Powermeeting on common ground: web based synchronous groupware with rich user experience

ABSTRACT

The Web has been widely used as a platform for asynchronous collaboration. However, Web based synchronous groupware are still rare, especially those using standard Web browser as front-end. From a technical and social protocol co-evolution perspective, this work examines the Web technical protocol evolution and proposes an AJAX based approach to creating synchronous groupware that may offer a rich user experience. The objective of this work is to make the creation and adoption of such groupware easier, so as to make synchronous collaboration an integral part of collaboration support on the Web. Indirect evidence has been provided to show that this approach offers a practical solution and the objective is achievable.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Computer-supported cooperative work

General Terms:
Design, Documentation, Human Factors, Management

Keywords:
ajax, collaboration, common ground, data replication, groupware toolkit, gwt, rich user experience, synchronous group framework, web 2.0