FCW – Fundamentals in Collaborative Working : FCW – Fundamentals in Collaborative Working 1
Contents : Contents Basics definitions about Collaboration
Collaborative Working Environments
Views on Collaboration
Barriers to Collaboration
Key to successful Collaboration
CoSpaces Project 2
Basics definitions about Collaboration : Basics definitions about Collaboration 3
Team Work : Team Work Teamwork is the concept of people working together, helping each other, to reach a common goal;
Advantages:
Brain storming;
Combining the different skills of the people;
To accomplish things that a person cannot do alone.
Result:
Teamwork = increased production
Team Work Drivers (to increase efficiency):
Coordination;
Cooperation;
Collaboration; 4
Coordination : Coordination involves aligning / altering activities so that more efficient results are achieved.
Example:
Objective - to build a little house;
Coordination example actions could be:
To build foundations in first;
To build the walls secondly;
To build the roof in the end; Coordination 5
Cooperation : Cooperation Cooperation is achieved by division of some labor (not extensive) among participants.
Example:
Objective - to build a little house;
Coordination actions could be:
Enterprise A will build foundations in first;
Enterprise B will build the walls in second;
Enterprise A will build the roof in the end;
Cooperation is demonstrated here by the use of two enterprises with distinct actions to reach a common goal; 6
Collaboration : Collaboration Collaboration involves mutual engagement of participants to solve a problem together, which implies mutual trust and thus takes time, effort, and dedication.
Example:
Objective - to build a little house;
Coordination actions were defined together by the two involved enterprises (Enterprise A and B):
The tools to be used in construction belongs to Enterprise A;
The first action is to build foundations using people from the two enterprises;
Enterprise B will build the walls in second;
The last action is to build the roof by using people from the two enterprises;
Collaboration is demonstrated here by:
Coordination actions were decided by both involved enterprises;
Trust in using common tools (property of Enterprise A);
Some work phases are doing using shared resources; 7
Network interactions : Network interactions Networking – involves communication and information exchange for mutual benefit.
Virtual teams are able to work towards a common purpose across different time zones, locations, organisational settings and cultural backgrounds through the use of information and communication technology. 8
Collaborative Network : Collaborative Network 9 Network – involves communication and information exchange for mutual benefit.
Coordinated Network extends Network – adding the alignment of activities for mutual benefit;
Cooperative Network extends Coordinated Network – adding compatible goals where individual identities work apart;
Collaborative Network extends Cooperative Network – adding joint responsibilities, joint goals, joint identities – this is working together, creating together; [1] [1] - Camarinha-Matos, L.; Afsarmanesh, H. (2008). Concept of Collaboration, in: Encyclopedia of Networked and Virtual Organizations, G. Putnik, M. M. Cunha (Ed.s), IGI, ISBN: 978-1-59904-885-7, Jan 2008.
Collaborative Engineering and Collaborative (Net)Working : Collaborative Engineering and Collaborative (Net)Working When Collaborative Networks are applied to Design/Engineering, the result is Collaborative Engineering!
Collaborative engineering allows different organizations, or departments within an organization, to bring together multidisciplinary expertise to facilitate and improve engineering and manufacturing processes, often across different cultural backgrounds.
Collaborative Engineering is a type of Collaborative (Net)Working. 10
Enterprise’s organisation : Enterprise’s organisation 11 Distributed Enterprise Extended Enterprise Sub-contractor Designer Suppliers Evaluators Software firms Research Engineering Builder Maintenance Collaborative Working is present in intra and extra enterprises relations.
Collaborative Working Environments : Collaborative Working Environments 12
Collaborative Working Environments : Collaborative Working Environments ‘Collaborative Working Environments’ can be defined as integrated and connected resources providing shared access to contents and allowing distributed actors to seamlessly work together towards common goals [2].
From the Experts group the main IT achievable challenge is that “ in 2020, Collaborative Working Environments will offer a ubiquitous hardware and software infrastructure composed of resources providing a new blend of activity oriented, context-aware flexible software services supporting patterns of human interactions, human to machine interactions and collaborative gadgets, which all interact in a dynamic and pro-active fashion” [3].
[2] – CLOCK - Challenges of collaborative Working Environments, The Clock Vision for CWE.
