Facilitator-in-a-Box: Process Support Applications to Help Practitioners Realize the Potential of Collaboration Technology.

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Bibliographic Details
Title:	Facilitator-in-a-Box: Process Support Applications to Help Practitioners Realize the Potential of Collaboration Technology.
Authors:	Briggs, Robert O.¹, Kolfschoten, Gwendolyn L.², de Vreede, Gert-Jan³, Lukosch, Stephan², Albrecht, Conan C.⁴
Source:	Journal of Management Information Systems. Spring2013, Vol. 29 Issue 4, p159-194. 36p. 1 Black and White Photograph, 1 Diagram, 5 Charts.
Subjects:	Engineering -- Computer network resources, Computer assisted research, Organizational communication, Decision support systems, Group decision making, Expert systems, Computer network resources
Abstract:	The potential benefits of collaboration technologies are typically realized only in groups led by collaboration experts. This raises the facilitator-in-the-box challenge: Can collaboration expertise be packaged with collaboration technology in a form that nonexperts can reuse with no training on either tools or techniques? We address that challenge with process support applications (PSAs). We describe a collaboration support system (CSS) that combines a computer-assisted collaboration engineering platform for creating PSAs with a process support system runtime platform for executing PSAs. We show that the CSS meets its design goals: (1) to reduce development cycles for collaboration systems, (2) to allow nonprogrammers to design and develop PSAs, and (3) to package enough expertise in the tools that nonexperts could execute a well-designed collaborative work process without training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database:	Engineering Source

Description
Abstract:	The potential benefits of collaboration technologies are typically realized only in groups led by collaboration experts. This raises the facilitator-in-the-box challenge: Can collaboration expertise be packaged with collaboration technology in a form that nonexperts can reuse with no training on either tools or techniques? We address that challenge with process support applications (PSAs). We describe a collaboration support system (CSS) that combines a computer-assisted collaboration engineering platform for creating PSAs with a process support system runtime platform for executing PSAs. We show that the CSS meets its design goals: (1) to reduce development cycles for collaboration systems, (2) to allow nonprogrammers to design and develop PSAs, and (3) to package enough expertise in the tools that nonexperts could execute a well-designed collaborative work process without training. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:	07421222
DOI:	10.2753/MIS0742-1222290406