usually cannot be reached by a single organisation.

(Johnson and Wang,2008)

Collaboration Defined

Page 5: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Why organisations collaborateIncrease in geographically dispersed organisations

More and more organisations are becoming

geographically dispersed. Therefore More workers are

needing to work in dispersed environments.

Potential to decrease time-to-market

Length of time it takes for product conception until the

product is available for use or sale

(Carmen et al.,2010)

Page 6: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Collaboration

Business to Business collaborations facilitated by the internet. Not just a buy and sell transaction but better described as relationships (Johnson and Wang,2008).

Grocery Manufacturers of American Association Use of internet based technologies to facilitate continuous automated exchange of information between supply chain partners. (GMAA,2009)

IBM Anything that allows people to work together more easily using electronic tools

E Collaboration

Page 7: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Handing off of work at the end of the day from one site to another, across different time zones, in order to speed up the development of a product.

Follow the sun

MiamiKommetjie

Page 8: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Different individuals over geographically dispersed areas working towards a common goal

• Exchange an sharing of information

• Facilitated by an electronic tool (internet)

eCollaboration…in essence

Page 9: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Emergence of virtual organisations

• Increase in internet technology

• Pressure to constantly innovate

• Globalisation and liberalisation of markets

Drivers of eCollaboration

Page 10: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Emergence of virtual organisationsA virtual organisation is a group of companies that come together to form one organisation to share skills & expertise (Beranek & Clairborne, 2012).

• Work within a virtual environment which creates room for more growth, and varied ways of developing

• Because there is a greater pool of skills and expertise.

Increase in internet technologyInternet has been identified as the main driver behind eCollaboration, due its rapid growth & perception as a software platform (Reimer, Steinfield, & Vogal,2009).

Drivers of eCollaboration

Page 11: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Pressure to constantly innovate• There’s an increased expectation from consumers to be

provided with individual and personalised services.

• eCollaboration allows for the production of innovative goods and services to be produced within a short space of time.

Globalisation & Liberalisation of markets • Globalisation & market deregulation motivate

businesses to expend into new, often remote markets which require these organisations to decentralise and distribute work and partner with local organisations.

• In turn there is an emergence of multi-national alliances.

eCollaboration drivers, continued…

Page 12: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

eCollaboration needs to allow people to collaborate

with their colleagues or team mates through different

communication channels.

Collaboration tools allow for people to communicate

and work together on a piece of work in real time.

(Reimer et al, 2009)

• Unified Communication and Collaboration

o Text

o Media

ICT Collaboration Tools

Page 13: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Unified Communication & Collaboration

Brings together all collaborations and collaboration

components

Collaboration components are the tools used to

enable and facilitate collaboration•Email • Video conferencing•All on one communication platform

Page 14: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Leads to creative and innovative solutions

Higher standards from group outcomes

Helps develop other skills > Time Management > Project Management > Problem solving & communication

Increase efficiency & productivity

Advantages of eCollaboration

Page 15: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Disadvantages of eCollaboration

Groupthink: Limits the idea generation process to that of a single outcome

Unequal Workload: Perceived unequal workload may in turn negatively influence how the concerned individual processes their work

Reduced Motivation: The unavailability of technology may reduce motivation by causing delays and inhibiting effective collaboration within teams

Interpersonal conflict which may arise due to different views. Can however be minimised with time

Page 16: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Trust and cohesion

Software Collaboration

Cultural Differences

Issues and challenges in effective collaboration

Page 17: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Trust and cohesionA high degree of trust is required in order for effective

collaboration to take place between individuals

• Information sharing within organisations which take part in collaboration , consists of individuals with different cultural backgrounds.(DeRosa, 2011)

• Cultural differences in a team may result in conflict within a virtual team, which may in turn affect the effectiveness of collaboration (Jackson, 2010)

Cultural Differences

Page 18: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Collaboration management involves capturing the

collaboration process, coordinating the activities of the

participating applications and humans, and/or providing

awareness, i.e., information that is highly relevant to a

specific role and situation of a process participant

Management of Collaboration

Page 19: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Microsoft• SharePoint• Team Foundation Server• Live Meeting

• Novel GroupWise• Google Docs

• Oracle Beehive combines email, team collaboration & conferencing on collaboration platform

• omNova Technologies interactive online meeting platform

• Pidoco cloud based collaboration which allows you to create, share and test site and mobile application (UI prototypes)

Collaborative Software

Page 20: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• A virtual team is a group of geographically dispersed able to, across time and space cross organisational boundaries, communicate and work on a project.

