| Tool |
Advantages |
Disadvantages |
| E-mail message |
- Simple to use.
- Allows for quick turnaround.
- Good for global feedback. Lack of editing features keeps reviewers focused on “big picture” issues.
|
- Difficult to comment on specific sections, paragraphs, sentences, and words.
- Inappropriate for final editing stages.
|
| Microsoft Word commenting tools |
- Reviewers can comment on specific sections of text. Comments are off to the side and easily distinguishable from the main text.
- Teammates can respond to one another’s comments and discuss the pros and cons of various changes.
- Can be combined with Track Changes.
|
- Reviewers may duplicate efforts by making identical comments.
- May be difficult to reconcile feedback from different reviewers unless the team uses “serial” commenting, in which each reviewer comments and then hands the document off to the next reviewer for comments.
|
| Microsoft Word Track Changes |
- Easy to see what was changed and to switch back and forth between original and revised versions.
- Easy to accept or reject changes another author has made.
- Can be combined with commenting tools to provide justifications of changes or to query coauthors.
|
- Only one person can work on the document at a time.
- Version-control problems can occur when multiple authors work from different versions of the document, writing over each other’s changes.
|
| Google Docs |
- Writers are always working from the most current version of the document, so the team does not have to worry about version-control problems.
- Combines commenting capabilities with direct revision.
- Comments are inserted directly into the text, sometimes making the text difficult to read.
|
- Lacks a rich set of formatting tools and is inappropriate for documents that have lots of tables or require extensive formatting features.
- Document resides in a common storage space where the team can keep task schedules and other documents associated with the project.
|
| Wiki |
- Pros are similar to those of Google Docs.
- Provides maximum flexibility for creating and linking multiple documents.
- The team can make project information public and available for comments or edits from outside audiences.
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- High learning curve for many users.
- Server may not be stable, and technical support may be unavailable.
- May be difficult to export or print documents.
- Easy to lose, misplace, or miss key information.
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