GROUPKIT: A GROUPWARE TOOLKIT FOR BUILDING REAL-TIME CONFERENCING APPLICATIONS
Date
1992-03-01
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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.
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Computer Science