Le « knotworking » représente une forme innovante d’organisation du travail dans laquelle la collaboration prend place sous la forme d’épisodes en fonction des besoins de la situation. Cela implique de multiples défis pour soutenir la collaboration, dus à la nature épisodique, improvisée et inter-organisationnelle de cette collaboration. Notre objectif dans cette thèse est de relever ces défis, au travers d’un cas d’étude sur les pratiques collaboratives d’un groupe de professionnels de santé libéraux prenant en charge des patients à domicile. Nos résultats montrent : 1) La centralité des artefacts de coordination ; 2) comment la focalisation sur la qualité de vie des patients amène les acteurs de la prise en charge à traiter de problèmes au-delà du périmètre médical ; 3) que les acteurs de santé passent par différents rythmes de collaboration en fonction de l’évolution de la situation de leur patient. Ces résultats nous ont permis de définir des principes de conception et de développer l’application CARE (Classeur pour une Approche en Réseau Efficace), accessible sur une tablette et restant au domicile du patient. Les retours montrent le rôle potentiel des technologies pour motiver la participation de nouveaux acteurs de santé, et pour la mise en place d’un espace partagé pour les différents participants de la prise en charge. Notre travail contribue à la recherche en TCAO en mettant l’accent sur un nouveau modèle d’organisation du travail (knotworking) et en proposant la première étude de cas de conception d’un outil pour assister la collaboration dans ce contexte / The development of new modes of working raises new challenges for supporting collaboration. Knotworking represents an innovative way of organizing work where collaboration occurs in episodes depending on the requirement of the current situation. Supporting collaboration in knotworking presents multiple challenges due to the episodic, improvised, and cross-boundary nature of the collaboration. Our objective in this thesis is to tackle these challenges. Thus, we conducted a design case study investigating the collaborative practices of a group of self-employed care professionals organized as an association which take care of patients at home. The results show: 1) the centrality of the coordinative artifacts for sharing information and coordinating the work; 2) how focusing on patients’ quality of life leads care actors to address issues beyond the medical scope; 3) how the care actors experience different rhythms of collaboration depending on the patient’s situation. Based on these results, we defined some implications for design and developed the CARE application (Classeur pour une Approche en Réseau Efficace), which is accessible via a tablet and stays at the home of the patient. Feedback reveals the potential role of technologies in motivating the participation of new care actors, and in the creation of a shared place for diverse participants. Our work contributes to CSCW by bringing to focus a new model of organizing work named knotworking and by providing a first design case study aiming at supporting collaboration in this context

The thesis deals with methods of real-time data synchronization among multiple clients. The thesis focuses on methods in collaborative RIA systems running on the Internet This methods solve data transfer and conflict resolution caused by competitive clients work on one document. The introduction describes two methods: an established Operational transformation method and the new Differential synchronization method. The thesis describes the principles of both methods and their advantages and disadvantages. The aim of the work is implementing and comparison of Differential Synchronization method with Operational transformation method. These methods are compared in Node.js environment of JavaScript programming language and it is compared their performance in terms of response time and resource requirements. It's identified a problems associated with the method implementations in Node.js and it is described solutions of this problems. In the practical part thesis focus on the describing of performance data and behave of methods during measurement and refuted or confirmed the premises of methods definition assumptions. The Differential Synchronization method is extended by some parts based on the author often criticized issues of method.

