Collaboration: asynchronous

Another relevant common aspect is represented by the spatial-temporal characterization of collaboration. Indeed, different styles can be defined according to different time and space combinations different timing and location can characterize groupware activities. Timing depends on whether participants act at the same or different times, i.e. synchronous or asynchronous collaboration. Location depends on where the participants are geographically, whether in the same place (co-located collaboration) or at different sites (remote collaboration) [39]. In product design four collaboration styles can be identified and separately analysed [40] ... 

The traditional education system as encouraging competition and individual responsibility between students and discourages any interaction, whereas the collaborative learning environments redefine the relationship between students and teachers by creating a supporting environment versus a competitive one. In the traditional system the teacher presents the course materials to the class but the asynchronous collaboration transfers the lecturer s role to that of facilitator and resource guide as CSCL requires that the student takes a more active role in his/her own learning. 

Since several years a cross-OEM partnership for the design and the production of several vehicle types is established. From the PLM point of view two types of partnership are established collaboration and asynchronous integration. The collaboration approach is typically used for long term partnerships or will be reused for several project scenarios. The asynchronous integration is well known for ad hoc partnerships and short term or single project partnerships. 

Different to a collaboration platform in which a central tool provides information to all partners and data exchange is supported by a synchronization framework, a neutral data model is a central aspect for asynchronous data exchange. In the automotive industry typically standards like STEP [23] or JT [24] are used for data exchange (see Sects. 21.6.2 and 21.7). It is the responsibility of all partners to provide and accept data in the defined neutral format. PLM integration platforms are typically used to support the data import and export scenarios. 

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