[3] – New Collaborative Working Environments 2020 - Report on industry-led FP7 consultations and 3rd Report of the Experts Group on Collaboration@Work. 13
Workspaces – In the Past : Workspaces – In the Past Workspaces developed around a centralized organizational model during the industrial revolution;
because the allocation and supervision of production tasks, and of scarce and expensive equipment, were more efficient through a centralized model. [4] 14 [4] - Future_workspces Roadmap Summary, project (IST-2001-38346).
[5] - Jarmo Suominen, Professor UIAH/MIT (2005). “demand or desire”. [5]
Workspaces – In the Present : Workspaces – In the Present Nowadays, an ICT intensive economy allows to move work to people rather than people to work;
increasing quality of life and reducing many aspects of environmental degradation, achieved through networks rather than by physical proximity and so supporting productivity and innovation. [4] 15 [5]
Characteristics Of Envisioned Future Workspaces : Characteristics Of Envisioned Future Workspaces The future will show a growing demand for process integration involving all the project partners and suppliers working together to achieve a joint objective, often geographically separated from each other.
Integrated technologies will allow the creation of virtual workspaces to support such distributed workflow systems based on advanced technologies such as GRID, wireless communication and ambient interfaces.
In the future, flexibility and mobility will replace many fixed and scheduled ways of working. [4] 16 [5]
Collaboration and mobility : Collaboration and mobility A mobile organisation could be described as an organisation “…where people, processes, technology and management support work (are) done anyplace/anytime” [6].
The mobile organisation from an ICT perspective can be seen to have the following attributes:
No fixed working space
Internet-based processes
Mobile technology, wireless applications
Management of mobility and mobile working culture
[6] - Neal, D. (2003). Collaboration – The key to getting value from new mobile technologies.
CSC Research Services Web Conference,www.csc-researchservices.com
[7] - Hans Schaffers, Torsten Brodt, Marc Pallot, Wolfgang Prinz. “The Future Workspace
Perspectives on Mobile and Collaborative Working”; MOSAIC - www.mosaic-network.org. 17 [7]
Collaborative Working Environments : Collaborative Working Environments Types of Collaborative Work Environments (CWEs):
Co-located, when the people collaborating are in the same place;
Distributed, when they are not in the same place;
Centralised; when they are in “their” workplace in the office or factory;
Mobile, when they are moving. 18
Desirable properties of the future CWE : Desirable properties of the future CWE Current work paradigms based on collaboration, usually suffer from a number of problems and inertias derived from the impossibility of working in truly collaborative working environments:
incompatibilities between applications, data and usage patterns;
the need for changes in the way people interact with each other and surrounding artefacts;
communication problems derived from heterogeneous groups working together (different cultures, organisations, types of work);
unresolved IPR issues;
the need for a critical mass using the same tools in order to be productive [6].
These well-known characteristics lead us to the desirable properties of the future CWE (what we want to achieve):
ease of use; interoperability, scalability, service-oriented architectures, anyplace and anytime capabilities, high quality of service, security, etc [6].
Views on Collaboration : Views on Collaboration 20
e-Business Index 2005 by Sector : e-Business Index 2005 by Sector Both Automotive and Aerospace sectors are pretty well ranked in terms of ICT Infrastructure and e-Commerce Activity
The Construction sector, despite being one of the largest within the EU, still lags quite behind many other sectors
Views On Collaborative Technology [Automotive; Aerospace and Construction] : Views On Collaborative Technology [Automotive; Aerospace and Construction] All the stakeholders* are interested in application sharing tools, and they would like to limit the number of tools which designers and engineers need to learn how to operate.
In particular, they are interested in tools which could replace face to face meeting but still allow remote collaborators to build and recognise trust in their partners and associates.
Some are interested in a knowledge management tool (which could also be used via a PDA) which different partners can connect to and access, edit and upload information depending on their access rights and the fees paid.
* - Aerospace – CERFACS; CIMPA.
Automotive – Virtual Dimension Center (VDC); PANAC; Varinex.
Construction – COWI.
Views On Collaboration [Automotive; Aerospace and Construction] : Views On Collaboration [Automotive; Aerospace and Construction] Some of the stakeholders are interested in the social approaches to facilitating collaboration in the workplace. In particular, they are interested in learning how to increase the acceptance of new technologies amongst engineers, i.e. change management issues.
There is also an interest in understanding what collaboration actually is on a day to day basis – what its features are, and how it can be improved. In addition, there is a need to understand the impact of different cultural differences on the way people currently collaborate (and build and assess trust) and whether these differences lead to preferences for different collaboration tools.
