Why Collaboration Systems Fail
Central Desktop, a collaboration software company, recently wrote an article on why email is still the most widely used collaboration tool. That article, which focused on the good aspects of email, reminded me of a systems analysis on collaboration system adoption (197KB PDF) I wrote in 2003 as part of a look at wiki adoption in corporations. In that paper, I propose a number of interventions to improve adoption that include, not surprisingly, extensive use of email as part of the collaboration workflow and change notification. In other words, take advantage of the things email does well (it is "front and center" in the users mind) rather than trying to replace what is already entrenched in the broader work environment.