Basically, the work in SYNERGY is organized into workpackages as shown in figure below:
- Laying the cornerstones: WP1, which involves all partners and is led by the Consortium coordinator, creates a common project understanding between all partners, extensively collects and analyses inputs and requirements from many sources, especially from the SYNERGY use-cases, and then defines the overall con¬ceptual framework, metaphorically spoken, as the map for the land¬scape to be created and explored in more detail in the subsequent technical WPs.
- Knowledge-Based Collaboration in a ?static? world: Driven by these requirements and con-strained by the basic decisions from WP1, three major scientific challenges of SYNERGY regar-ding a ?static world? can be worked on in different workpackages, mainly in parallel:
- WP2, WP3 and WP4 further refine the necessary knowledge and meta knowledge structures, then specify and implement techniques and solutions for Collaboration Knowledge Services (?client side?) Collaboration Moderator Services (?moderator side?), and Collaboration Pattern Services (?moderator side?).
- Knowledge-Based Collaboration in a ?dynamic? world: when the static case is well under-stood and partially solved, WP6 can start working on evolutionary aspects, higher-order learning, etc. Results of WPs 3, 4, 6 together constitute the core of an intelligent, self-adaptive and continuously improving mediation infrastructure for knowledge-based collaboration networked, the ?Learning Virtual Organization?
- Orthogonal ?Service? Workpackages: there are two workpackages more or less orthogonal to others, either delivering services to the core technology research WPs mentioned above, or taking and further processing results from them (besides the Project Management WP11 not shown in the figure):
- WP5 (Knowledge Formalisation) starts when all require¬ments are specified and most basic scenario- and content-specific decisions have been taken; it provides necessary ontology and knowledge management infrastructure to other WPs
- Also late in the project, results from core technology research are taken by WP7 (Software Integration) and integrated into the overall SYNERGY software landscape; WP 7 also makes available required third-party software
WP1 (All): Conceptual architecture Objectives
- To analyse the relevant state of the art
- To define use-cases and gather users? requirements (in collaboration with WP8)
- To identify and develop the top level set of Synergy ontologies
- To develop SYNERGY?s conceptual architecture
D1.1: As-Is and To-Be analysis
WP2 (CU, FZI, LOUGH, EBM WS): Collaboration Knowledge Services Objectives
- To define the structure and scope of repositories and services needed manage sharing and security of collaboration models within enterprises, across potential or existing network enterprises, across industrial sectors or even more widely.
- To support the evaluation of collaboration and other risks in network enterprise collaboration, and to provide tools to propagate risk assessment through the network, and to interpret the results of such calculation as impacts on the network or partner enterprises.
- To provide services to identify the sources of available collaboration knowledge, and a methodology and tools for acquisition from these sources.
- D2.3: Collaboration Knowledge Acquisition Services
- To provide services for intelligent knowledge sharing and collaboration within VOs to increase mutual understanding and awareness between partners and minimise the risks of detrimental impact to the VO of misunderstandings in decisions made by individual partners within the VO.
- To provide services and specialist tool (Collaboration Moderator) to improve and actively support knowledge sharing and interactions between collaborating partners in the VO.
- To design, specify and develop a prototype Collaboration Moderator, which will support collaborative working by raising awareness of the priorities and requirements of different partners within a VO.
- D3.3: Report on design and implementation of a prototype Collaboration Moderator
- To develop a model that depicts, describes and inter-relates collaborative work activities, agents, events, artifacts, services, tools and other important concepts of collaborative work.
- To represent the model in an ontology.
- To develop software that allows for the definition, modelling, discovery, refinement and simulation of collaboration patterns.
- To develop software that assists users to execute and monitor collaboration services according to the selected collaboration pattern.
- D4.1: Collaboration Patterns Model and Ontology
- To analyse requirements for representing all dimensions of collaboration knowledge
- To define formal and conceptual model for knowledge formalisation component
- To develop and test knowledge formalisation component
- D5.1: State of the art in ontology and rule-based management
- To ensure consistent and continual evolution of collaboration knowledge
- To develop an integrated approach for the evolution process
- To define conceptual model for evolution component
- To develop and test evolution component
- D6.1: Report describing state-of-the-art in knowledge evolution and requirement specification
- To integrate all SYNERGY components in one platform
- To evaluate the integrated system according to the defined criteria
- To ensure the quality of the produced software system
- D7.1: Conceptual architecture of the SYNERGY integrated system
- D7.2: Integrated SYNERGY system and system Manual
- D7.3: Evaluated SYNERGY system
- D7.4: Quality assurance of the SYNERGY system
- To provide a detailed understanding of the knowledge sharing and collaboration needs and issues of service creation and operation for stakeholders working within virtual network and organisation contexts.
- To specify and document Requirements and Use-cases for a diverse range of situations as outlined in Objective 1.
- To select through the WP leader, project partners, and application case actors, use-cases for Piloting and Testing of SYNERGY services. The WP Leader together with project partners and the application case actors will select Cases for Piloting and Testing of SYNERGY services
- Evaluation of SYNERGY services based on piloting and testing..
- To collect, reflect on and disseminate both explicit and tacit knowledge from the Lessons Learned from use-case analysis, deployment, testing and validation.
- D8.4: Final evaluation of pilot development and implementation
- D9.1: Report on the SYNERGY methodology for Knowledge-based Collaboration Services
- D10.1: SYNERGY standardisation contributions
- D10.2: SYNERGY scientific and/or business publications
- D10.3: SYNERGY open-source software packages and documentation
- D10.4: SYNERGY web site
- D11.5: EC final report