The issue of trust was highlighted as being one of the most important factors to SMEs.
Views on Collaboration in Construction : Views on Collaboration in Construction 24
eBusiness W@tch - Construction : eBusiness W@tch - Construction Many companies are reactive, instead of proactive in their use of ICT
This mainly has to do with the nature of work and type of production in the construction sector
The sector is dominated by SME’s which are more reluctant to embrace ICT
There is still great potential for improvement in the adoption of ICT
Views on Collaboration - Construction : Views on Collaboration - Construction There is a major difference between the Construction and the Aerospace and Automotive sectors, regarding the life span of the projects and their respective working relationships.
Construction projects are much shorter, usually lasting a few months to a year. Automotive & Aerospace projects, as well as, working relationships, last several years.
The partner’s focus is on investigating distributed collaboration in the design phase, as there is currently a lack of appropriate tools for partnering design approach
There is also interest on how to exchange and utilise tacit knowledge within an organization, as well as, with external organizations.
Views on Collaboration in Automotive : Views on Collaboration in Automotive 27
eBusiness W@tch - Automotive : eBusiness W@tch - Automotive Despite the fact that numerous e-business applications are frequently used in the automotive industry, research by e-Business W@tch confirms that ICT-enabled innovations still remain a source of competitive advantage.
Interestingly, the relationship between innovative activities and firm performance is independent of company size.
Thus, ICT-based innovations are equally attractive for both large and small enterprises.
ICT and the automotive supply chain : ICT and the automotive supply chain Increasing importance of ICT for make-or-buy decisions by companies in the automotive industry.
The availability of powerful and cheap new ICT can decrease transaction costs and therefore increase the attractiveness of outsourcing.
If increased ICT usage intensifies the process of integration between separate companies and leads to more outsourcing, the supply chain of the automotive industry may change.
A possible outcome would then be the emergence of a network structure in the industry value chain.
Views on Collaboration - Automotive : Views on Collaboration - Automotive In the automotive sector, there is much interest on how collaboration can be improved on day-to-day activities, and also on the cultural differences in the way people collaborate and their impact on collaboration tool choices.
Another area of focus is on how wireless and mobile technologies can be used to improve collaborative work
Internal collaboration, within companies, is usually poor. As for external collaboration, among different companies, is often focused on projects.
Trust is one of the most important factors that must be replicated in collaboration tools, in order for these to be effective.
Views on Collaboration in Aerospace : Views on Collaboration in Aerospace 31
eBusiness W@tch - Aerospace : eBusiness W@tch - Aerospace ICT is a potential source of competitive advantage, as an enabler and driver of innovation
ICT-enabled process innovations are positively associated with increasing turnover among firms in the industry.
The importance of the value chain integration is clearly illustrated by the intensive use of applications supporting inter-organisational processes such as product design, demand forecasting and capacity management.
Views on Collaboration - Aerospace : Views on Collaboration - Aerospace In this sector, the partner is already aware of the many tools that are available (audio/video, chat, whiteboard, App. Sharing, remote display, etc).
Partner has developed a new state-of-the art collaborative tool, however, engineers are reluctant to use it
Partner is interested in learning about the social approaches to assisting collaboration, in particular, on how to increase the acceptance of new technologies amongst engineers
Main question: “Is the reluctance to use new collaboration tools driven by technical or social problems?”
Barriers to Collaboration : Barriers to Collaboration 34
Barriers to Collaboration : Barriers to Collaboration The barriers to collaboration can be grouped into the following major categories:
Physical and Technological Impacts
Behavioural and Social Impacts
Cultural Issues
Professional Culture and Multidisciplinary Collaboration
Physical and Technological Impacts : Physical and Technological Impacts Cost related
Cost of implementing the technology
Time related
Difference in time zones
Distance and space related
Lack of physical proximity
Software
Problems with new technologies
Physical and Technological Impacts (cont.) : Physical and Technological Impacts (cont.) Technical, training and support
Lack of training and support
Environmental
Poor lighting and air quality, etc.
