Vol. 25 · No. 6

Collaborative mobile applications support users on the move in order to perform a collaborative task. One of the challenges when designing such applications is to consider the context where they will execute. Contextualized applications are easy to adopt by the users; unfortunately the design of contextualized tools is not evident. This paper presents a framework of contextual elements to be considered during the conception, analysis and design phases of a mobile collaborative application. This framework supports developers to identify non-functional requirements and part of the architectural design in order to get contextualized applications. The use of this framework is complementary to any structured software process. A framework use example is also presented as an illustration of its applicability.

Information about the real context that has surrounded a past team activity can help their members to understand better situations at hand. However, knowledge transfer can only be successful if a common interpretative focus and its context are set up. We argue that a combination of group storytelling techniques and a groupware tool can support the elicitation of context shared by a group. Moreover, our goal is to discuss how groupware can structure and formalize the contextual information behind the scenes of a story, making it easier to understand, interpret and reuse the knowledge intrinsic to it.

This paper addresses the conflicting dimension of groupware, seeking the reconciliation of two very different assumptions about the users' attitudes using groupware tools: users either collaborate or negotiate to reach consensus. We argue that groupware should integrate the full spectrum of attitudes occurring between these two extremes. The designed solution integrates content and process support in a coherent model supporting low and high conflict situations. Furthermore, we propose a set of benefits and resistances, developed at the user-interface level, aiming to influence users towards low conflict attitudes when interacting with groupware. This approach was applied in a case study involving the development of a groupware tool supporting Quality Function Deployment for software requirements validation in a real-world organization. The case study indicated that the proposed approach was beneficial promoting consensus.

People and organizations frequently need to recall past events that, for some reason, were not documented when they occurred. The successful reconstitution of past events depends on several variables, such as how long ago the event occurred, and whether key people are still available to tell what they know. Although it is sometimes difficult to restore all known events, an adequate recall process can get closer. This paper examines three knowledge recall methods and compares them in a set of controlled experiments. The group storytelling approach is used in two of the methods, one of which is supported by a groupware. The paper also evaluates the benefits and the drawbacks of using the group storytelling technology.

In a decentralised and distributed environment, collaboration requiring the sharing and building of applications is a complex task. For this reason, we propose LaCOLLA, a fully decentralised peer-to-peer middleware that aims to simplify the process of incorporating collaborative functionalities into any application. It provides applications with certain essential collaborative functionalities: dissemination of information, storage, presence and transparency of location, management of members and groups, and execution of tasks. A distinguishing feature of LaCOLLA is that participants provide resources for the benefit of the group. This enables collaboration activities to take place in a collective environment using only the resources provided by participants in the collaboration (self-sufficiency). In this paper we present and evaluate the architecture of LaCOLLA, its API, and key aspects of its implementation.