Hitting the collaboration target: Computer-guided thinkLet selection

Collaborative work practices are now vital to the success of many organizations. Research shows that, under certain circumstances, groups using collaboration technologies can be more efficient and produce better work products than teams who collaborate without technology support. However, despite the advantages collaboration technologies can provide, the key to gaining those advantages is to carefully match specific collaborative activities to a group's needs. This paper presents a proof-of-concept prototype that demonstrates how an expert system, guided by knowledge of the collaboration domain, can support the engineering of effective group work sessions by aiding in the selection of specific collaborative activities that match a group's needs.