Classification and organizational issues in distributed problem solving
Mehrtash Tafazzoli Harandi, Gloria Rendon · 1998
Two distinct phases of the Distributed Problem Solving -DPS-process are the definitional/preparatory (articulation) phase and the actual problem-solving (substantive) phase.We have developed a DPS architecture that unifies both of these problem-solving activities into a common framework, providing a new and dynamic paradigm for distributed problem solving.The architecture uses a knowledge/action representation language and s set of fundamental structures (written in that language), proriding different forms of support for the DPS process.This paper presents one of these forms of support; namely, the use of organizational modes to develop the articulation framework of a DPS process.These organizational modes encapsulate information about the problem solvers's constraints and privileges which completely determine their level of autonomy.These organizational modes shape the problem solver's action space with regard to resource management, goal planning, and task management (among others).The paper focuses on the classification of organizational modes with regard to their role in the collaborative problem solving process.