Gruppdatorteknik

The overall aim of the project is to develop and disseminate knowledge of how advanced use of information technology enables new, more efficient work forms and services, and changes professional roles in serviceproducing organisations.The project is based on experiences from use of the SISU group computer prototype that was built 1991 to support process mapping in Business Process Reengineering projects.

The project aims to focus on the use of group computer technology. The project involves a small amount of technology development; but the primary purpose is not to develop new technology; rather it is to show how commercially available products can be integrated and used to

• make service production more efficient through development of new work processes or by making established work forms, such as meetings and conferences, more efficient,
• create new services based on new information technology,
• create new organisational forms in which several smaller companies cooperate and co-ordinate their activities in a common business process.

The project aims to develop usage models for group computer technology in service production and knowledge work. The project has two phases, with the aim of the first phase being to develop an information service - IT Briefing - in which group computers is used to present and demonstrate advanced use of information technology. During the second phase of the project, the above information service will undergo further development and a number of experiments with group computer technology will be carried out within the following applications:

• Distance tuition and presentation. (For more info please read the report: Gruppdatorteknik - Användningsmodeller för distansundervisning ).
• Distributed business planning and decision making meetings.
• Design support for product and service development.
• Sales support and customer meetings.

The purpose of the experiments is to develop usage models for group computer technology. The common factor in all the experiments is that they will all involve the use of the group computer system, LiveBoard (above) from Xerox LiveWorks. LiveBoard will be integrated into an architecture for group- and distance work, which will become the platform for several experiments. These will be carried out in co-operation with several serviceproducing companies, with the overall aim of developing and disseminating knowledge of how advanced information technology enables new, more efficient work forms and service, and has changed professional roles.
Budget: SKr 1.5 million sponsored by NUTEK.

Staff contact and project manager at SISU for this project is Mattias Hällström, mattias@sisu.se