SAMS: synchronous, asynchronous, multi-synchronous environments

In the context of cooperative work a team alternates divergence phases where each member works in insulation on copies of objects and convergence phases during which the group reconciles and validates data. To support this style of working, we propose the concept of SAMS environment. A SAMS environment allows team members to work in synchronous, asynchronous or multi-synchronous mode while ensuring the coherence of shared data.