"Groupware for Groups": Problem-Driven Design in Deme
This addresses the interaction needs of pre-existing grassroots groups, but it is incremental as it builds on existing groupware concepts with a problem-focused approach.
The paper tackles the problem of insufficient democratic processes in grassroots community groups due to limited face-to-face meetings and real-time interaction constraints by designing the Deme platform for online deliberation, resulting in a framework for evaluating groupware design elements.
Design choices can be clarified when group interaction software is directed at solving the interaction needs of particular groups that pre-date the groupware. We describe an example: the Deme platform for online deliberation. Traditional threaded conversation systems are insufficient for solving the problem at which Deme is aimed, namely, that the democratic process in grassroots community groups is undermined both by the limited availability of group members for face-to-face meetings and by constraints on the use of information in real-time interactions. We describe and motivate design elements, either implemented or planned for Deme, that addresses this problem. We believe that "problem focused" design of software for preexisting groups provides a useful framework for evaluating the appropriateness of design elements in groupware generally.