Collaborative environments as border agents

Abstract

What information do entities within an enterprise need to share in order to be considered collaborating? How do those entities make decisions? Is this process one that can be captured and implemented in software or stored for future learning? These questions are typical of those asked at the onset of process modeling or for gathering user requirements, but recent work at the US/Mexico border to understand import/export procedures cast them in a new framework. A more critical question may be how does an organization, as typified by their culture, perceive and therefore manage technology?Cultural differences in software development are not always as easily perceived as those at an international border, yet they are just as strong. On one hand, there are "code jocks" that feel that developing software is intensely personal and should not be constrained by a pre-defined process. On the other, "process weenies" that test and accept software for corporate use and wish for order and consistency in how we develop our products. Who is right? They both are. A challenge to collaborative environments is managing the expectations of both.