A Framework for collaborative writing with recording and post-meeting retrieval capabilities

Abstract

From a HCI perspective, elucidating and supporting the context in which collaboration takes place is key to implementing successful collaborative systems. Synchronous collaborative writing usually takes place in contexts involving a “meeting” of some sort. Collaborative writing meetings can be face-to-face or, increasingly, remote Internet-based meetings. The latter presents software developers with the possibility of incorporating multimedia recording and information retrieval capabilities into the collaborative environment. The collaborative writing that ensues can be seen as an activity encompassing asynchronous as well as synchronous aspects. In order for revisions, information retrieval and other forms of post-meeting, asynchronous work to be effectively supported, the synchronous collaborative editor must be able to appropriately detect and record meeting metadata. This paper presents a collaborative editor that supports recording of user actions and explicit metadata production. Design and technical implications of introducing such capabilities are discussed with respect to document segmentation, consistency control, and awareness mechanisms.