GROUPKIT: A GROUPWARE TOOLKIT FOR BUILDING REAL-TIME CONFERENCING APPLICATIONS

Date
1992-03-01
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Abstract
(Submitted to the 1992 ACM Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW'92), Toronto). This paper presents our approach to the design of groupware toolkits for real-time work, and how the design is instantiated in our toolkit, \s+1G\s-1ROUP\s+1K\s-1IT. The design is based on both the technical underpinnings necessary for real-time groupware, and on user-centered features identified by existing CSCW human factors work. We also present three strategies for building \s+1G\s-1ROUP\s+1K\s-1IT's components. First, an extendible, object-oriented run-time architecture supports managing distributed processes and the communication between them. Second, transparent \fIoverlays\fR offer a convenient method for adding general components to various groupware applications, for example supporting gestures via multiple cursors and annotation via sketching. Third, \fIopen protocols\fR allow the groupware designer to create a wide range of policies, accommodating group differences in areas such as conference registration and floor control.
Description
Keywords
Computer Science
Citation