A computational model of coordination

This paper explores and explicates the concept of coordination in small workgroups. The authors develop a computational model within which the key constructs of coordination can be precisely defined. This framework can serve as the basis for additional theoretical developments and as a basis for developing software systems designed to support coordination in workgroups. Coordination is viewed as management of conflicting demands on finite resources by actors or activities. These activities may be informational in nature. The authors conceptualize the underlying primitive concepts that constitute the idea of coordination. This conceptualization views coordination as a cycle of four phases: the definitional phase, the conflict resolution phase, the action phase, and the adaptation phase. The authors then set forth a formal model of coordination, both as a phenomenon and as a process. Within the context of the framework the authors have created, key concepts of decomposability, Pareto-satisfactory, informational privacy, informational decentralization, and informational efficiency are explored     

Information and communication technology coordinators: Their intended roles and architectures for learning

This paper explores the roles of information and communication technology (ICT) coordinators, using architectures for learning as the theoretical framework to identify (a) the structures and mechanisms utilized to decide the role of a coordinator and (b) those organized for the coordinator to realize a role within a school context of ICT-enabled, instructional reform. Data on ICT coordinator roles were collected from semi-structured interviews with ICT coordinators and colleagues, and from school documents. The data were analy s ed and coded according to the elements of architectures for learning and shown to influence instructional reform. The paper presents four cases of ICT coordinators with roles intended to provide instructional support, technical support, both instructional and technical support, and neither instructional nor technical support. By comparing architectures for learning associated with different intended roles, we find that different conceptualizations of the ICT coordinator are connected to particular decision-making mechanisms and organizational units found in a school. We also uncover differences in architectures for learning organized for ICT coordinators that are intended to provide instructional support compared with those intended to provide technical support. Using an architectures for learning framework in the design of an ICT coordinator role can be foundational to the successful participation of the role in the instructional reform.     

A semantic framework for open processes

We propose a general methodology for analysing the behaviour of open systems modelled as coordinators, i.e., open terms of suitable process calculi. A coordinator is understood as a process with holes or placeholders where other coordinators and components (i.e., closed terms) can be plugged in, thus influencing its behaviour. The operational semantics of coordinators is given by means of a symbolic transition system, where states are coordinators and transitions are labeled by spatial/modal formulae expressing the potential interaction that plugged components may enable. Behavioural equivalences for coordinators, like strong and weak bisimilarities, can be straightforwardly defined over such a transition system. Different from other approaches based on universal closures, i.e., where two coordinators are considered equivalent when all their closed instances are equivalent, our semantics preserves the openness of the system during its evolution, thus allowing dynamic instantiation to be accounted for in the semantics. To further support the adequacy of the construction, we show that our symbolic equivalences provide correct approximations of their universally closed counterparts, coinciding with them over closed components. For process calculi in suitable formats, we show how tractable symbolic semantics can be defined constructively using unification.     

CONCENSUS: multi-party negotiation support for conflict resolution in concurrent engineering design

Advances in telematics have led many manufacturing companies in particular to explore the adoption of groupware technology to improve communication between team members. However, complex activities such as conflict resolution are still predominantly facilitated through face-to-face negotiation meetings. Intelligent software agents technology is being applied to support computer-mediated conflict resolution activities, such as information search and retrieval, recording negotiation process history and task allocation – whilst the creative negotiation activities such as generating new solutions, preventing and detecting conflicts are still left to the human experts. This paper describes the development of a framework for the support of multi-party negotiation for multi-agent systems, which will be introduced through a general overview of the requirements of multi-agent negotiation. Finally, the current architecture of the developed prototype for a CONCurrent Engineering Negotiation SUpport System (CONCENSUS) is presented.     

Voice Loops as Coordination Aids in Space Shuttle Mission Control

Voice loops, an auditory groupware technology, are essential coordination support tools for experienced practitioners in domains such as air traffic management, aircraft carrier operations and space shuttle mission control. They support synchronous communication on multiple channels among groups of people who are spatially distributed. In this paper, we suggest reasons for why the voice loop system is a successful medium for supporting coordination in space shuttle mission control based on over 130 hours of direct observation. Voice loops allow practitioners to listen in on relevant communications without disrupting their own activities or the activities of others. In addition, the voice loop system is structured around the mission control organization, and therefore directly supports the demands of the domain. By understanding how voice loops meet the particular demands of the mission control environment, insight can be gained for the design of groupware tools to support cooperative activity in other event-driven domains.     

Flexible coordinator design for modeling resource sharing in multi-agent systems

One approach to modeling multi-agent systems (MASs) is to employ a method that defines components which describe the local behavior of individual agents, as well as a special component, called a coordinator. The coordinator component coordinates the resource sharing behavior among the agents. The agent models define a set of local plans, and the combination of local plans and a coordinator defines a system’s global plan. Although earlier work has provided the base functionality needed to synthesize inter-agent resource sharing behavior for a global, conflict-free MAS environment, the lack of coordination flexibility limits the modeling capability at both the local plan level and the global plan level. In this paper, we describe a flexible design method that supports a range of coordinator components. The method defines four levels of coordination and an associated four-step coordinator generation process, which allows for the design of coordinators with increasing capabilities for handling complexity associated with resource coordination. Colored Petri net based simulation is used to analyze various properties that derive from different coordinators and synthesis of a reduced coordinator component is discussed for cases that involve homogeneous agents.     

