Web-based Support Systems (WSS) are an emerging multidisciplinary research area
in which one studies the support of human activities with the Web as the common
platform, medium and interface. The Internet affects every aspect of our modern life.
Moving support systems to online is an increasing trend in many research domains.
One of the goals of WSS research is to extend the human physical limitation of
information processing in the information age.
Research on WSS is motivated by the challenges and opportunities arising from
the Internet. The availability, accessibility and flexibility of information as well as
the tools to access this information lead to a vast amount of opportunities. However,
there are also many challenges we face. For instance, we have to deal with
more complex tasks, as there are increasing demands for quality and productivity.
WSS research is a natural evolution of the studies on various computerized support
systems such as Decision Support Systems (DSS), Computer Aided Design (CAD),
and Computer Aided Software Engineering (CASE). The recent advancement of
computer and Web technologies make the implementation of more feasible WSS.
Nowadays, it is rare to see a system without some type of Web interaction.