Understanding Networked Applications:
A First Course
Chapter 2
by
David G. Messerschmitt
Definitions
•
•
•
•
What is an application?
What is a technology?
What is information technology?
What is the relationship between application
and technology?
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Application
• Application = something that puts technology to
use to the benefit of someone
• Technology = something that puts scientific
principles to use
• Terms are relative (e.g. Pentium/PC)
• In this course, we are interested in the level at
which technology meets users (people) and
organizations
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Types of applications
• Individual = entertainment or productivity
• Social = groups of users
• Information management = access to or
manipulation of information
• Educational = contribute to learning or
training
• Organizational = aid mission or operations
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Important ingredients
•
•
•
•
Information technology
Information
Users (people)
A purpose or mission (application)
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A First Course
Understanding Networked Applications:
A First Course
Social Applications
by
David G. Messerschmitt
Social Applications
• Categories of user groups
• Styles of social applications
• Illustrative social applications
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A First Course
Objectives
• Identify distinctive types of user groups
– In terms of impact on application needs
• Identify distinctive types of social
applications
– In terms of applicability to different groups
• Note: terminology specific to networked
applications, not general society
– e.g. citizenry
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A First Course
Group Characteristics
• What characteristics of a group are relevant
to
– application design and features
– information technology infrastructure
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A First Course
Group Characteristics
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•
•
•
•
Size
Narrowness of purpose
Duration
Frequency and type of interaction
Social relationships
– communication links
– trust (individual and generalized)
– expectations and routines
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A First Course
Group characteristics (cont.)
• Technology accessibility
• Language skills
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A First Course
Group classification
• Note: any classification is imperfect
• Goal is insight into different application
requirements
–
–
–
–
–
Individual
Task group
Work group
Interest group
Citizenry
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A First Course
Categories of user groups
Individual
Task group
Citizenry
Work group
Interest group
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A First Course
User groups
• What are some examples of:
–
–
–
–
Task group?
Work group?
Interest group?
Citizenry
• In:
– University?
– Company?
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A First Course
Important to application style
Individual
Task group
Work group
Each member
knows the other
members
Loose-knit
social organization
Interest group
Citizenry
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A First Course
Important for infrastructure
requirements
Individual
Task group
Does
Interaction does not
have full attention
of users
Work group
Interest group
Citizenry
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A First Course
Task Characteristics
• Communication
• Coordination
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A First Course
Communication Applications
Immediate
Deferred
Direct
Same
time
Publication
Different
time
Same
Place
Different
place
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A First Course
Some Examples
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•
•
•
•
Newsgroup
Chatroom
Telephony
Web Board
Net Meeting
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A First Course
Styles of social applications
Immediate
Direct
Publication
Deferred
Full attention of users required?
Other group members known?
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A First Course
Styles (con’t)
Immediate
Direct
Publication
Deferred
Infrastructure delay requirements?
One or two-way communication?
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A First Course
Styles (con’t)
Immediate
Direct
Publication
Deferred
In which box would you put?
Remote conferencing
World-wide Web
Pointcast
Facsimile
Television broadcast
Electronic and voice mail
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A First Course
Styles (con’t)
Immediate
Direct
Publication
Deferred
In which box would you put?
Newsgroup
Calendar and scheduling
Chatroom
Telephony
Groupware
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A First Course
Some variations
Immediate
??
Direct
Messaging
??
Publication
Deferred

Voice mail

??

Newsgroup
Broadcast video 
??
??
 World-wide Web
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A First Course
Task group
Immediate
Deferred
Direct
What is the appropriate role
for each box in a task group?
Publication
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A First Course
Work group
Immediate
Deferred
Direct
What is the appropriate role
for each box in a work group?
Publication
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A First Course
Interest group
Immediate
Deferred
Direct
What is the appropriate role
for each box in an interest group?
Publication
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A First Course
What has changed?
Immediate
Deferred
Direct
How does networked computing
change the world (if at all) in each box?
Publication
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A First Course
Citizenry
Immediate
Deferred
Direct
What is the appropriate role
for each box in the citizenry?
Publication
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A First Course
Coordination Applications
• Resource allocation
• Monitoring and notification
• Collective decision-making
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A First Course
Examples
• Collaborative authoring
• Calendar and scheduling
• Awareness
– Who’s available now?
– Who did this?
• Electronic voting
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A First Course
What Kinds of Groups?
• Resource allocation
• Monitoring and notification
• Collective decision-making
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Issues in social applications
• How effective is remote collaboration
relative to personal interaction?
• What are some advantages/disadvantages of
geographic dispersal to organizations?
• What are the relative merits of immediate
and deferred styles?
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Understanding Networked Applications:
A First Course
Information management
by
David G. Messerschmitt
Summary
• Information management for individual user
• Information management as an element of a
social application
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A First Course
How networked computing helps
information management
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•
•
•
•
Timeliness
Wider access
Processing
Multimedia
Social aspect
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A First Course
How networked computing helps
•
•
•
•
•
Timeliness
Access
Processing
Multimedia
Social aspect
What are some specific ways
these can help (or hurt)
organizations?
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A First Course
Participants
Author or publisher
User
Indexer or organizer
Librarian or teacher
Recommender
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A First Course
Participants
User
Author or publisher
Indexer or organizer
Librarian or teacher
Recommender
Who fills these roles in an organizational
context?
How might these roles be affected by
networked computing?
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Push vs. pull
User
Pull
Control over what is provided
Time when it is provided
Push
Intermediate cases:
Notification
Subscription
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Publisher
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A First Course
Push vs. pull
User
Pull
Push
Publisher
What are some examples of each in
an organizational context?
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Proper roles of push and pull?
Pull: work
Push: attention
Brainstorming
Notification of topic
Accessing documents
Notification of
document availability
Reminder of deadlines
As networked computing grows, the deluge
of information and communication can overwhelm
the individual unless we use it wisely
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Finding useful information
• Search
• Browse
• Navigate
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A First Course
Others can help
•
•
•
•
Author: Hyperlink
Author or third party: Index
Metadata
Reviews or recommendations
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Social information access
• A group can collectively access information
• Examples:
– Remote collaboration
– Problem solving, e.g. customer service
– Aid of librarian or teacher
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