| The Coordination of Work Activities: Cooperation and Conflict in a Hospital Context | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 1-31 | |
| Gillian Symon; Karen Long; Judi Ellis | |||
| An understanding of the ways in which work coordination is achieved in
practice is essential to the development of effective CSCW technologies.
However, previous studies are limited in their focus on small, self-contained
work groups. In this analysis of work coordination in a hospital context, a
broader perspective was adopted, allowing examination of activities across
time, group and location. The use of a relevant structured methodology and a
focus on deviations from formal procedures enabled the consideration of a range
of contextual factors in interaction. Important aspects of work coordination
to emerge included: status influences on the effectiveness of working
practices; the social and political uses of information; conflicts between work
goals and between motivations for coordinating activities; the role of informal
practices; and the use of formal procedures to regulate inter-group relations.
The implications of these issues for CSCW design in the hospital context are
illustrated. Keywords: Coordination, Medical work, Formal procedures, Informal practices, CSCW
design | |||
| Your Place or Mine? Learning from Long-Term Use of Audio-Video Communication | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 33-62 | |
| Paul Dourish; Annette Adler; Victoria Bellotti; Austin Henderson | |||
| Workstations and personal computers are increasingly being delivered with
the ability to handle multimedia data; more and more of us are linked by
high-speed digital networks. With multimedia communication environments
becoming more commonplace, what have we learned from earlier experiences with
prototype media environments? This paper reports on some of our experiences as
developers, researchers and users of flexible, networked, multimedia computer
environments, or "media spaces". It focusses on the lessons we can learn from
extended, long-term use of media spaces, with connections that last not hours
or days, but months or years. We take as our starting point a set of
assumptions which differ from traditional analytical perspectives. In
particular, we begin from the position that that real-world baseline is not
always an appropriate point of comparison for new media technologies; that a
set of complex and intricate communicative behaviours arise over time; and that
media spaces connect not only individuals, but the wider social groups of which
they form part. We outline a framework based on four perspectives --
individual, interactional, communal and societal -- from which to view the
behaviour of individuals and groups linked by multimedia environments. On the
basis of our long-term findings, we argue for a view of media spaces which,
first, focuses on a wider interpretation of media space interaction than the
traditional view of person-to-person connections, and, second, emphasises
emergent communicative practices, rather than looking for the transfer of
face-to-face behaviours. Keywords: Desktop videoconferencing, Emergent behaviours, Long-term use, Media space,
Video-mediated interaction | |||
| Information Needs in Technical Work Settings and Their Implications for the Design of Computer Tools | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 63-92 | |
| Andreas Paepcke | |||
| We interviewed information workers in multiple technical areas of a large,
diverse company, and we describe some of the unsatisfied information needs we
observed during our study. Two clusters of issues are described. The first
covers how loosely coupled work groups use and share information. We show the
need to structure information for multiple, partly unanticipated uses. We show
how the construction of information compounds helps users accomplish some of
this restructuring, and we explain how structuring flexibility is also required
because of temperamental differences among users. The second cluster of issues
revolves around collections of tightly coupled work groups. We show that
information shared within such groups differs from information shared across
group boundaries. We present the barriers to sharing which we saw operating
both within groups and outside, and we explain the function of resource and
contact broker which evolved in the settings we examined. For each of these
issues we propose implications for information tool design. Keywords: Digital library, Groupware, Information sharing, Information compounds,
Collaborative work, Information brokers, Knowledge workers, Information search
and retrieval | |||
| Object-Oriented Activity Support: A Model for Integrated CSCW Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 93-124 | |
| Gunnar Teege | |||
| This paper proposes a model for integrated CSCW systems, the model of
Object-Oriented Activity Support OOActSM. In contrast to existing systems for
the support of collaborative work, the model aims at the integrated support of
all aspects of CSCW in a single frame system. The major properties of our
model are the use of "activity" as the basic concept and the use of
object-oriented mechanisms for providing solutions of typical CSCW problems. I
demonstrate how all major aspects of current CSCW systems can be supported and
integrated with each other in our model. Keywords: Integrated CSCW, Activity support, Object-oriented paradigm, Workflow
support, Activity design | |||
| Introduction: The COOP'95 Workshop Perspective | | BIB | Full-Text | 131-132 | |
| Modelling Co-Operation in the Design of Knowledge Production Systems: The MadeIn'Coop Method: An Example in the Field of C{cubed}I Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 133-154 | |
| Manuel Zacklad; Francis Rousseaux | |||
| This paper presents the latest developments of the MadeIn'Coop method for
modelling the human-machine and human-human co-operation process, and an
application of this method for the design of a more co-operative version of the
C{cubed}I system CHEOPS. We first consider that the design of software systems
for organizations is tied more and more to the perspective of 'compound'
Knowledge Production Systems that link humans and machines engaged in a
co-operative problem solving process. After exposing the four principles upon
