A Patterns System to Coordinate Mobile Collaborative Applications

Advances in wireless communication technologies and mobile computing devices open new possibilities to carry out computer-supported mobile collaborative work. However this opportunity brings also a number of challenges to designers, since collaborative applications supporting mobile activities involve requirements which are not present in stationary collaboration scenarios. For example, mobile collaborative applications should not use centralized components because it jeopardizes the autonomy required by mobile workers. In order to help designers to deal with these new requirements, this article presents a patterns system focused on the coordination support required for mobile collaborative work. Such patterns represent reusable designs that help reduce design risks, cost and time. The article also presents three mobile collaborative applications in which proposed patterns were included in their respective designs.