Integrating process technology and CSCW

Abstract

Software processes are complex activities where designers, managers, programmers, and users must cooperate to achieve effective results. The work done in the software process community during the last years has been mainly focused on the provision of means to model software processes and to support asynchronous, text-based communication. On the other side, CSCW (Computer Supported Cooperative Work) technology aims at supporting general cooperation activities among human agents exchanging multimedia information. Recently, there has been an increasing interest on the issues related to the integration of these two technologies.

This paper discusses different integration strategies between the SPADE PSEE (Process-centered Software Engineering Environment) and the ImagineDesk toolkit for the development of CSCW systems. It outlines how the advantages and limitations of the two systems can be matched to achieve more effective computer support in software production.