which MadeIn'Coop rests for modelling co-operation, we present an artificial
problem solving dialogue between CHEOPS and its users. Consistent with the
'Group Cognitive Processes Theory' framework, we propose a dialogue analysis
according to two complimentary points of view: the 'Collective Problem Solving
model', and the 'Coordination model'. This analysis should help system
designers to identify new system functionalities to assist problem solving. Keywords: Co-operation modelling, Methodology, C{cubed}I systems | |||
| Coordination Mechanisms: Towards a Conceptual Foundation of CSCW Systems Design | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 155-200 | |
| Kjeld Schmidt; Carla Simone | |||
| The paper outlines an approach to CSCW systems design based on the concept
of 'coordination mechanisms.' The concept of coordination mechanisms has been
developed as a generalization of phenomena described in empirical
investigations of the use of artifacts for the purpose of coordinating
cooperative activities in different work domains. On the basis of the evidence
of this corpus of empirical studies, the paper outlines a theory of the use of
artifacts for coordination purposes in cooperative work settings, derives a set
of general requirements for computational coordination mechanisms, and sketches
the architecture of Ariadne, a CSCW infrastructure for constructing and running
such malleable and linkable computational coordination mechanisms. Keywords: Cooperative work, Articulation work, Coordination, Artifact, Coordination
mechanisms, CSCW environments, Ariadne | |||
| Normalized Interactions between Autonomous Agents: A Case Study in Inter-Organizational Project Management | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 201-222 | |
| Jeremy Pitt; Matthew Anderton; Jim Cunningham | |||
| The CEC Project GOAL (Esprit 6283) aims to develop generic software tools to
support a new project management paradigm, in which projects are collaborative,
decentralised and inter-organizational. To support inter-organizational
interaction, communication and cooperation, we are developing a design
framework for formalizing the flow of information between organizations,
specifying access to and provision of project services, and defining
project-wide standards and procedures. This framework is based on normalizing
interactions between autonomous software agents by specifying messages and
protocols for inter-agent communication and cooperation. This paper reviews
the framework, and then focusses on the specification and implementation of a
case study, the automation of a distributed document review procedure. This is
both a successful proof of concept and a demonstration of how Artificial
Intelligence technologies can support inter-organizational project management.
It also points the way to 'agent brokering', an enhancement of object brokering
in distributed open systems, where the satisfaction of service requests can be
subject to negotiation. Keywords: Intelligent agents, Cooperative systems, Project management | |||
| Contexts, Work Processes, and Workspaces | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 223-250 | |
| Alessandra Agostini; Giorgio De Michelis; Maria Antonietta Grasso; Wolfgang Prinz; Anja Syri | |||
| In this paper a framework for the conceptual modelling of organizational
contexts is provided and it is embodied into an extension of the TOSCA
organizational handbook.
The context of a work process is relevant since the effectiveness of the cooperation among its actors is highly dependent on their awareness of it. It requires, on the one hand, that the context is made available in terms of visibility and/or transparency; on the other, that at any time a selection is made so that only what is relevant to the context is provided, leaving the rest in the background. With respect to the first requirement a model of the organizational context is needed, so that all the information regarding its dimensions can be linked together. With respect to the second requirement, a work process model provides some guidelines for designing a system offering a selective access to the context of a work process. The workspace metaphor is a good paradigm to make that information ready at hand, since it is the natural framework within which people do their work. Keywords: Organizational context, Awareness, Work process, Workspace | |||
| Collaboration and Underlying Issues or The Surprises of Cooperative Dialogues | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 251-266 | |
| Catherine Sauvagnac; Pierre Falzon | |||
| The observation of cooperative dialogues between production and maintenance
workers of a dairy has revealed that socio-organisational factors had strong
effects on cooperation. In order to better understand the nature of these
factors, the sociological literature on autonomy, rule generation, negotiation
and conflict is reviewed. A methodology based on inferential pragmatics is
developed in order to analyze what takes place socially in operational
exchanges and makes it possible to identify rules for cooperative functioning
that are specific to this work situation, and that relate to the defence of the
territory of each individual. The conclusion stresses that cooperative
dialogues are also the place where social stakes are adjusted and discusses
potential applications of the proposed framework to the design of cooperative
systems. Keywords: Cooperation, Conflict, Negotiation, Dialogue, Pragmatics | |||
| Negotiation Based on Constraints in Cooperation | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 267-284 | |
| M. J. Huguet; J. Erschler; G. De Terssac; N. Lompre | |||
| This paper presents some aspects of cooperation in organizations. In the
first part, we present the importance to coordination processes within an
organization. Indeed, the information perceived by the company no longer
pertains to the realm of the repetitive, predictable and programmable. In this
context of limited rationality, how can one define an efficient and acceptable
decision coordination and distribution structure? We argue that the
intervention of man in the decisional process remains inescapable on account of
the limitations of the coordination process, and define several forms of
cooperation between decision centers on an industrial site.
