🚀 go-pugleaf

I has been isolated from comp.groupware for a month.
Please excuse me if this discussion is duplicate for you.

In CHI'90(April 1-5), there were a lot of discussion about groupware.
There was a panel 'what makes groupware practical'.
Especially, the following remark caught my eyes.
	"Group decision often takes more than a week, even more than a month."

It was discussed by Dr. Lee Sproul(CMU) and Dr. Bob Kraut(Bellcore), I think.
This is very insightful remark for me.
Computer and communication is very fast these days.
Computer processes something in a millisecond or in a second.
Then is it easy to do something in a week?
No! (At least I think no.)
It is totally different to do something in a millisecond from to do something
in a week. 
Some researchers do 'realtime expert system', but I feel we need 'long term
expert system' to support groupware.
What is the keypoint of 'long term knowledge management' or
'long term expert system'?
I think it is decision of 'know-when'.
We need 'know-when' technology which lacks current technology.

It is important to think about 'role', 'social impact', 'context', 'plan' and
so on. However, it is important to consider everything may be fuzzy after
a week or a month.
Then what can we do?
Human being will do 'ensure', 'update', 're-confirm' or
'make alternate decision'.
Of course, computers can do. But when? When in a week or in a month should
computers do these social interactions?
One solution is that human beings teach 'when' to computer systems.
Another solution is development 'know-when' technology.

I am really interested in this 'know-when' technology after CHI'90's groupware
panel.
Any suggestions to related work will be welcome.

-- yam	(a groupwork architect)

-- 
Toshihiko YAMAKAMI(NTT, Japan) Resident visitor in BellLabs until Feb 91
 Room 4G634, AT&T Bell Labs, Crawfords Corner Rd. Holmdel, NJ 07733-1988
 Tel:(201)949-5742	e-mail: yam@vax135.att.com (was: yam@nttmhs.ntt.jp)
 A groupwork architect