Supporting Effective Collaborative Engineering

Abstract

Facilitating and managing the development and application of effective shared work practice in distributed teams remain a key challenge for effective collaborative engineering. We propose integrated support for project management, collaboration and engineering activities through dedicated task patterns, which are combined into a holistic model of collaborative engineering practice. Flexible enactment support for this model facilitates system and human enactment while using collaboration services as a front-end to project management and engineering facilitates effective teamwork. Finally, a reflexive learning cycle fosters the development of improved shared practice. Experiences in three industrial pilots suggest the applicability of the approach.