GROUPCRC: exploring CSCW support for software engineering

Software engineers invariably work in teams. However the nature of the available tools tends to isolate individuals so that they effectively work on their own. This is partly because of the complexity of the systems involved and the high degree of formality required in the products. Computer Supported Co-operative Work (CSCW) aims to support and enhance the ability of groups of people to accomplish shared goals. This paper is an exploration of the potential for exploiting CSCW ideas to provide better tools for software engineers. GROUPCRC, a CSCW implementation of the Class, Responsibility, Collaborator (CRC) card object-oriented analysis technique, is used as an example.