Collaborative Processes in Industry: Computer Supported Cooperative Work and Traceability

This article presents the contribution of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) research to the development of collaborative processes within an industrial organization. People usually work in a social context where everyone contributes to the evolution of the whole. A decision emerges from the incremental integration of several mini-decisions. This collaborative process is either formal or informal. New information technology supporting networked groups is currently being used and refined according to its usability and usefulness. Since its beginning, CSCW has been developed by computer and social scientists as well as psychologists and anthropologists. It may lead to very different approaches according to culture. Collaborative work has emerged from the evolution of both society and technology. Software technology that supports group interaction is usually called groupware.