In the year 2020, we saw an increase in people working from home and practicing social distancing due to the pandemic caused by COVID-19. It became clear that common tools used to substitute for this physical presence might be considered lacking. The objective of this work was to explore and evaluate a tool for improving communication at a distance and contribute with insight and knowledge to the field of Human-Computer Interaction and Computer Supported Cooperative Work. A prototype system was constructed with commonly accessible and low-cost projectors and web cameras to provide a shared workspace at a distance as a complement to commonly used video calls. A user study was held including seven pairs of participants in which each pair performed collaborative tasks using the system while spatially separated. The System Usability Scale together with a Thematic Analysis of follow-up interviews was utilized to evaluate how the participants perceived the systems usability and affordances. The construction of the prototype system also led to insights on some of its challenges. The results show that the system embodies a high usability and a variety of affordances. The system could therefore be considered as a valid substitute for physical presence in spatially distant collaborative meetings or as an alternative to some commonly used groupware. / Under år 2020 såg vi en ökning av antalet människor som arbetade hemifrån och socialt distanserade sig till följd av pandemin som orsakades av COVID-19. Det blev tydligt att vanligt använda verktyg för att kompensera för denna fysiska närvaro kan anses som bristfälliga. Målet med detta arbete var att utforska och utvärdera ett verktyg för att förbättra distanskommunikation samt bidra med insikter och kunskap till området för människa-datainteraktion och datorstött samarbete. Ett prototypsystem byggdes av allmänt tillgängliga och billiga projektorer och webkameror som ett komplement till ett vanligt videosamtal för att fungera som en delad arbetsyta på distans. Sju par av deltagare deltog i en användarstudie där de fick utföra uppgifter genom systemet samtidigt som de var separerade till olika rum. Deltagarnas uppfattning av systemets användbarhet och användningsmöjligheter utvärderades med hjälp av System Usability Scale och en tematisk analys av uppföljningsintervjuer av användarstudier. Konstruerandet av systemet ledde också till en rad insikter om dess utmaningar. Resultaten visar att systemet innefattar en hög användbarhet samt en variation av olika användningsmöjligheter. Systemet kan därför anses vara ett passande substitut för fysisk närvaro i distansmöten som kräver samarbete eller som ett alternativ för vanligen använda samarbetsverktyg.

In today's highly competitive global economy, information resources representing enterprise-wide information are essential to the survival of an organization. The development of and increase in the use of personal computers and data communication networks are supporting or, in many cases, replacing the traditional computer mainstay of corporations. The client/server model incorporates mainframe programming with desktop applications on personal computers. The aim of the research is to compile a technology model for the development of client/server software. A comprehensive overview of the individual components of the client/server system is given. The different methodologies, tools and techniques that can be used are reviewed, as well as client/server-specific design issues. The research is intended to create a road map in the form of a Technology Reference Model for Client/Server Software Development. / Computing / M. Sc. (Information Systems)

The use and application of 4 Dimensional Computer Aided Design (4D CAD) is growing within the construction industry. 4D approaches have been the focus of many research efforts within the last decade and several commercial tools now exist for the creation of construction simulations using 4D approaches. However, there are several key limitations to the current approaches. For example, 4D models are normally developed after the initial planning of a project has taken place using more traditional techniques such as Critical Path Method (CPM). Furthermore, mainstream methodologies for planning are based on individual facets of the construction process developed by discrete contractors or sub-contractors. Any 4D models generated from these data are often used to verify work flows and identify problems that may arise, either in terms of work methods or sequencing issues. Subsequently, it is perceived that current 4D CAD approaches provide a planning review mechanism rather than a platform for a novel integrated approach to construction planning. The work undertaken in this study seeks to address these issues through the application of a distributed virtual reality (VR) environment for collaborative 4D based construction planning. The key advances lie in catering for geographically dispersed planning by discrete construction teams. By leveraging networked 4D-VR based technologies, multidisciplinary planners, in different places, can be connected to collaboratively perform planning and create an integrated and robust construction schedule leading to a complete 4D CAD simulation. Establishing such a complex environment faces both technological and social challenges. Technological challenges arise from the integration of traditional and recent 4D approaches for construction planning with an ad hoc application platform of VR linked through networked computing. Social challenges arise from social dynamics and human behaviours when utilizing VR-based applications for collaborative work. An appropriate 4D-based planning method in a networked VR based environment is the key to gaining a technical advancement and this approach to distributed collaborative planning tends to promote computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW). Subsequently, probing suitable CSCW design and user interface/interaction (UI) design are imperative for solutions to achieve successful applicability. Based on the foregoing, this study developed a novel robust 4D planning approach for networked construction planning. The new method of interactive definition was devised through theoretical analysis of human-computer interaction (HCI) studies, a comparison of existing 4D CAD creation, and 3D model based construction planning. It was created to support not only individual planners’ work but multidisciplinary planners’ collaboration, and lead to interactive and dynamic development of a 4D simulation. From a social perspective, the method clarified and highlighted relevant CSCW design to enhance collaboration. Applying this rationale, the study specified and implemented a distributed groupware solution for collaborative 4D construction planning. Based on a developed system architecture, application mode and dataflow, as well as a real-time data exchange protocol, a prototype system entitled ‘4DX’ was implemented which provides a platform for distributed multidisciplinary planners to perform real-time collaborative 4D construction planning. The implemented toolkit targeted a semi-immersive VR platform for enhanced usability with compatibility of desktop VR. For the purpose of obtaining optimal UI design of this kind of VR solution, the research implemented a new user-centred design (UCD) framework of Taguchi-Compliant User-Centred Design (TC-UCD) by adapting and adopting the Taguchi philosophy and current UCD framework. As a result, a series of UIs of the VR-based solution for multifactor usability evaluation and optimization were developed leading to a VR-based solution with optimal UIs. The final distributed VR solution was validated in a truly geographically dispersed condition. Findings from the verification testing, the validation, and the feedback from construction professionals proved positive in addition to providing constructive suggestions to further reinforce the applicability of the approach in the future.

