José A. Pino

A first step to formally evaluate collaborative work

We present an initial attempt to formaZly evaluate performance measures related to CSCW applications. In particular, we study the relations between the quality of the output, the number of people and time spent on the overall task and the total work done. We introduce a novel application to illustrate our ideas: collaborative retn’eval. We propose a specific heuristic to the case when many people search for the same information, there&y increasi& the recall and precision of the answer. We apply our evaluation mdhodology to this case.

Structuring dimensions for collaborative systems evaluation

Collaborative systems evaluation is always necessary to determine the impact a solution will have on the individuals, groups, and the organization. Several methods of evaluation have been proposed. These methods comprise a variety of approaches with various goals. Thus, the need for a strategy to select the most appropriate method for a specific case is clear. This research work presents a detailed framework to evaluate collaborative systems according to given variables and performance levels. The proposal assumes that evaluation is an evolving process during the system lifecycle. Therefore, the framework, illustrated with two examples, is complemented with a collection of guidelines to evaluate collaborative systems according to product development status.

Evaluating Collaborative Learning Processes

Understanding and analyzing collaborative learning processes require a fine-grained sequential analysis of the group interaction in the context of learning goals. Several researchers in the area of cooperative work take as a success criterion the quality of the group outcome. Nevertheless, recent findings are giving importance to the quality of the cooperation process itself. This paper presents a set of indicators which main objective is to evaluate the collaborative learning process. We have defined an experiment with a tool instrumented to gather data from groups working in a simple task. This data is then useful to build the cooperation indicators, which in turn allow us to estimate the quality of the work process.

Key issues in the design of an asynchronous system to support meeting preparation

Abstract A review is made of the most important decisions in the design of asynchronous systems to support the preparation of business decision meetings. These decisions are illustrated with the choices made for the development of SISCO, a system of this type. The presentation considers issues in the discussion model, the group memory, the communication and visualization mechanisms, and the development of a meeting preparation sequence: how to start a session, carry it out and close it. Issues concerning coordination, participation and awareness in meeting preparation sessions are also discussed.

Acquiring knowledge on business processes from stakeholders' stories

Business process modeling is expensive and time consuming. It largely depends on the elicitation method and the person in charge. The model needs to be shared in order to promote multiple perspectives. This paper describes a group storytelling approach as an alternative to the traditional individual interviews to elicitate processes. Information gathering is proposed to be done through capturing the stories told by process performers, who describe their work, difficulties and suggestions. A process to abstract and transform stories into business process representations is also part of the method. A tool to support storytelling and this transformation is described as well.

Evaluation methods for groupware systems

Evaluation of collaborative systems is necessary in several situations. However, evaluation is frequently done in an ad-hoc manner or not at all. This paper presents a survey of evaluation methods for groupware systems. The analysis, comparison and classification of these methods will help developers choose the appropriate methods for their situation. Furthermore, the survey allows identification of strengths and weaknesses of existing methods, opening opportunities for research in this area. The proposed comparison criteria represent a framework to evaluate and classify new evaluation methods.

Supporting group decision making and coordination in urban disasters relief efforts

When extreme events affect urban areas the response process should be fast and effective because the population and civil infrastructure densities potentially increase the impact of such events. These situations have shown the need to improve the group decisionmaking process and the coordination of relief activities carried out by relief organizations. This paper proposes to include first responders as decision makers and describes a technological platform to support decision making and coordination activities among these all actors involved. The supporting platform provides digital communication and information recording, representation and dissemination capabilities among the mobile workers participating in the relief efforts. The platform could also be used to support activities in scenarios similar to this one (e.g. police and military operations, massive social events).

A communication infrastructure to ease the development of mobile collaborative applications

Mobile workers doing loosely coupled activities typically perform on demand collaboration in the physical workplace. Communication services available in such work scenarios are uncertain, therefore mobile collaborative applications supporting those activities must provide ad hoc communication mechanisms in order to use each cooperation opportunity. Typically, the complexity of implementing such mobile ad hoc communication mechanisms becomes a challenge that jeopardizes the development of mobile collaborative solutions. This article presents a communication infrastructure named HLMP API dealing with that challenge. HLMP API intends to ease the development of such applications through the reuse of communication services. The infrastructure is an application programming interface that implements the HLMP routing protocol and also some awareness mechanisms that are required for mobile loosely coupled work. Developers using this infrastructure do not have to perform low-level programming.

A reusable structural design for mobile collaborative applications

Architecting mobile collaborative applications has always been a challenge for designers. However, counting on a structural design as a reference can help developers to reduce risks and efforts involved in system design. This article presents a reusable architecture which helps modeling the communication and coordination services required by mobile collaborative applications to support collaboration among users. This architecture has been used as a basis for the design of several mobile systems. Two of them are presented in this article to show the applicability of the proposal to real world collaborative systems.

A method for evaluating computer-supported collaborative learning processes

Understanding and analysing collaborative learning processes requires a fine-grained sequential analysis of the group interaction in the context of learning goals. Several researchers in the area of cooperative work take the quality of the group outcome as a success criterion. Nevertheless, recent findings are giving importance to the quality of the cooperation process itself. This paper presents a set of indicators the main objective of which is to evaluate the collaborative learning process. In this paper, our aim is to present a method, which can be used in analysing the interaction processes in a CSCL environment. We have defined an experiment to gather data from groups working on a simple task. These data are then used to build some cooperation indicators, which in turn allow us to estimate the quality of the work process.