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Is groupware the worst thing you've ever encountered?

Get over it with our productivity mini-survey

Mini Poll We've been chatting around the subject of business productivity and trying to find out what's going on inside your organisations. Now it's time to nail this stuff statistically. Fancy taking our mini-poll to tell us what's really happening on the ground? And what you expect to happen next?

We're deliberately keeping it simple so it's a doddle to complete, yet it will give you and your fellow readers a good insight to your thoughts on the past, present and future of business productivity tools.

Without wishing to put words in your mouth, perhaps you feel that enterprise-driven groupware was the worst thing that you'd ever encountered. But then again, perhaps you think it's got a whole lot better. Or maybe you think that new-fangled social applications held out great promise a couple of years ago but, in fact, they've knocked productivity for six.

Maybe you yearn for discovery software which will finally deliver on the eternal promises of artificial intelligence. Hmmm. Maybe not.

But there's also a chance to throw in important stuff that we've completely missed.

It won't take more than a few minutes, and we promise to analyse the results and get them back out to the Reg readership later in the week.

Go on. You know it makes sense.

Business productivity poll

1. How well are productivity-related applications working in your organisation? (1 = minimal benefit to productivity, 5 = major benefit)

Minimal
1

2

3

4
Major
5
Enterprise-wide software (such as a content management system)
Formal groupware applications (eg Notes)
Informal community applications (eg internal wikis, collaboration tools)
Office applications (eg word processing, spreadsheets)
Graphical tools (eg mind mapping)
Web-based applications (eg online collaboration, social tools, wikis)
Communication and messaging (eg email, IM)
Search & Discovery applications
Other - please state:

2. How do you see this changing over the next couple of years – which areas do you expect to contribute more to future productivity?

Increased impact About the same Decreased impact Don't know
Enterprise-wide software (such as a content management system)
Formal groupware applications (eg Notes)
Informal community applications (eg internal wikis, collaboration tools)
Office applications (eg word processing, spreadsheets)
Graphical tools (eg mind mapping)
Web-based applications (eg online collaboration, social tools, wikis)
Communication and messaging (eg email, IM)
Search & Discovery applications
Other - please state:

3. To what degree could non-IT initiatives contribute to business productivity (Scale 1 = Not at all; 5 = Major contributor)

Not at all
1

2

3

4
Major contributer
5
Clearer goals and objectives from management
Better communication of corporate strategy
Prioritising activities with the most potential
Training in more effective work practices
Training in using existing applications better
Improved interactions between teams
Other - please state:

Before you go

Which of the following best describes the organisation you work in?

Educational establishment
Public Sector (non education)
IT products or services vendor
Company with more than 5000 employees
Company with 250 to 4999 employees
Company with 50 to 249 employees
Company with 10 to 49 employees
Company with less than 10 employees
None of the above - please specify

Which of the following best describes your role?

Business management
Business professional
General IT management
Management of development/integration
Management of operations function
Systems architect or designer
Developer
Operations specialist
Other - please specify

Which of the following best sums up the attitude to IT in your organisation?

An important contributor of business value
A positive enabler of operational efficiency
A necessary but burdensome cost
A complete waste of money

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