• (Bergiel, Bergiel & Balsmier, 2008)

• Virtual teams heavily rely on interactive technologies

• Characterised by their temporary lifespan and membership

Virtual teams & organisations

Page 21: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Virtual team in organisations

• Virtual teams are used by most companies to cut travel costs, relocations costs and other business costs

• Helps organisations build a global presence, outsource operations , or if there is less need for common expertise or skills.

Page 22: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Virtual teams continued...

• Governed by the same fundamental principal as

traditional teams

• Major Difference: The way in which virtual teams

communicate

• Virtual teams rely on special communication channels

enabled by modern technology

• i.e. Email, teleconferencing, phone calls

(Nunamaker, Reining, Briggs, 2009)

Page 23: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Characteristics of virtual teams

• Members are and often need to be

• Self motivated

• Able to work well independently

• Communicate clearly, constructively and

positively

(Virtual Teams Survey Report, 2010)

Page 24: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Virtual team challenges

• Trust: building and maintaining trust in a virtual team

is one of the biggest challenges

• Mainly because trust is key for breaking down some

of the communication barriers between members.

• Communication: The lack of face-to-face interaction

• Time-zone: Example: If Mandy in Miami needed to

talk to Jali in Limpopo...when Mandy wakes up Jali

sleeps

Page 25: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Software collaboration- software designed to help

individuals in virtual teams achieve their goals

• Organisations have different I.T. Infrastructure

• Technology- not all individuals in a virtual team may

have access to the same resources

• Making decisions

• Expressing opinions

• Ultimately, the challenges faced by virtual teams may

in turn hinder the generation of innovative ideas and

quality of work produced

(Virtual Teams Survey Report, 2010)

Page 26: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Many organisations are not willing to adopt the

collaborative approach

• Some of these organisations view collaboration as

being time consuming, with costs outweighing

benefits

• Other organisations are just reluctant to work with

other organisations

• Sceptical about the sharing of ideas - fearful that

their knowledge may be exploited or stolen

• Despite these barriers , the practice of collaboration is

expanding around the world.

Collaboration Today

Page 27: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Workflow

Page 28: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Workflow is the automatic routing of

documents, information and/ or tasks to be

completed to a particular individual, according to

a set of rules (Carmel et el., 2009)

• Move of information as it flows through the

sequence of steps that make up a business

process.

Workflow

Page 29: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Workflow is facilitated by a workflow system which

• Monitors what people do• Which people do it• When they are doing it• Used for transparent planning and

control – where employees work together and share information

Page 30: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Highlight need for practical guidelines for

employees in being able to complete tasks

assigned to them.

• Enable the capturing of knowledge about

business processes.

Sharp & Dermott (2009)

Key driver

behind

workflow

Page 31: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Workflow management is the systematic

process of passing information, documents or

tasks from one employee within an

organisation to another, governed by a

procedure or rules.

Workflow management system is a program

that enables automatic procedures so that

everyone who needs to know, knows where

what is, at a specific time. (Carmel et al., 2010)

Workflow Management

Page 32: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Improved Efficiency

• Continuity

• Automation

• Traceability

• Improved customer service

• Centralisation

• Standardisation

• Economisation

• Adaptability

Benefits of Workflow

Page 33: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Improved Efficiency

Workflow management automates major process within

an organisation by establishing consistent

procedures.

Employees are thus able to narrow down their day to

day tasks , which boosts their productivity levels.

(DeRosa, 2011)

Page 34: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Creates a constant flow of documentation

Because of its automatic nature it ensures that

documents move along a predetermined pace

and that the responsible individual receives

and processes them in the correct order.

Mitigates the risk of error and documentation

getting lost as a result of manual systems.

(Riemer, Steinfield, & Vogel, 2009).

Page 35: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Traceability

Management is able to track tasks being

performed, or information or documentation

being routed to a specific employee.

