

Specification of collaboration has neglected over a long period although collaboration is one of main conceptions in computer science and computer engineering. We distinguish between collaborations among systems and socio-technical collaboration. Database research has succeeded in developing approaches for collaboration among database systems that incorporate conceptual specification and allow to reason on systems at a far higher abstraction level. Conceptual modelling of socio-technical collaborating systems is however an open research issue. With the advent of web information systems systems became naturally socio-technical and collaborating. Therefore, we need a techniques for conceptual description of collaboration. Collaboration modelling may be based on models for communication, models for coordination, and models for cooperation. In socio-technical systems users work within their local environment and collaborate within the global world. Therefore, users inject their culture and their specific behaviour into collaboration. Users use information, communication, cooperation and coordination services. These services must be highly flexible and adaptable to the needs of users, to the circumstances and contexts of these users, and to the technical infrastructures used.