A GROUP PROBLEM SOLVING SYSTEM BASED ON KEPNER-TREGOE PROGRAM: EXPERIMENT-BASED CONFIRMATION OF EFFECTIVENESS AS COORDINATOR SUPPORT FACICLITIES

Group Problem Solving is a mechanism which all the participants collaboratively solve a problem by utilizing their knowledge and experience. Therefore, if this mechanism is used skilfully for problem solving, it is more effective in solving a problem than solving the problem for oneself. However, since it is not easy to use the mechanism effectively, the success of Group Problem Solving depends on whether or not a coordinator is skill. Therefore, it is desired to implement a system to support group problem solving process strongly, so that all the participants can effectively utilize their knowledge and experiences in the process. The authors introduced Kepner-Tregoe program (strictly speaking, only "Problem Analysis"), which is a method for management, into the system as a method, and then they developed the system over WWW. They conducted an experiment on usability of the implemented system, and then they elicited some issues about coordinator support facilities of the implemented system, and improved the system. Furthermore, they conducted an experiment on usability of the improved system, and showed that the coordinator support facilities of the improved system were effective.