On modeling context-aware social collaboration processes

Inf Syst. 2014 Jul:43:66-82. doi: 10.1016/j.is.2013.05.007.

Abstract

Modeling collaboration processes is a challenging task. Existing modeling approaches are not capable of expressing the unpredictable, non-routine nature of human collaboration, which is influenced by the social context of involved collaborators. We propose a modeling approach which considers collaboration processes as the evolution of a network of collaborative documents along with a social network of collaborators. Our modeling approach, accompanied by a graphical notation and formalization, allows to capture the influence of complex social structures formed by collaborators, and therefore facilitates such activities as the discovery of socially coherent teams, social hubs, or unbiased experts. We demonstrate the applicability and expressiveness of our approach and notation, and discuss their strengths and weaknesses.

Keywords: Collaboration; Process modeling; Social context; Visual language.