An innovative application of CSCW for solving engineering design problems

Summary form only given. Groupware is increasingly being used by engineering design teams to reach consensus on a range of issues relating to the design process. In this paper, the authors discuss the development and evaluation of a computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) system in enhancing the effectiveness of cross-functional teams involved in the selection of the best layout for cellular manufacturing teams. The results are very promising for engineering design teams who are required to collaborate but are distributed in several locations.