Diplans: a new language for the study and implementation of coordination

Abstract

In this paper the reader is introduced to coordination in the workplace as an object of scientific study and computer automation. Diplans are the expressions of a new graphical language used to describe plans of operation in human organizations. With diplans, systems of constraint, which may or may not take the form of procedure definitions, can be specified. Among the special strengths of diplans is their ability to render explicit the interactive aspects of complex work distributed over many people and places—in other words, coordination. Diplans are central to coordination technology, a new approach to developing support for cooperative work on heterogeneous computer networks.