Time/place Framework
The effectiveness of a collaborative computing technology depends on the location of the group member and on the time that shared information is sent and received.
DeSanctis and Gallupe (1987) proposed a framework for classifying IT communication support rechnologies.
In this framework, communication is divided into four cells, which are shown together with representative computerized support technologies in Figure 10.1.
The four cells are organized along the two dimensions time and place.
When information is sent and received almost simultaneously, the communication is synchronous (real time).
Telephones, IM, and face-to-face meetings are examples of synchronous communication.
Asynchronous communication occurs when the receiver gets the information at a different time than it was sent, such as in e-mail. The senders and the receivers can be in the same room or in different places.