Concepts of Asynchronous and Synchronous Cooperation

Abstract

The group process is a fundamental CSCW concept which specifies the goals and structure of the team as well as the progress of the cooperation between team members. We will discuss the centralized, distributed nonreplicated and distributed replicated group process models.

After an introduction to a general cluster model, we will explain strategies for distributing information within and between clusters. Special attention will be given to possible structures of asynchronous team interaction, exemplified by the linear Emisari model, the comb model and the Parti tree model.

The management of a shared context is a further basic CSCW aspect we will deal with, focusing on the WYSIWIS (what you see is what I see) concept and the support of group awareness.

Possible architectures of groupware systems will conclude the chapter. Issues are window sharing, conferencing components and conference managers, as well as collaboration aware systems.