Towards a framework to manage formalised exchanges during collaborative design

New organizational frameworks for companies dealing with product development are required for the new market rules as for the rising pressure and complexity in product and process development. Thus, the new stake is to examine new methods of leading design activities as the cooperative design that deals with the sharing of various interests and resources among various actors, with the aim of reaching a common purpose. The latter lay on the development of products by means of knowledge sharing and interactions with a certain level of coordination between these varied activities. Embedded into the IPPOP research project perspectives, this paper focus on the particular collaborative situation of conflict management occurring during design activities. From an analysis of the conflict management domain, we shall specify a collaborative design framework dedicated to conflict handling thanks to one specification method based on the UML language. The specified solving process is applied on a real-life industrial case: a windmill stator sheet design. The design context of the artefact is exposed and the met conflicts are explained. Extracts of IPPOP demonstrator's graphical user interfaces, illustrating these collaborative aspects of the software application are then presented. They show the ability of the demonstrator to run the conflict solving process and to subscribe relevant actors in this process as well as filers to track pertinent past solutions suitable for the current problem.     

Coordination Models Based on a Formal Model of Distributed Object Reflection

We propose a family of models of coordination of distributed object systems representing different views, with refinement relations between the different views. We start with distributed objects interacting via asynchronous message passing. The semantics of such a system is a set of event partial orders (event diagrams) giving the interactions during possible system executions. A global coordination requirement is a constraint on the allowed event diagrams. A system coordination specification consists of a meta-level coordinator that controls message delivery in the system according to a given global policy. The system-wide coordination can be refined/distributed using coordinators for disjoint subsystems that communicate with their peers to enforce the global policy. By a further transformation the meta-level can be replaced by systematically transformed base-level objects communicating via a controller object. The coordination models are formalized in rewriting logic using the Reflective Russian Dolls model of distributed object reflection. The general ideas are illustrated with several examples.     

网络管理系统分布式协作的业务流程分发机制

在分析业务流程分发在分布式协作中发生场景的基础上,该文根据业务流程分发的需求,定义用于在协作点之间分发业务流程的流程分发服务,建立利用流程分发服务在网络管理系统之间进行分布式协作的模型。该流程分发服务具有定义简单及与业务流程描述语言无关的特点,提高了分布式协作的效率。     

Coordinating computer-mediated work

Coordination of inter-dependent work activities is central to CSCW. However, little is known about how people coordinate their work activities, especially when confronted with computer systems that are intended to support collaboration. This paper examines how a close-knit group of engineers attempt to collaborate when managing a networked system whilst at the same time trying to maintain coordination of their interdependent work activities. Drawing from theoretical constructs developed in distributed cognition, an analysis is presented that contrasts the role played by common objects and mediating mechanisms in coordinating such activities with the negotiative practices that emerge when they break down. The implications of the problematic and dynamic nature of coordination is subsequently discussed in relation to CSCW design.     

Dispatching and coordination in multi-area railway traffic management

This paper deals with the development of decision support systems for traffic management of large and busy railway networks in case of severe disturbances. Railway operators typically structure the control of complicated networks into the coordinated control of several local dispatching areas. A dispatcher takes rescheduling decisions on the trains running on its local area while a coordinator addresses global issues that may arise between areas. While several advanced train dispatching models and algorithms have been proposed to support the dispatchers' task, the coordination problem did not receive much attention in the literature on train scheduling. This paper presents new heuristic algorithms for both local dispatching and coordination and compares centralized and distributed procedures to support the task of dispatchers and coordinators. We adopt dispatching procedures driven by optimization algorithms and based on local or global information and decisions. Computational experiments on a Dutch railway network, actually controlled by ten dispatchers, assess the performance of the centralized and distributed procedures. Various traffic disturbances, including entrance delays and blocked tracks, are analyzed on various time horizons of traffic prediction. Results show that the new heuristics clearly improve the global performance of the network with respect to the state of the art.     

ICT and learning: Lessons from Australian classrooms

Research into Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in schools is well into its third decade but there is still a pressing need to better understand how computer-based technologies are influencing learning opportunities, and how the local conditions of schooling impact on teachers’ attempts to integrate these technologies in their classrooms. In this article, we provide some insight into these questions through our research in six diverse public schools in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia. We observed classrooms and conducted interviews with teachers and other key stakeholders, such as principals and technology coordinators about the integration of ICT. Our goal was to describe and examine the ways in which teachers, in a range of settings, are utilising ICT in their classroom practices to mediate student’s learning experiences Our findings indicate that ICT is largely being integrated in ways that support and supplement existing classroom practices. From our observations, we believe that successful integration of ICT requires fundamental shifts in the core activities of schools. These shifts include new teaching. The cases described in this article suggest some ways in which these shifts may be initiated and sustained.     

