An approach to create a virtual network for co-design process>

Abstract: With the increasing popularity of information technologies, many companies try to set up a virtual network in order to share their business information. The purpose of creating such a virtual network is to create a new knowledge base on the combination of the existing knowledge. Collaboration is very necessary in such a virtual network as crass-unit collaboration takes place when people from different units work together in cross-unit teams on a common task or provide significant help to each other. Recently, co-design is an emerging technology in the field of informatics. It is considered as the development of system thinking, and it is a collaborative designing process which recruits designers, researchers, stakeholders and others together. The purpose of this collaborative activity is to sole designing problems. Therefore, if we want to increase collaboration in a co-design process, we need to look at a ways of increasing the efficiency of collaboration. The rapid development of accessible, reliable, and user-friendly information technology offers improvements to traditional collaboration, and makes new approaches possible. Many platforms for the exchange of information such as the Internet, email, and video-conferencing are well established aids to collaborative activities. Therefore, my research investigates to create an efficient virtual network for a co-design process. In this research, I will try to investigate that what is the need of a virtual network for co-design process and what are those virtual network soft-wares which can help us in a co-design process. My research discussion is related to the theory of CSCW (Computer Supported cooperative work).