Abstract
The coordination of complex cooperative work is an intricate matter that can impose a sever workload on the cooperating actors—so much so, in fact, that the magnitude of coordination work can become a general obstruction to work effectiveness, flexibility, or even safety. Therefore, systems for computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) are often engaged as a means of reducing the workload of the coordination activities. In order to arrive at a design that reduces the magnitude of coordination work, some of the coordination formerly performed manually by the cooperative actors will be made part of the CSCW system; that is, certain coordination functions will be supported or even fully automated by the computer system. Workflow systems could, for example, be considered a system that reduces the coordination workload by implementing a pre-specified protocol for the routing of information, and, by providing structured forms, telling the user what information he is expected to enter, etc. In order to establish a basis for designing such systems we need a coherent conceptual understanding of the coordination work conducted.
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Andersen, P.B., Carstensen, P.H., Nielsen, M. (2002). Means of Coordination. In: Liu, K., Clarke, R.J., Andersen, P.B., Stamper, R.K. (eds) Coordination and Communication Using Signs. Information and Organization Design Series, vol 2. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0803-8_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-0803-8_2
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