Les logiciels de patching audio traditionnels, tels que Max ou Pure Data, sont des environnements qui permettent de concevoir et d’exécuter des traitements sonores en temps réel. Ces logiciels sont mono-utilisateurs, or, dans bien des cas, les utilisateurs ont besoin de travailler en étroite collaboration à l’élaboration ou à l’exécution d’un même traitement. C’est notamment le cas dans un contexte pédagogique ainsi que pour la création musicale collective. Des solutions existent, mais ne conviennent pas forcément à tous les usages. Aussi avons-nous cherché à nous confronter de manière concrète à cette problématique en développant une nouvelle solution de patching audio collaborative, baptisée Kiwi, qui permet l’élaboration d’un même traitement sonore à plusieurs mains de manière distribuée. À travers une étude critique des solutions logicielles existantes nous donnons des clefs de compréhension pour appréhender la conception d’un système multi-utilisateur de ce type. Nous énonçons les principaux verrous que nous avons eu à lever pour rendre cette pratique viable et présentons la solution logicielle. Nous exposons les possibilités offertes par l’application et les choix de mise en œuvre techniques et ergonomiques que nous avons faits pour permettre à plusieurs personnes de coordonner leurs activités au sein d’un espace de travail mis en commun. Nous revenons ensuite sur différents cas d’utilisation de ce collecticiel dans un contexte pédagogique et de création musicale afin d’évaluer la solution proposée. Nous exposons enfin les développements plus récents et ouvrons sur les perspectives futures que cette application nous permet d’envisager. / Traditional audio patching software, such as Max or Pure Data, are environments that allow you to design and execute sound processing in real time. These programs are single-user, but, in many cases, users need to work together and in a tight way to create and play the same sound processing. This is particularly the case in a pedagogical context and for collective musical creation. Solutions exist, but are not necessarily suitable for all uses. We have tried to confront this problem in a concrete way by developing a new collaborative audio patching solution, named Kiwi, which allows the design of a sound processing with several hands in a distributed manner. Through a critical study of the existing software solutions we give keys of comprehension to apprehend the design of a multi-user system of this type. We present the main barriers that we had to lift to make this practice viable and present the software solution. We show the possibilities offered by the application and the technical and ergonomic implementation choices that we have made to allow several people to coordinate their activities within a shared workspace. Then, we study several uses of this groupware in pedagogical and musical creation contexts in order to evaluate the proposed solution. Finally, we present the recent developments and open up new perspectives for the application.

