Winter, 2006

Faculty Sponsor: Dr. Anthony Wensley, Acting Director, CCIT; Director, Digital Enterprise Management Program; CCIT Associate Professor, Institute of Communications and Culture, UTM

Dr. Ian Graham, IT Strategy and Planning, Technology And Solutions / Bank of Montreal

M. Max Evans, MISt, BSc.; Doctoral Student in the Faculty of Information Studies, University of Toronto; Doctoral Member of the Knowledge Media Design Institute

Project Summary

This project examined the adoption of recent peer-based collaborative technologies — such as blogs, wikis, messaging and chat — as tools for improved productivity, efficiency and effectiveness in corporate and academic (administrative and non-administrative) environments. There was particular focus on open source and/or open access / open content-based applications, although purely commercial collaborative tools will also be examined. This research sought to understand what benefits ‘open’ tools can provide, and at how the social model such tools / approaches imply impacts on the organizational culture within the different areas of a business or university. The project included an initial literature (and tool) review, followed by interviews with technical, administrative and management staff involved with such tools in academic or corporate environments.

Download Final Report (Evans, 2006)

[pdf-ppt-viewer href=”http://www.maxevans.com/uploads/wp/BMO_Open_Source.pdf” width=”950″ height=”1200″]