The design of complex artifacts and systems requires the cooperation of multidiscip- nary design teams using multiple commercial and proprietary engineering software tools (e.g., CAD, modeling, simulation, visualization, and optimization), engineering databases, and knowledge-based systems. Individuals or individual groups of mult- isciplinary design teams usually work in parallel and separately with various en- neering software tools which are located at different sites. In addition, individual members may be working on different versions of a design or viewing the design from different perspectives, at different levels of detail. In order to accomplish the work, it is necessary to have effective and efficient c- laborative design environments. Such environments should not only automate in- vidual tasks, in the manner of traditional computer-aided engineering tools, but also enable individual members to share information, collaborate, and coordinate their activities within the context of a design project. CSCW (computer-supported coope- tive work) in design is concerned with the development of such environments.