<p>When more than one user uses a system with a single input device, the person in charge of the control is often active, and the by-sitters become passive. This situation can lead to frustration and boredom among the by-sitters. One way to solve this problem could be to distribute the con-trol over the system so that more than one user can control the system simultaneously. These systems, where many users can work simultane-ously with separate input devices connected to the same, shared screen, are called Single Display Groupwares. In this report, a single display groupware prototype for surfing news co-operatively was developed. The purpose of the prototype was to find out if the use of SDGs is likely to be a successful way to engage by-sitters and support co-operation while surfing news through a media terminal. The system was tested on pairs of users. The subjects of thestudy were observed while using the system, and a number of patterns in the users’ strategies in dealing with the si-multaneous input situation emerged. The main conclusions that were drawn from the study were that multiple input can be a good solution when the system is so complex that the use can be divided into several parallel sub-activities. When the use of the system can’t be split into parallel sub-activities, the users will only hinder each other, and the ex-tra input device will just make the division of control unclear without giving any benefit.</p>

Thesis (M.Sc.(Computer Science))--University of Pretoria, 2009. / Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Freiburg im Breisgau. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 215-235).

Web applications offering real-time collaboration support (e.g. Google Docs) allow geographically dispersed users to edit the very same document simultaneously, which is appealing to end-users mainly because of two application characteristics. On the one hand, provided real-time capabilities supersede traditional document merging and document locking techniques that distract users from the content creation process. On the other hand, web applications free end-users from lengthy setup procedures and allow for instant application access. However, implementing collaborative web applications is a time-consuming and complex endeavor since offering real-time collaboration support requires two specific collaboration services. First, a concurrency control service has to ensure that documents are synchronized in real-time and that emerging editing conicts (e.g. if two users change the very same word concurrently) are resolved automatically. Second, a workspace awareness service has to inform the local user about actions and activities of other participants (e.g. who joined the session or where are other participants working). Implementing and integrating these two collaboration services is largely ine cient due to (1) the lack of necessary collaboration functionality in existing libraries, (2) incompatibilities of collaboration frameworks with widespread web development approaches as well as (3) the need for massive source code changes to anchor collaboration support. Therefore, we propose a Generic Collaboration Infrastructure (GCI) that supports the e cient development of web-based groupware in various ways. First, the GCI provides reusable concurrency control functionality and generic workspace awareness support. Second, the GCI exposes numerous interfaces to consume these collaboration services in a exible manner and without requiring invasive source code changes. And third, the GCI is linked to a development methodology that e ciently guides developers through the development of web-based groupware. To demonstrate the improved development e ciency induced by the GCI, we conducted three user studies encompassing developers and end-users. We show that the development e ciency can be increased in terms of development time when adopting the GCI. Moreover, we also demonstrate that implemented collaborative web applications satisfy end-user needs with respect to established software quality characteristics (e.g. usability, reliability, etc.). / Webbasierte, kollaborative Echtzeitanwendungen (z.B. Google Docs) erlauben es geografisch verteilten Nutzern, Dokumente gemeinschaftlich und simultan zu bearbeiten. Die Implementierung kollaborativer Echtzeitanwendungen ist allerdings aufwendig und komplex, da einerseits eine Nebenläufigkeitskontrolle von Nöten ist und andererseits die Nachvollziehbarkeit von nicht-lokalen Interaktionen mit dem gemeinsamen virtuellen Arbeitsraum gewährleistet sein muss (z.B. wer editiert wo). Um die Entwicklung kollaborativer Echtzeitanwendungen effizient zu gestalten, wurde eine Generische Kollaborationsinfrastruktur (GKI) entwickelt. Diese GKI stellt sowohl eine Nebenläufigkeitskontrolle als auch Komponenten zur Nachvollziehbarkeit von nicht-lokalen Interaktionen auf eine wiederverwendbare und nicht-invasive Art und Weise zur Verfügung. In drei dedizierten Studien, die sowohl Entwickler als auch Endanwender umfassten, wurde die Entwicklungseffizienz der GKI nachgewiesen. Dabei wurde die Entwicklungszeit, der Umfang des Quelltextes als auch die Gebrauchstauglichkeit analysiert.