The mixture of production and ad-hoc aspects in organizational work is a ubiquitous phenomenon which potentially occurs on all levels of detail in a workflow. In this paper I first describe how this problem is addressed in the Object-oriented Activity Support Model. The model supports the manual modifications of the subactivity tree in collaboration with a workflow engine, and it supports the mixture of activities with and without an execution scheme. Then I describe in more detail how the HieraStates mechanism for specifying and running execution schemes supports schemes which allow several degrees of flexibility during execution of an activity. These schemes provide support for activities where the ad-hoc and production aspects cannot be easily separated into different substeps. Throughout the paper the example of a purchase order is used to illustrate the approach. 1 Introduction Workflows involving both production and ad-hoc aspects are characteristic for larger projects which fol...

Models and theories concerning cooperation have long been recognised as an important aid in the development of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems. However, there is no consensus regarding the set of concepts and abstractions that should underlie such models and theories. Furthermore, common patterns are hard to discern in different models and theories. This paper analyses a number of existing models and theories, and proposes a generic conceptual framework based on the strengths and commonalities of these models. We analyse five different developments, viz., Coordination Theory, Activity Theory, Task Manager model, Action/Interaction Theory and Object-Oriented Activity Support model, to propose a generic model based on four key concepts common to these developments, viz. activity, actor, information and service.

Introduction The goal of our work is to facilitate the design of computer support functionality for individual work cases. The design should be performed by the worker while working on the case. Wehave developed the model of feature combination as an approach to individual design. We provide an object-oriented implementation of feature combination by composing classes. The model of feature combination is a logically consistent development of object-orientation. The previous in#uence of object-orientation on applications has already produced an object- or case-centered view in systems for work support. However, the functionality of objects is often still determined by large monolithic applications, suchasaword processor or a spreadsheet program. Hence, a second step is necessary which leads from an object-centered view with a static set of object features to an object-centered view with a dynamic set of object features. It must be possible to add new features to the overall sys

This paper describes a new approach to tailorable groupware systems. Its main goal is to make the behavior and other properties of objects tailorable by the end user. We achieve this by breaking up the properties of objects into fine-grained parts called features. The user specifies an object's properties by building a feature set. Feature sets are supposed to be a very simple and intuitive means for specifying object properties. Since a feature includes the implementation of its property, an object with an associated feature set corresponds to a fully functional micro application. Highlights of our realization are the construction of code pieces from parts without the need for programming and the "live" modification of an object's feature set. Thus we meet two important requirements in tailorability. 1 Introduction I take as a starting point the necessity of tailoring by end users in CSCW systems, as it has been expressed in the workshop description and elsewhere (Kaplan et al. 1991...

: Models and theories concerning cooperation have long been recognised as an important aid in the development of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems. However, there is no consensus regarding the set of concepts and abstractions that should underlie such models and theories. Furthermore, common patterns are hard to discern in different models and theories. This paper analyses a number of existing models and theories, and proposes a generic conceptual framework based on the strengths and commonalities of these models. We analyse five different developments, viz., Coordination Theory, Activity Theory, Task Manager model, Action/Interaction Theory and Object-Oriented Activity Support model, to propose a generic model based on four key concepts common to these developments, viz. activity, actor, information and service. 1. Introduction The development of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems is not a trivial task, since it involves problems originated in two di...

This paper describes a new approach to tailorable groupware systems. Its main goal is to make the behavior and other properties of objects tailorable by the end user. We achieve this by breaking up the properties of objects into fine-grained parts called features. The user specifies an object's properties by building a feature set. Feature sets are supposed to be a very simple and intuitive means for specifying object properties. Since a feature includes the implementation of its property, an object with an associated feature set corresponds to a fully functional micro application. Highlights of our realization are the construction of code pieces from parts without the need for programming and the "live" modification of an object's feature set. Thus we meet two important requirements in tailorability. 1

Cooperation Management is one of the most important subjects of the researches on CSCW, which intends to mediate the cooperative relations between workgroup members in the integrated CSCW supporting system, but not to focus on how to implement the single cooperative work itself. Getting inside view of the cooperation process, we are convinced that there exist mainly three cooperative relations in the process, which are hierarchy relation, constraint relation and temporal relation. To describe and manage the cooperative relations effectively, we purpose here a concept of"Task Management" ( TM ) and its model, TAMM( Task--Activity Management Modal), followed by a prototypical system based on them. In this paper, we begin with the introduction of some existing models and systems, next depict the three relations, with the concept of TM and TAMM, then give an overview of our prototype system and the sramrim 3' at last.

This paper presents an innovative approach to sustain collaborative hands-on activities in flexible engineering education. The paper presents our research context, our objectives as well as some preliminary results. The main issues addressed include (i) object-oriented model for collaboration in Web-based learning environment for engineering education (ii) continuity of interaction in flexible engineering education (iii) awareness in Web-based learning environment, and (iv) evaluation methods and metrics. This doctoral research work is currently performed at the School of Engineering, EPFL. Categories and Subject Descriptors