Tool Orchestration in e-Collaboration: A Case Study Analyzing the Developer and Student Perspectives

Introduction

The multifaceted benefits emerging from collaboration either at work or educational settings have been well established in previous research work (Dillenbourg et. al., 2011). Technology- supported collaboration (e-collaboration) is always considered as an asset to the toolbox of a company or educational institution (Prinz et. al., 2010). However, integrating advanced e-collaboration technologies into a traditional workplace or classroom is a complex procedure. Among others, one technological factor that causes such complexity is what we call the “tool orchestration” problem. This refers to the necessity of establishing a seamless communication and data flow pattern among the various tools that may be used in a specific e-collaboration scenario.

In this work, we initially explain the tool orchestration problem and we present the MAPIS3 architecture to address this problem. At the same time, we limit our scope and avoid tackling other technical issues such as security concerns (Bracher & Padmanabhan, 2012). We continue by comparing our proposal to other similar solutions presented in the literature, highlighting the expected benefits and possible shortcomings. Finally, we provide architecture evaluation data based on a case study, exploring both the developer’s and user’s perspective.