BRINGING AUTOMATED SUPPORT TO LARGE GROUPS - THE BURR-BROWN EXPERIENCE

The area of computer-assisted support for group work has significant practical implications for most areas of organizational practice. The ability to enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of group efforts while meeting with user satisfaction would be a valuable plus for nearly all organizations. However, early research into computer support for group work indicated that such systems would likely be limited in their effectiveness to groups of 3 to 5 persons. Later development showed that electronic meeting support (EMS) technology could be effectively used with groups of 8 to 16 participants. The session here demonstrates that EMS technology can be effectively implemented with a planning group of 31 participants. The company, Burr-Brown, used the EMS developed at the University of Arizona MIS Department to carry out its annual strategic planning. Measures of effectiveness, efficiency, and user satisfaction all indicated that the system provided the intended group support during the three day planning session. © 1990.