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SGC Presentation Text

In October of 1997 I did a short presentation to the AMIA: FP/PCWG on Small Group Collaboration on the Internet. The following is an unimproved outline of the presentation. This page will be revised over time..

	I.  Goals
		A.  pass on my experience
		B.  compare notes (volunteer?)
		C.  design exercise
		D.  web publish/market
	II.  Why Try?
		A.  working groups: AMIA, STFM, AAFP
		B.  committees: local, national
		C.  projects
			1.  implement EMR, quality improvement, 
			coordinate care
		D.  collaborative pt. care?
	III.  Constraints
		A.  small group (< 30)
		B.  asynchronous 
		(not chat, telepresence, VR ...)
		C.  internet solutions
		D.  today's technologies
	IV.  History
		A.  WWW: physics collaboration at CERN
		(Tim Berners-Lee)
		B.  collaborative env old  (Plato?)
		C.  collaborative work, PIM, EMR:
		looks easy, ain't
	V.  My History
		A.  BBS (PC Pursuit)
		B.  Newsgroups
		C.  Web Forums (NetForum, Chorus)
		D.  Email Lists (Fam-Med, Family-L)
		E.  STFM Communications Committee
		F.  FP/PCWG Communications Committe
	VI.  Key Experiences
		A.  NetForum success: TEPR '96
		(Allen Wenner)
		B.  NetForum failure: 4+
		C.  BBS communities: 6 years
		D.  FP/PCWG: mixed, improving
		E.  notification and workflow
	VII.  Net Tool Types
		A.  Web Pages
		B.  Email Lists: CB-Radio
		C.  Newsgroups & Web Forums:
		Threaded Bulletin Boards
	VIII.  Web
		A.  static documents, references, procedures ...
		B.  reviews, news, consensus
		C.  how often to check? (CDF, URLWatcher)
	IX.  Email/List Pros
		A.  a part of workflow already
		B.  stone simple (plain ascii)
		C.  part of regular email/work
		D.  local copy of mail (POP)
		E.  private, moderated
	X.  Email/List Cons I
		A.  mail flood
		B.  > 10% junk -> stop
		C.  > 3 msgd/say -> stop
		D.  everyone sorts/files
	XI.  Email/List Cons II
		A.  no threading, archive
		B.  attachments
		C.  HTML mail
		D.  email local (POP v IMAP)
		E.  listserv maintenance!
	XII.  Newsgroup/Web Forum Pros I
		A.  threading
		B.  handle volume, robust
		C.  choose to read
		D.  some edit ability
	XIII.  Newsgroup/Web Forum Pros II
		A.  messages have identifiers  (linkable)
		B.  different views of messages
		C.  news client is "smart"
		D.  management easy
	XIV.  Newsgroup/Web Forum Cons
		A.  server setup hard
		B.  not private (usually)
		C.  connect to read
		D.  special client for newsgroup
		E.  limited editing ability
		F.  go and get it (notification)
	XV.  Notification Problem
		A.  newsgroup/web forum issue
		B.  two strikes, you're out
		C.  threshhold: < 2-3 msgs/wk?
		D.  email summaries? (Udell, BYTE)
	XVI.  Email Summaries
		A.  email (< 4 postings/day)
		B.  summary: author, subject, time, 1st line
		C.  frequency: user defined
		D.  embedded hyperlinks
	XVII.  Workflow Problem
		A.  change: cost before benefit
		B.  addition >> replacement
		C.  ECost = P(S)*C(S) + P(F)*C(F)
		D.  email most recent addition
	XVIII.  Current "Best" Solution
		A.  email list
		B.  threaded email web archive
		C.  companion web pages
			1.  intro, links, projects, news, 
			discussion summaries, reference, etc.
		D.  requires owning a server!
	XIX.  What I'd Like
		A.  not my server
		B.  easy maintenance
		C.  email support
		D.  threaded editable archives
		E.  multiple archive views
	XX.  What I'd Like II
		A.  notification
		B.  fully linkable
		C.  html throughout
		D.  XML, channel updates ....