Supporting Dynamic Ad hoc Collaboration Capabilities

TL;DR

This paper discusses developing a scalable, flexible collaboration environment with lightweight tools like messaging and file-sharing to support large, dynamic HENP collaborations such as CMS and Atlas.

Contribution

It introduces a new approach for supporting ad hoc and continuous collaboration in large scientific teams through lightweight, flexible tools and scalable communication frameworks.

Findings

Progress in building a dynamic collaboration environment

Design of scalable communication framework

Vision for evolving into comprehensive HENP collaboration tools

Abstract

Modern HENP experiments such as CMS and Atlas involve as many as 2000 collaborators around the world. Collaborations this large will be unable to meet often enough to support working closely together. Many of the tools currently available for collaboration focus on heavy-weight applications such as videoconferencing tools. While these are important, there is a more basic need for tools that support connecting physicists to work together on an ad hoc or continuous basis. Tools that support the day-to-day connectivity and underlying needs of a group of collaborators are important for providing light-weight, non-intrusive, and flexible ways to work collaboratively. Some example tools include messaging, file-sharing, and shared plot viewers. An important component of the environment is a scalable underlying communication framework. In this paper we will describe our current progress on building a dynamic and ad hoc collaboration environment and our vision for its evolution into a HENP collaboration environment.