Interaction Design for Finding and Creating Collaboration Opportunities

This paper presents some requirements and mechanisms for the interaction design that helps community members find and create collaboration opportunities based on understanding of potential demands for their knowledge and expertise. We use the trajectory of engagement, which indicates difference in the members’ knowledge and expertise, to promote contributions from them by making them aware of their obligation and expectation. We argue that this approach can increase possible opportunities for collaboration. Although the basic idea is similar to that of the social navigation, our approach aims to support helpers more, in contrast to existing systems that tend to focus on helpees.