Reproduced with permission from NeXT Computer, Inc., USA, NeXT on Campus, Spring 1992. ã 1992 NeXT Computer, Inc., USA

BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION

Decision Making with Object-Oriented Groupware
University of British Columbia

Professor of Commerce and Business Administration Robert Goldstein and his colleagues in the MIS Division at the University of British Columbia (UBC) wanted to study the effectiveness of computer support in group decision making. To get the project off the ground, the faculty ®rst needed to develop a method for gathering the real life situations they planned to observe and analyze.

Taking a cue from other leading universities, the MIS Division proposed that UBC build its own computer-supported meeting facility to aid in the research effort. Regional corporations as well as UBC's academic and administrative departments could then rent the site so long as the MIS faculty could, in con®dence, observe their meetings to gather data for an ongoing research project.

Once the UBC administration approved the project, the faculty's next priority was to ®nd the computer system best suited for the work. They discovered that schools with existing meeting programs operated primarily with PC-based systems. They also found that the PC systems were cumbersome for participants because of the learning curve required for new users. In many cases, for example, participants had to use several dif®cult-to-remember commands in order for the computerized discussion to run effectively. Ease of use and processing power were paramount, and the PC environment did not offer these capabilities to the MIS faculty. Nonetheless, UBC considered PC, Macintosh, NeXT, and other UNIX systems for the UBC meeting room.

ªThe ®rst thing that struck me when I visited other schools was the limited user interface on their computers,º says Goldstein. ªAnd one of NeXT's strongest points is its graphical user interface. The NeXTSTEP environment is far more user friendly than any of the other systems.º

Goldstein also says NeXT is ªthe best platform for developing the custom apps we need to run meetings. With its object-orientation, we expect NeXTSTEP to signi®cantly reduce both the time and cost it takes us to get our system and apps up and running. No other platform could have provided us with a quicker route.º

When construction is completed in mid-1992, UBC's meeting area will include a primary meeting room, an observation area, and two rooms for conducting ªbreakout sessions.º

The primary meeting room will hold a modular conference table with 12 built-in NeXT monitors and keyboards for use by participants. One wall of the meeting room will contain a large projection screen that will display ideas and comments as participants work at their machines. Each participant's machine will be equipped with data retrieval, computation, and communication software. Locally developed custom applications will be used to manage the meeting process. Goldstein notes that prior to purchasing the NeXT machines, the MIS faculty tried GreyboardÐa public domain network conferencing version of the Draw programÐand ªit demonstrated to us how feasible our project would be in the NeXT environment. Although Greyboard is more limited than the apps we plan to develop, we realized it was clearly a step in the direction we wanted to go.º 

Goldstein says the UBC setup will be conducive to discussing a wide range of topicsÐfrom naming a new product or revising a company's organizational structure to developing a corporate ®nancial plan. And though most schools use people to facilitate computer-based meetings, Goldstein thinks meetings at UBC will eventually be run by a semiautomated facilitator application that faculty and students in the MIS Division will create using NeXTSTEP.

 ªMost systems downplay the capabilities of collaborative software and rely more on the meeting facilitator,º he says. ªConsequently, the success of a meeting is due in large part to how effective the facilitator is. Our custom software will reduce that risk.º
 
He concludes, ªWe have a powerful application-building tool in NeXTSTEP. We're convinced that, spending relatively little time and money, we'll create a system that will outperform those currently in use.º

ROBERT GOLDSTEIN
PROFESSOR OF COMMERCE AND BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION
UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
VANCOUVER, B.C. CANADA V6T 1Z2
(604) 822-8389
bob_goldstein@mtsg.ubc.ca