Tracking product specification dependencies in collaborative design for conflict management

The main difficulty associated with a collaborative design process is understanding the product data exchanged during the design. Efficient and effective coordination of design activities relies on a thorough understanding of the dependencies between shared product specifications throughout the entire development cycle. This paper explores the linkages between the design process features and product specification dependencies, and suggests ways of identifying and managing specification dependencies to improve collaborative process performance. Using a UML (Unified Modeling Language) specification, we propose a process traceability tool to track the design process in an ongoing manner. Based on the information captured, the dependencies between specifications involved in the tracked process are identified and inserted in a dependency network, which is maintained throughout the design process. A set of mechanisms is then proposed to qualify the identified dependencies. Extracting and qualifying specification dependencies could be useful in many design situations; for example, during an engineering change management process to assess impacts and study change feasibility, or during a conflict management process to assist designers in resolving conflicts and maintaining the coherence of the design process (knowing that change management is a tool to conduct conflict management). Special attention is paid to the conflict management process. By means of a case study, we show how the solution we propose can assist designers during the conflict management process.     

Information accuracy and sampling effort: a field study of surgical scheduling coordination

Coordination of dynamic schedules in complex environments requires the sampling of the current status of the system being coordinated. In many such systems that include human components, the requisite status information is unavailable or unreliable. Optimal sampling theory focuses on monitoring a system's status for changes, with limited consideration of future changes or missing information. Models of sampling for coordination and scheduling must consider resolving missing or ambiguous data points. Through field-based observations, we observed that human information-seeking involving this type of sampling balances the need for specific information with the effort required to attain the information, and the accuracy of the information. This paper uses field-based observations of the coordination of operating-room suite activities to demonstrate these factors and discusses communication strategies within the operating room context, as well as implications for technology design to support such work.     

Technology Effects in Distributed Team Coordination—High-Interdependency Tasks in Offshore Oil Production

For highly interdependent yet location-specific tasks, distributed teams need to closely coordinate activities and processes. This field study in the upstream oil and gas industry focused on challenges in the coordination of highly interdependent tasks if teams work remotely on an ongoing basis. Based on 78 semi-structured interviews and observations over a period of 12 months, we identified coordination requirements for primary team activities, as well as effects of changing media capabilities to overcome difficulties of ongoing distribution. Implications for media requirements in the support of ongoing distributed teams are discussed.     

Prototyping synchronous group applications

Cooperative team-based activities are changing the nature of work. Current frameworks provide the necessary base communication and coordination tools but require application designers to handle low-level details such as defining a communication protocol. They also provide limited support for prototyping such applications and experimenting with alternative designs. We introduce a sharing style called strong sharing. Its implementation in Object World insulates application designer from low-level communication details. CoSARA, a system built on Object World, lets application designers prototype synchronous group applications by graphically specifying the multiuser interactions. After we describe strong sharing, we describe Object World and how it facilitates building synchronous group applications. Then we describe the CoSARA design methodology for prototyping synchronous group applications and show how we used it to build a multiuser block diagram editor     

Supporting teachers' intervention in collaborative knowledge building

In the context of distributed collaborative learning, the teacher's role is different from traditional teacher-centered environments, they are coordinators/facilitators, guides, and co-learners. They monitor the collaboration activities within a group, detect problems and intervene in the collaboration to give advice and learn alongside students at the same time. We have designed an Assistant to support teachers' intervention in collaborative knowledge building. The Assistant monitors the collaboration, visualizes it and provides advice to the teacher on the subject domain and the collaboration process. The goal of the research present in this paper is to explore the possibilities of enriching Computer Supported Collaborative Learning (CSCL) environments with tools to support collaborative interaction.     

CSDL: a language for cooperative systems design

The aim of a cooperative system is to coordinate and support group activities. Cooperative Systems Design Language (CSDL) is an experimental language designed to support the development of cooperative systems from specification to implementation. In CSDL, a system is defined as a collection of reusable entities implementing floor control disciplines and shared workspaces. CSDL tries to address the difficulties of integrating different aspects of cooperative systems: cooperation control, communication, and system modularization. This paper presents CSDL as a specification language. Basic units are coordinators that can be combined hierarchically. A coordinator is composed of a specification, a body, and a context. The specification defines the cooperation policy; the body controls the underlying communication channels; and the context defines coordinators' interaction in modular systems     

Cooperation coordination in virtual enterprises

Coordination of activities is a determinant element in virtual enterprises. Proper coordination policies supported by flexible coordination mechanisms are necessary to ensure the cooperation among partner enterprises. This paper presents the PRODNET approach to support coordination in virtual enterprises. The adopted model considers on flexibility and configurability as the key aspects to cope with the large diversity of expectable scenarios and operating policies in the virtual enterprise environment. A workflow based approach for coordination is described and especial emphasis is put on a multi-level coordination view. The developed software modules that support the coordination mechanisms are presented, and finally some directions for further research are given.