Evaluation of vendor products: CASE tools in support of work groups

The paper reports the results of an initial, exploratory investigation into the desired features of a work group support tool. A model of the type of support needed for systems development work groups in multiuser CASE tools was first developed. This model was then used to develop an evaluation instrument reflecting desired features of such tools. Finally, this instrument was used to assess the effectiveness of certain commercially-available CASE tools in supporting work groups. In general, support for work groups in the tools investigated was weak. The research also led to a model of work group support architecture