Improved customer service

Workflow management allows for consistent

product and service delivery.

Page 36: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Standardisation

Workflow enables management to create

standardised working processes within their

organisation.

All employees working on the same task , do so

in a systematic standardised manner.

Page 37: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Economisation – savings on cost

All business processes are in a single system

therefore management doesn’t need to

purchase or maintain separate system

(Rosenzweig, 2009)

Extensibility

Workflow systems enable management to extend

business processes in the case where an

organisations business requirements change

(Deelman et al., 2009).

Page 38: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Workflow is a management tool

Workflow is mostly used for the benefits of

management i.e. Improving business

processes allows for greater efficiency and

productivity which may in turn increase

revenue.

Key benefits continued...

Page 39: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

What the workflow system might read as

“slacking” or creating a bottleneck, is influenced

by various factors

It could be that the employee is slow OR

Employee is held up by other minor tasks

Example: employee goes to the toilet and takes a

bit longer...a bottleneck is identified at that

workstation

Management sees that as an employee being

inefficient

(Carmel et al., 2010)

Workflow for the employee...

Page 40: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Workflow major downfalls

• Working under stringent and restrictive conditions...where an employee feels like their every move is a cost to their productivity...

• May negatively influence morale and performance levels

• Does not work in favour of the employee

Page 41: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Workflow is used by different originations for the

same fundamental purpose of keeping track of

who does what and at what time. However, the

type of vendor used by an organisation will be

influenced by the type of organisation; the type

of work done and what the business’ key

objectives are for using workflow.

• (van der Aalst & ter Hofstede, 2012).

Workflow vendors

Page 42: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

Relevance to I.S.

• Information Systems is moving away from the popular

culture of consuming, into a culture of participation.

• Through collaboration, virtually any complex problem is

potentially solvable

• The knowledge that organisations would need, resources

and the relevant set of skills, has become easily accessible.

• Success in the business world is largely influenced by the

innovative ideas, fast service delivery at minimum cost.

Page 43: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Competition in the business industry in

constantly increasing - businesses need to

find ways to increase employee

productivity in a cost effective, efficient

and customer friendly manner -Whilst

generating the business profit

• Business Intelligence

• Increase in software & internet technology

Page 44: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Davis Controls: Manufacturer of

process control instrumentation &

factory automation practices

• Business was having trouble keeping

their customers happy...turning to

cheaper imports from China

• Invested $300 000 in suit of applications

from Exact Software

Case Study

Page 45: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• By capturing all customer information, for

example, Davis employees would he able to

more efficiently, track and serve their clients.

• If a client recently purchased a new boiler

control, and mentioned that in six months it

would be in the market to purchase

instrumentation to monitor its boilers

remotely, that information could be captured

instead of residing in someone's bead or email

account

Page 46: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Shipping delivery policy was 21 days• If delivery was late or had been missed,

workflow software would instruct person in front of the desk , in a task form, to phone or visit the customer and smooth over the problem.

• At the end of a working day, Montgomery received a report with the total orders booked by the salesperson, profit margin and accounts received

Page 47: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Since the software became fully

operational the company's yearly

revenue has grown from almost $12

million to just over $15 million in 2005

• Admin staff reduced from 9 to 3 (the rest

were redeployed into sales

• But the number of employees has

remained static at 50 employees

Page 48: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• Workflow system is not just a process tracking system

• It is a form of ERP and BI intelligence tool.

• Biggest challenge for Davis Controls and most likely any other organisation implementing workflow, is not the technology but more the people.

• Workflow success is dependent on bother management & employee buy-in

Case study analysis & summary

Page 49: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• More than adapting to new ways

of conducting business processes

and completing tasks, employees

biggest problem with the

workflow system:

• “Its like big brother is watching

me”

Challenges

Page 50: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

• In deciding whether or not to implement a workflow system within your company, which factors would you consider more important and why?

• (from management perspective & employee)

• Knowing and being aware of all the pro’s and cons of collaboration and working in virtual teams...would you consider being a part of it? Why?

Discussion Questions

Page 51: Collaborative and Workflow Tools

THANK YOU

Goodbye diarrhoea

Its time to smell the flowers

Goodbye type 12...hello type 4