System Resource Sharing for Synchronous Collaboration

We describe problems associated with accessing data resources external to the application, which we term externalities, in replicated synchronous collaborative applications (e.g., a multiuser text editor). Accessing externalities such as les, databases, network connections, environment variables and the system clock is not as straightforward in replicated collaborative software as in single-user applications and centralized collaborative systems. We describe ad hoc solutions that have been used previously. Our primary objection to the ad hoc solutions is that the developer must program dierent behavior into the dierent replicas of a multi-user application, which increases the cost and complexity of development. We introduce a novel general approach to accessing externalities uniformly in a replicated collaborative system. The approach uses a semi-replicated architecture where the actual externality resides at a single location and is accessed via replicated proxies. The proxies multiplex input to and output from the single instance of the externality. This approach facilitates the creation of replicated synchronous groupware in two ways: (1) developers use the same mechanisms as in traditional single-user applications (2) developers program all replicas to execute the same behavior. We describe a general design for proxied access to read{only, write{only and read{write externalities. We discuss the tradeos of this semi- replicated approach over full, literal replication and the class of applications to which this approach can be successfully applied. We also describe details of a prototype implementation of this approach within a replicated collaboration-transparency system, called Flexible JAMM (Java Applets Made Multi-user)

Computer-Supported Collaborative Production

This paper proposes the concept of collaborative production as a focus of concern within the general area of collaborative work. We position the concept with respect to McGrath's framework for small group dynamics and the more familiar collaboration processes of awareness, coordination, and communication (McGrath 1991). After reviewing research issues and computer-based support for these interacting aspects of collaboration, we turn to a discussion of implications for how to design improved support for collaborative production. We illustrate both the challenges of collaborative production and our design implications with a collaborative map-updating scenario drawn from the work domain of geographical information systems

A component-based collaboration infrastructure

Groupware applications allow geographically distributed users to collaborate on shared tasks. However, it is widely recognized that groupware applications are expensive to build due to coordination services and group dynamics, neither of which is present in single-user applications. Previous collaboration transparency systems reuse existing single-user applications as a whole for collaborative work, often at the price of inflexible coordination. Previous collaboration awareness systems, on the other hand, provide reusable coordination services and multi-user widgets, but often with two weaknesses: (1) the multi-user widgets provided are special-purpose and limited in number, while no guidelines are provided for developing multi-user interface components in general; and (2) they often fail to reach the desired level of flexibility in coordination by tightly binding shared data and coordination services. In this dissertation, we propose a component-based approach to developing group- ware applications that addresses the above two problems. To address the first prob- lem, we propose a shared component model for modeling data and graphic user inter- face(GUI) components of groupware applications. As a result, the myriad of existing single-user components can be re-purposed as shared GUI or data components. An adaptation tool is developed to assist the adaptation process. To address the second problem, we propose a coordination service framework which systematically model the interaction between user, data, and coordination protocols. Due to the clean separation of data and control and the capability to dynamically "glue" them together, the framework provides reusable services such as data distribution, persistence, and adaptable consistency control. The association between data and coordination services can be dynamically changed at runtime. An Evolvable and eXtensible Environment for Collaboration (EXEC) is built to evaluate the proposed approach. In our experiments, we demonstrate two benefits of our approach: (1) a group of common groupware features adapted from existing single- user components are plugged in to extend the functionalities of the environment itself; and (2)coordination services can be dynamically attached to and detached from these shared components at different granules to support evolving collaboration needs

Organisational Implementation of Collaboration Technologies - an integrative review

The paper presents an integrative review of field-based research on organisational implementation of collaboration technologies. Based on a typology of collaboration technologies, findings from previous implementation research related to different types of technologies are identified and discussed. A taxonomy of implementation factors is presented, that may serve as the basis for further implementation research and development of implementation strategies for different types of collaboration technology

Introducing Collaboration in Single-user Applications through the Centralized Control Architecture

In this paper we describe a novel Model-View­ Controller based architecture, Centralized Control, that intro­duces collaboration in single-users applications. The architecture is able to add collaboration with no need to modify the source code of the original single-user application, and providing also the capability to introduce group semantics into the new, collab­orative application that is obtained. The architecture is shown in practice, by introducing CollabXMind, a collaborative mind map tool, that is based on a well-known single-user tool, XMind

Collaborative Public Participatory Web Geographic Information System: A Groupware-Based Online Synchronous Collaboration to Support Municipal Planning

Co-PPGIS has a wide variety of applications like municipal planning, emergency response, public health and security, etc. The main focus of this paper is on the development and design of a web collaborative PPGIS (Co-PPGIS) infrastructure. As part of municipality’s planning and management services, Co-PPGIS is developed for real-time map sharing application system. Co-PPGIS is an effective and essential online meeting system for supporting group collaborations on geographic information such as maps and imageries and capturing and sharing of local/domain knowledge in real time. Co-PPGIS permits amalgamation of geospatial data and collaborator’s input in the form of geo-referenced notations. It incorporates coherent components such as map sharing, real-time chat, video conferencing, and geo-referenced textual and graphical notations. The study aims to focus on public participation and geo-collaboration facilitated with information sharing, interactive geo-conferencing, real-time map, and data sharing with tools to draw features or add annotation to the map while discussions, uploading documents, and live communication. Co-PPGIS provides an efficient and reliable platform that will significantly reduce the time to acquire, process, and analyze data. The significance of this study is to contribute to existing public participation practices, to municipal planning, to decision-making, or to geographic information science

Model-based groupware solution for distributed real-time collaborative 4D planning via teamwork

Construction planning plays a fundamental role in construction project management that requires team working among planners from a diverse range of disciplines and in geographically dispersed working situations. Model-based four-dimensional (4D) computer-aided design (CAD) groupware, though considered a possible approach to supporting collaborative planning, is still short of effective collaborative mechanisms for teamwork due to methodological, technological and social challenges. Targeting this problem, this paper proposes a model-based groupware solution to enable a group of multidisciplinary planners to perform real-time collaborative 4D planning across the Internet. In the light of the interactive definition method, and its computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW) design analysis, the paper discusses the realization of interactive collaborative mechanisms from software architecture, application mode, and data exchange protocol. These mechanisms have been integrated into a groupware solution, which was validated by a planning team in a truly geographically dispersed condition. Analysis of the validation results revealed that the proposed solution is feasible for real-time collaborative 4D planning to gain a robust construction plan through collaborative teamwork. The realization of this solution triggers further considerations about its enhancement for wider groupware applications

A synchronous cooperative architecture for the PROSOFT software engineering environment

This paper shows the evolution of a software engineering environment (SEE) called PROSOFT to support the formal development of groupware applications. This environment, which is centered in the data-driven approach for software development, evolved to support cooperation in the software development process. Its transition is founded in a client/server communication model called Distributed PROSOFT that provides software mechanisms to permit concurrent use of the environment resources. Thus, this paper presents a formal model that provides an object middleware with synchronous handling and version support for the objects created with the software tools integrated to the environment. Cooperative PROSOFT is presented as an architecture for the formal development of groupware applications that permits the formal validation of cooperative applications specified under its paradigm. A consequence of this work is the integration of the advantages found in formal specification techniques to the groupware development that provides the development of higher quality groupware applications than those obtained with the use of traditional techniques.Ingeniería de SoftwareRed de Universidades con Carreras en Informática (RedUNCI