Hardware
Incompatibilities
Accessibility
Technology cannot be used by less-abled
Behavioural and Social Impacts : Behavioural and Social Impacts Greatest single hindrance in using collaborative tools is the failure to adapt and understand human behaviour
The lack of social cues that exist in face-to-face communication is one of the greatest disadvantages of distributed teams that is difficult for technology to replicate
However, the unwillingness to adapt to change, is an important issue which can hinder proper usage of collaborative tools
Cultural Issues : Cultural Issues Intercultural differences are a major issue where international collaboration exists
Misunderstandings and misinterpretations may arise because of language barriers and different cultural views
Cultural stereotypes can also be a hindrance to collaboration
Finally, different cultures have different attitudes towards collaboration. Some cultures have more collective tendencies (Asia, Middle East), whereas others are more individualistic (North America, Europe)
Professional Culture and Multidisciplinary Collaboration : Professional Culture and Multidisciplinary Collaboration Professional culture is based on:
Values: “the preferences people use to make work related and communication related decisions in projects”
Practices: “cultural norms for adopting specific project management styles and organisation structures”
Multidisciplinary collaboration – people from different disciplinary backgrounds working together as a team and collaborating across organisation barriers
Professional Culture and Multidisciplinary Collaboration (2/2) : Professional Culture and Multidisciplinary Collaboration (2/2) Advantages of multidisciplinary collaboration:
Innovative approaches and solutions to problems due to the juxtaposition of ideas, tools and people from different domains
Diverse skills can be brought together to tackle issues that are usually too difficult to solve in one discipline alone
Difficulties in multidisciplinary collaboration:
It is harder for multidisciplinary teams to collaborate given the lack of interpersonal ties and different professional loyalties
Barriers to overcome in Multidisciplinary Collaboration : Barriers to overcome in Multidisciplinary Collaboration Establishing trust – Different disciplines usually have different goals, world-views, and problem solving approaches and methods. If any of these conflict within a team, it is difficult to establish trust within the team.
Differing terminologies and technical terms can hinder communication between workers. Efforts must be made to convey information in a clear way, free of technical jargon
Barriers to overcome in Multidisciplinary Collaboration : Barriers to overcome in Multidisciplinary Collaboration Lack of knowledge sharing between teams, departments and organisations. Knowledge hoarding should be avoided and effective knowledge sharing should be encouraged.
Software incompatibility can be an obstacle to effective knowledge sharing.
Barriers to overcome in Multidisciplinary Collaboration : Barriers to overcome in Multidisciplinary Collaboration Poor organisation or failure to establish roles and responsibilities can occur in multidisciplinary teams. It is important to establish clear roles and responsibilities for each team member.
It’s essential to maintain continuous communication throughout the project in order to maintain the focus on the project’s overall goals, as opposed, to individual goals
Key to successful collaboration : Key to successful collaboration 45
Key to successful collaboration: a human-centered approach : Key to successful collaboration: a human-centered approach Only providing team members with the necessary tools to collaborate is not enough to ensure successful collaboration
Often, what seems to be a limitation can sometimes have a positive effect on group communication as computer mediated communication can reduce social inhibitions and may afford more equal participation in discussions and decision making (regardless of status), and encourage more radical and diverse opinions to be expressed [9].
Collaborative tools must be tailored to individual needs
Key to successful collaboration: a human-centered approach : Key to successful collaboration: a human-centered approach The human-centered approach to collaborative technology will take into consideration the aspects of face-to-face communication that are not possible to replicate, such as:
Sense making – the process of “noticing, interpreting and acting in response to a stimulus”, in reference to the introduction of a new technology, as team members are required to make their own interpretations as to the technology’s use and how it should be incorporated into existing work practices.
Conversational grounding – the process by which communicators exchange evidence in order to reach mutual understanding or common ground. This includes all communicational actions (facial expressions, eye contact, verbal acknowledgements, etc.) and turn-taking strategies. However, this aspect is the most difficult to reproduce in internet based communication, given its asynchronous nature.
Collaborative technologies : Collaborative technologies Collaborative technologies are ‘A combination of technologies that together create a single shared interface between two or more individuals enabling them to participate in a creative process in which they share their collective skills, understanding, and knowledge in an atmosphere of openness, honesty, trust and mutual respect, to jointly deliver the best solution that meets their common goal’ [8]. 48 [8] - Wilkinson, P. (2005). Construction collaboration technologies: The extranet evolution. Taylor & Francis Ltd.
Real Time Audio, Video and Data Collaboration : Real Time Audio, Video and Data Collaboration Access Grid: an ensemble of resources, including multimedia large-format displays, presentation and interactive environments, and interfaces with Grid computing middleware and Visualization environments (Argonne National Laboratory, Chicago)
WhiteBoardMeeting allows users to draw vector graphics, insert text and images, edit existing objects. All users see each other creating and editing objects right away (Iteral Group Ltd.) 49
Groupware* Related : Groupware* Related Classic client-server solutions
Client-server is a computing architecture which separates a client from a server, and is almost always implemented over a computer network. It allows devices to share files and resources. Applications run in home (client) systems.