In the second part, the assumption retained is that for the management of a production system the decision is made through a network of decision centers. The approach presented puts forward the development of decision and cooperation aid tools only exploiting the information contained in the constraints linking together the decision variables so as to highlight the degrees of freedom effectively available to the decision maker. Finally, we discuss about cooperation and power, where the power issue cannot be disregarded. Keywords: Analysis of organizations, Network decision center, Constraints, Negotiation | |||
| Cooperation and Cooperator Modeling | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 285-297 | |
| Beatrice Cahour; Pascal Salembier | |||
| In this text, we argue that user modeling and system modeling should be
taken into account at the same time to allow cooperativity: they are two sides
of a same interaction. We focus on interlocutor modeling (the human-human
homonym of user modeling) and develop three situations where interlocutor
modeling is crucial: when there is a need of transforming the beliefs of the
cooperator (when there is a knowledge gap or a resistance), when the
interpretation of the cooperator's communication act is ambiguous and relies on
implicit meaning, and when there is a specific need of anticipating the other's
understanding (in risky or irreversible situations). Keywords: Cooperation at work, Interaction, User modeling, System model, Mutual
understanding | |||
| Cooperation between Humans and Machines: First Results of an Experiment with a Multi-Level Cooperative Organisation in Air Traffic Control | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 299-321 | |
| M. P. Lemoine; S. Debernard; I. Crevits; P. Millot | |||
| The increasing air traffic and the ensuing increasing burden on air traffic
controllers suggest to attempt to provide enhanced assistance to air traffic
controllers. As it is difficult to reduce the number of primary tasks, a
solution is to give active assistance to controllers by means of computer tools
that allow for optimal control in order to maintain the level of safety and at
the same time regulate the air traffic controllers' workload.
The objective of our research is to propose and validate a new organisation of air traffic control. It aims at integrating both levels of the organisation of air traffic control: a tactical level managed by a radar controller and a strategic level managed by a organic controller. Our study at first addresses the tactical level, aiming at 'horizontal cooperation' consisting in dynamic allocation of control tasks between a human air traffic controller and an assistance tool. The results of this first approach has oriented the study toward the implementation of a scheduling module for the tactical level. This paper reports the functionalities of air-traffic control and the results of few preceding experiments. A description of the new multi-level organisation is given, to conduce to the presentation of experimental platform, experimental protocol and the first results of experiments. Keywords: Air traffic control, Human-machine cooperation, Dynamic task allocation,
Load evaluation, Tasks allocation criterion | |||
| Constructive Difference and Disagreement: A SuprA-Cooperation among Agents | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 323-336 | |
| Catherine Tessier; Laurent Chaudron | |||
| Differences among agents may be constructive in so far as they can bring
solution enhancements or conflicts, the second case leading to solution
modifications. What is dealt with in this paper is a cooperation involving
different rational agents resulting in more than a mere addition to the agents'
individual skills, thanks to a process of approval and refutation of the
current solution. Lakatos' work is taken as a basis and adapted to a set of
cooperating agents, so as to define the concept of suprA-cooperation and the
corresponding interaction model. Three case studies are given, involving
suprA-cooperating human or artificial agents. Keywords: Multi-agent systems, Rational agents, Cooperation, Philosophical
foundations, Lakatos, Interaction model | |||
| Introduction | | BIB | Full-Text | 337-339 | |
| Wes Sharrock; Kjeld Schmidt | |||
| Embodied Actions in Time and Place: The Cooperative Design of a Multimedia, Educational Computer Game | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 341-367 | |
| Toni Robertson | |||
| This paper reports a field study of the design of a multimedia, educational
software product, from the early articulations about the kind of product to be
made, to the production of the prototype used for capital raising. The
designers were members of a small distributed company who used computer systems
and communication technology, as well as highly developed communication skills
and procedures, to enable them to work together over distance. The focus of
the paper is the work people did to create and maintain the cooperative design
process within a specific organisational framework and in relation to the
design of an actual product. The basic conclusion is that the cooperative
design of the product was enabled and achieved by the work the designers did
communicating with each other. Any future selection of additional CSCW
