Characterisation of collaborative decision making processes

Abstract

This paper deals with the collaborative decision making induced or facilitated by information and communication technologies (ICTs) and their impact on decisional systems. After presenting the problematic, we analyse the collaborative decision making and define the concepts related to the conditions and forms of collaborative work. Then, we explain the mechanisms of collaborative decision making with the specifications and general conditions of collaboration using the modelling formalism of the GRAI method. Each specification associated to the reorganisation of the decisional system caused by the collaboration is set to the notion of decision making centre. Finally, we apply this approach to the e-maintenance field, strongly penetrated by the ICTs, where collaborations are usual. We show that the identified specifications allow improvement of the definition and the management of collaboration in e-maintenance.