Web based solutions
A web application framework is a software framework that is designed to support the development of dynamic websites, Web applications and Web services. For example, many frameworks provide libraries for database access, templating frameworks and session management, and often promote code reuse. (e.g. toolbook)
Content Management Systems (CMS)
Content management systems are deployed primarily for interactive use by a potentially large number of contributors to manage computer files, image media, audio files, electronic documents and web content. 50 * GroupWare - computer-based systems and software that supports group work.
Project Collaboration : Project Collaboration Web based solutions
Content management, etc
Wiki engines
Real-time Editors/Designers
Browser-based real-time collaborative editors
Information Technologies Evaluation : Information Technologies Evaluation 52
Desired focus is to solve the following issues : Desired focus is to solve the following issues Integration
Lacking interoperability of design systems and related application such as CAD, CAE, PLM, etc;
Lack of widely accepted standards (Data, Behaviour and Interaction);
Lack of integration of VR/AR in existing applications;
Lack of integration of VR/AR into existing workflows;
Security matters.
Socio-Economic issues
VR-systems still too expensive;
No valid general ROI evaluation (value for money). 53
CoSpaces Project : CoSpaces Project 54
CoSpaces Aims & Objectives : CoSpaces Aims & Objectives CoSpaces Project Aims to:
Develop a generic collaborative engineering environment which can support real-time collaboration between geographically dispersed working teams
The project addresses 3 scientific and technological objectives:
Evaluate collaboration at individual, team and enterprise levels.
Create an innovative distributed software framework to support collaborative work, i.e VR, Aug.R, Immersive.
Validate the distributed software framework for creating collaborative design and engineering working styles. 55
CoSpaces Impact : CoSpaces Impact New collaboration models and technologies enabling new working methods within distributed engineering teams
Team-working in extended enterprises
Integration of Design and Production
Advanced visualisations and simulations
Onsite & design interactivity
Multiple collaboration types
Distributed workspaces
Co-located workspaces
Mobile service workspaces
Living Labs
Aerospace, Automotive, Construction 56
CoSpaces Living Labs : CoSpaces Living Labs 57
Industry Workspaces : Industry Workspaces Three workspaces will be developed for validating industrial applications from the Automotive, Aerospace and the Construction industries: Distributed Design Workspace
addressing ad-hoc and scheduled collaboration between distributed, multi-functional design teams. Collaboration through fixed installations and mobile environments will be considered in this workspace Co-located Design Workspace
addressing how ad-hoc and planned meetings between co-located, multi-functional design teams could be supported, providing enhanced immersion, visualisation, interaction, mobility and flexibility Mobile Service Workspace
addressing generic challenges in supporting mobile site workers to collaborate with remote experts during the realisation or the support phase 58
CoSpaces: Real Innovation : CoSpaces: Real Innovation Organisational Level: Move from current practices of single operator/single function, co-located collaboration and technology-constrained distributed collaboration to systems of true distributed participatory/collaborative processes and technologies, with well understood rationale and business benefits described.
Technological Level: Move from current “single-user” work environments to “community-based” work environments for supporting collaborative product development and extended services. Move from cumbersome user interfaces to ambient, context-aware, multiuser, intelligent interfaces.
Human Level: Move from restricted opportunities to work virtually, and removal of barriers to collaborative and distributed working, from restricted collaborative ICT and human computer interfaces, by the use of rich, flexible, knowledge-based work supported by collaborative ICT and work systems design. 59
CoSpaces: Delivering Value : CoSpaces: Delivering Value Reduced Cost of Change
Automatic reflection of changes without costly system redesign and reengineering work
Quicker Delivery of New Products/Components
Clearer visualisation of needs and Rapid integration of changes
Model-based collaboration system allows design teams to tailor the way they work to specific challenges
Incorporating Existing Tools & Use of Preferred Vendors
Interfaces & specifications compliant with industry standards
Underlying methodologies are tool and vendor independent providing you with great flexibility
Increased Productivity, Better decision-making
More knowledge and information on your products and processes are available to designers
Greater understanding by engineering teams of how components interact, and support business & customer needs 60
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