Collaboration Engineering is a rapidly growing research area originating from various fields, including GSS, CSCW, facilitation, cognitive psychology, and small group research. Collaboration Engineering research focuses on designing recurring collaboration processes that can be transferred to groups to execute for themselves. In particular, Collaboration Engineering research has the following objectives:

1. to create collaboration methods, tools, and technologies for self-directed teams that work together face-to-face or across time and space;
2. to develop theoretical foundations for collaboration processes and the transition of collaborative work practices;
3. to develop structured methods for collaboration process design;
4. to develop modeling conventions for the aspects of collaboration and group processes that are of concern to collaboration engineers; and
5. to develop approaches for measuring and managing collaboration engineering efforts.

As a design approach, Collaboration Engineering deals with high-value collaborative work practices, and the transfer of those processes to practitioners to execute for themselves. Some researchers have focused, for example, on embedding codified collaboration techniques and technologies into the work practice designs. Other researchers have addressed the role of creating simple designs to enable predictable success among the practitioners who use them, with the goal of creating self-directed teams. One particular key focus within Collaboration Engineering is the design, documentation and evaluation of re-usable collaboration activities called thinkLets that yield predictable, repeatable patterns of collaboration among people working together toward a goal.

As the importance of (inter)-organizational collaboration continues to grow, an increasing amount of platforms and software products become available to support collaboration support. Experiences from research and practice show that the successful use of these products by groups is by no means a trivial matter. This research area aims to identify the key concepts behind effective and self-sustained collaboration in organizations, to enable a more profound design and implementation of technology enabled collaboration processes.

Collaboration Engineering has firm ties to the larger IS research field. Collaboration Engineering addresses issues of technology design, technology transition, human computer interaction, technology acceptance, the impact of IT on group work, and cognitive aspects of computer use.

Themes and topics of relevance to this minitrack include, but are not limited to:

Collaboration Technology Adoption, Adaptation, and Transition

• Theories for technology acceptance, use, and diffusion
• Studies on the efficacy of interventions intended to introduce collaborative technologies in an organization
• Theory and practice of creating self-directed team in organizations

• Measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of collaboration processes and systems
• Theories and guidelines for designing collaboration processes
• Strategies for designing collaboration processes & technologies
• Modeling techniques for collaboration and information exchange in groups
• Theoretical foundations of quality measuring constructs relating to mission-critical tasks for which collaboration processes and systems must be designed

• Building robustness into collaboration systems
• Building flexibility and longevity into collaboration systems
• Design principles for collaboration technology
• Proof of concepts - examples of breakthrough collaboration technologies
• Collaboration software architectures

• Studies on the effectiveness of existing and new techniques for divergence (brainstorming), convergence, organization, evaluation, and consensus building
• ThinkLets (collaboration process building blocks) - development, field experiences, laboratory evaluation
• Group processes for requirements specification & analysis
• Collaborative Risk Management

• Effects of facilitation interventions on collaboration performance
• Styles of facilitation
• Embedding facilitation support in groupware technology
• Facilitation of dispersed group processes
• Facilitation guidelines for different socio-cultural environments
• Ethical issues around facilitation

• Abstracts: February 1st trough e-mail to g.l.kolfschoten@tbm.tudelft.nl
• Final papers: March 1st trough the AIS Review System
• Upload instructions can be found at: http://amcis2006.aisnet.org

• AMCIS 2006 will take place in Acapulco, Mexico, August 4-6

Minitrack coordinators

Gert-Jan de Vreede (primary contact)
University of Nebraska at Omaha & Delft University of Technology
Department of Information Systems & Quantitative Analysis
phone: (402) 554-2026 fax: (402) 554-3400
e-mail: gdevreede@mail.unomaha.edu

Robert O. Briggs
University of Alaska & Delft University of Technology
Center for Distance Education
phone (907) 474-7352
e-mail: bob.briggs@uaf.edu

Gwendolyn L. Kolfschoten
Delft University of Technology
Department of System Engineering
phone +31 15 2783567 fax: +31 15 2783429
e-mail: g.l.Kolfschoten@tbm.tudelft.nl