technology by the company will be determined by its contribution to the
communicative resources of the designers. Keywords: Cooperative design, Distributed design, CSCW, Embodied action, Small
company, Women designers, Personal communication skills | |||
| Project Work: The Organisation of Collaborative Design and Development in Software Engineering | | BIBA | Full-Text | 369-386 | |
| Graham Button; Wes Sharrock | |||
| This study is one in a series of investigations into software and hardware engineering based mainly upon the observation of four projects developing photocopying technology. Our general interest in this paper is in the work of software engineering, with how software engineers organise their work in order to be get it done. Our particular interest is in one common form the organisation of the work takes which is that of the project, and consequently we are concerned with the organisation of engineering work as project work. The project provides a formatted organisational arrangement within which engineers co-ordinate their day-to-day design and development work, and is thus a form of social organisation through which they make their work mutually and organisationally accountable. We are concerned to identify some of the methods through which the engineers build in the formatted arrangements of the project into their work, and with how they display an orientation to these arrangements in the way in which they order their work on a project. | |||
| From the Social to the Systematic: Mechanisms Supporting Coordination in Design | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 387-413 | |
| Peter H. Carstensen; Carsten Sorensen | |||
| Large design and manufacturing projects are conducted in elaborate settings.
Interdependent specialists work together, building complex systems. A
substantial part of their daily work concerns the coordination of distributed
work. This paper reports from a field study at Foss Electric, a Danish
manufacturing company, where the development of an instrument for testing the
quality of raw milk was studied. Scheduled and informal project meetings
together with paper-based coordination systems were the primary means of
managing the complexity of coordinating work within the project. This paper
investigates the origination, use, and function of these coordination
mechanisms applying a Coordination Mechanism perspective (Schmidt and Simone,
1996). We argue that the complexity of coordinating distributed work in large
design projects result in the adoption of coordination systems. These systems
formalize aspects of coordination work through artifacts, procedures for use
and conventions. Keywords: Formalization, Coordination mechanisms, Design work, Manufacturing, Field
study | |||
| Collaborative Conceptual Design: A Large Software Project Case Study | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 415-445 | |
| Colin Potts; Lara Catledge | |||
| During software development, the activities of requirements analysis,
functional specification, and architectural design all require a team of
developers to converge on a common vision of what they are developing. There
have been remarkably few studies of conceptual design during real projects. In
this paper, we describe a detailed field study of a large industrial software
project. We observed the development team's conceptual design activities for
three months with follow-up observations and discussions over the following
eight months. In this paper, we emphasize the organization of the project and
how patterns of collaboration affected the team's convergence on a common
vision. Three observations stand out: First, convergence on a common vision
was not only painfully slow but was punctuated by several reorientations of
direction; second, the design process seemed to be inherently forgetful,
involving repeated resurfacing of previously discussed issues; finally, a
conflict of values persisted between team members responsible for system
development and those responsible for overseeing the development process.
These findings have clear implications for collaborative support tools and
process interventions. Keywords: Collaboration, Software process, Conceptual design | |||
| Supporting Articulation Work Using Software Configuration Management Systems | | BIBAK | Full-Text | 447-465 | |
| Rebecca E. Grinter | |||
| Software product development is a highly collaborative activity, where teams
of developers need to collaborate to produce a system. It is also a domain
where systems are used to try to help the developers coordinate their work.
This paper describes the results of an empirical study of the use of one such
system, a configuration management tool. Specifically it describes three
aspects of the support that the tool provides: the challenges of representing
the work, the need to support both individuals and groups working together, and
how the assumptions about software development built into the tool interact
with others in the organization. The study suggests that long after the
initial adoption the tool and the organization continue to interact with each
other. It also opens up questions for empirical studies of the organizational
context behind the tool usage. Keywords: Configuration management (CM), Computer-supported cooperative work (CSCW),
Empirical studies, Articulation work, Coordination mechanisms | |||