Describe and compare pool writing and gallery writing.

GALLERY WRITING

Electronic gallery writing is a brainwriting technique in which the group types comments simultaneously and anonymously onto a disk file which they also view simultaneously on their terminals. In the non-electronic version of gallery writing, the group writes comments on large pieces of paper posted around a room or gallery. Thus, all group members can contribute and view comments simultaneously. The electronic version, however, adds anonymity to the group communication.
 

POOLWRITING

Electronic individual poolwriting is based upon the manual brainwriting pool technique. Using the non-automated version of this technique, N members of a group sit around a table containing a pool of N+1 pieces of paper. Each individual takes a piece of paper, writes an idea that pertains to the problem on it, and exchanges it with whichever paper is on the table at the time. After several exchanges, most of the group will have seen most of the comments. The advantages of this technique are that individuals do not need to wait to speak (everyone can be writing at the same time), all ideas are recorded, and a high degree of anonymity is preserved.

The electronic version of this technique simply substitute disk files for pieces of paper. A group of N people at computer terminals exchanges typed comments on N+1 files. Again comments are almost totally anonymous, ideas are recorded, and the group can communicate in parallel. However, all of the group are unable to see all of the comments during the meeting, ( as they can with electronic gallery writing), although they can have a complete, printed transcript after the meeting. Also, at any given time, each participant views a unique subset of comments. If someone starts laughing at a comment, nobody else knows what he is looking at. Electronic individual poolwriting  (called electronic brainstorming in GroupSystems from Ventana) is the most frequently-used tool in electronic group research.
 

COMPARISON:

• 1. Process satisfaction is greater for electronic gallery writing because people get to see all of the comments
• 2. EIPW produces the greatest # of comments, but there is no significant difference in the number of unique, quality comments. This is most likely due to participants not being able to see all generated comments at once.
• 3. EGW is the tool of preference.
• 4. EGW provides the least amount of production blocking.
• 5. The degree of anonymity for both EPW and EGW is approximately the same.