1. modern linguistics as a change of paradigms

Coordination

In coordinated systems, users' actions are directed by a coordinator in order to achieve common goals. Systems that use coordination are often hierarchical or role-based, since by definition the coordinator assigns tasks and the other users carry them out. It is the job of the coordinator to determine which users are best suited to perform which tasks, and to develop processes and assignments that lead to achieving the desired goals with the least amount of waste. The objective of coordination is to ensure that each participant is aligned with an overall goal, or “pulling in the same direction.” Simply put, coordination is about efficiency.
In a coordinated system, it is entirely possible that the individual users are not fully aware of the macro-level goals of the coordinator. They simply carry out the tasks that were assigned to them. Communication in a coordinated system often centers around the assignment and status of tasks. There can be communication between users, but much of the communication is focused on the link between the coordinator and the users.
For successful coordination users need to know what they are supposed to do, and how their actions contribute to the group's goal.
When building systems that rely on coordination, it is critical to understand users' roles and the tasks they are supposed to carry out. Often, there should not be a wide degree of latitude or flexibility in the system. The system should put what the user is supposed to do directly in front of them and make it as easy as possible for them to accomplish their task.

Collaboration

Collaboration is all about shared creation. In a successful collaboration, the users have a high-level shared vision of the goals they are trying to achieve, but they may not fully understand how they are supposed to get there. Each user comes to the collaboration with different skill sets, world views, and ideas about how to achieve their shared goals. Ideally, users will bring complementary skill sets allowing them to create something new and of higher quality than any of the individual users could have created independently.
In real time collaborative systems, users need to be able to explore their own ideas independently but also need to be able to come together to exchange ideas in order to fuse multiple viewpoints into a single shared output. Users need to see what the other users are thinking to build off of those ideas by applying their own unique skill sets. Collaboration values ideation and creation over process and efficiency. Users may iterate and explore in an attempt to continually refine the work product.
In physical collaboration (not in software), high-performing groups will eventually self-organize.
To be successful, collaborative systems need to be flexible enough to promote independence, exploration and group self-organization.
In some instances, you may find sub-groups form and temporarily adopt one of the other interaction modalities (such as coordination) and then return to the collaboration with some portion of the work product. Communication also needs to be very flexible since the exchange of information can flow between any users and the most efficient form of communication may vary widely between groups of users depending on how they are interacting.
There is no “best” style of interaction that works for all systems and users, but we can suggest a few guidelines: If creativity with a focus on common goals is paramount, then collaboration might be ideal. If a high degree of independence is needed cooperation may fit the bill. If process efficiency is king, then coordination could be the answer. In fact, you may find that the system you are trying to build requires a combination of these interaction styles depending on the task at hand. Groups of users may need to move in and out of the different interaction modalities as the work evolves. Some users in your system may be coordinating while others are collaborating. Failing to provide the right interaction style at the right time will lead to friction in the system and lower user satisfaction.
While the full complexities of user interaction in the context of software systems can’t be fully explored in a single blog post, having a basic understanding of the "Four Cs" is a great foundation from which to start designing a multi-user software product. At Convergence Labs, we’ve designed dozens of successful collaborative applications. If you are considering providing real time collaboration in your app, get in touch with us and we can help you design a great user experience your users will love.
References:
[1] http://proceedings.aom.org/content/2014/1/13532?related-urls=yes&legid=amproc;2014/1/13532
[2] http://www.sccharterschools.org/assets/documents/collaborationvsthe3cs.pdf