ABSTRACT: The article discusses two basic models of collaborative teamwork, comparing their relative merits in terms of technology-based collaboration and the social aspects of information systems. The models are termed ostensive and performative. The ostensive approach defines how things should be done, and is said to be useful for analysis, documentation, simulation and automation. The performative approach focuses on observing actual practices, and is recommended for discovering innovative methods for using existing systems as well as monitoring deviations from normative practice.
Key words and phrases: collaboration, coordination theory, modeling, social network models, temporal models, workflow