Socially augmented software empowering software operation through social contacts

Socially-Augmented Software

Empowering Software Operation Through Social Contacts

Trans-Atlantic Research and Education Agenda in System of Systems

Raian Ali, Nan Jiang & Huseyin Dogan

www.bournemouth.ac.uk 2

Overview

About me

An example of a Socially-Augmented Operation

Rationale: Power of Contacts

Proposed Concept

Benefits and Examples

Application Illustration

Challenges for Social-Augmentation

Future Work


Socially-Augmented Operation

Augmentation is the action or process of

making or becoming greater in size or amount

(Oxford Dictionaries, 2013)

An example: Relocating and relying on a

friend to find an accommodation.

Socially-Augmented Software is the integration of the power of contacts

and machines to achieve a collective benefit, by ensuring contacts are

connected by the most appropriate means, and that they have the right

tools to make sense of the information and knowledge available to them.


Rationale: Power of Contacts

Paradigm shift: the mind-set of managing network of contacts

using a software is already there.

Some pros and cons of empowering software operations

through contacts:

+ can be very practical when it is relatively difficult to fulfil the

entire requirements of an individual through solely automated

means.

- allow a freestyle interaction that could lead to useless and

even harmful solutions causing e.g. information overload.

Augmenting software with people is challenging and

restrictions need to be carefully designed to avoid discouraging or

confusing users when interacting and cooperating with software.


Proposed Concept

Socially-Augmented Software Process


Benefits and Examples

Enables achieving a range of requirements that would not be achievable through automated means e.g. smart-grip system.

Enables alternative approaches for solving problems more cost-effectively for certain domains, requirements and users e.g. relying on contacts than an e-guide to provide and consume desired services.

Avoids the deployment of expensive IT and business infrastructure e.g. wireless network coverage through contacts.

Enables the formulation of socially-customized solutions within a community to which a user belongs e.g. knowing the habits of a friend when booking a holiday.

Enables a richer accommodation of, and adaptation to, changes e.g. a fully automated tour guide may assume that the hotels in a certain geographic area are unlikely to provide internet.


Application illustration

Consider a museum-guide mobile information system giving

information about pieces of art, alerting of some events in the

museum helping on registering for services, etc.

We divide the operation of socially-augmented software into three

stages

1. Requirements Activation

2. Solutions Evaluation

3. Solution Execution

Ref: Jim Wilson/The New York Times


Requirements Activation

1. Requirements Activation: requirements can be activated by social

requests through a users contacts on behalf of the user.


Solutions Evaluation

2. Solutions Evaluation: software could follow different alternative

solutions in order to fulfil users requirements.


Solution Execution

3. Solution Execution: the software has to execute or facilitate

execution of certain tasks which comprise information extraction

and processing.


Challenges for Social-Augmentation

The baseline criteria for user to request or provide services:

Who – a set of contacts who can request and consume a service.

When/Where – the environment that surrounds both the provider and

the consumer on which they both have no control, i.e. their context.

What – the specification of the services to be provided, i.e. the

information to share and the tasks to execute.

Why – the reason for which a consumer asks for a service, i.e. the goal

which is intended to be achieved.

How – the way by which a contact provides a service. Two main

categories comprise (i) sharing with all and (ii) sharing under demand.


Future Work

Revisit the access policies and roles privileges for organizational

information systems and find out how these will be aligned with users

social life and contacts.

Investigate the influencers on data quality to enable better design for

quality e.g. reliability of user data and social penalties/sanctions.

Test our entire vision on real life case studies and validate the

feasibility of socially-augmented software and consequently address

the issue of people acceptance of this novel software style.

Developers tend to solve socio-technical problems with

techno-social approaches.

Need to consider Human Factors related topics such as human

centered design, human cognition, situational awareness, information

overload, training, organizational and professional culture, and trust.


Contact us

Dr. Raian Ali Email: [email protected] Dr. Nan Jiang [email protected] Dr. Huseyin Dogan [email protected]

mailto:[email protected]



Socially augmented software empowering software operation through social contacts

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