Analyzing the support for large group collaborations using Google Maps

Group support systems are becoming quite popular. They are also instigating large groups of people into collaborative practices. But research on large group collaborations is still very scarce, making it difficult to assess the benefits and drawbacks. This paper describes an empirical study with a group of 48 participants who used Google Maps to accomplish a collaborative design task. The main research goal was to obtain quantitative and qualitative insights about large group collaborations. Various dimensions of group collaboration were studied, including group size, shared awareness, task monitoring, and coordination. The obtained results indicate that large groups face very significant coordination problems and difficulties converging and handling the volume of information. But the study also points out that large group collaborations stimulate participation and task synergy through positive reinforcements, constant feedback and peer pressure.