  Coordination is a key problem for addressing goal-action gaps in many human
endeavors. We define interpersonal coordination as a type of communicative
action characterized by low interpersonal belief and goal conflict. Such
situations are particularly well described as having collectively
"intelligent", "common good" solutions, viz., ones that almost everyone would
agree constitute social improvements. Coordination is useful across the
spectrum of interpersonal communication -- from isolated individuals to
organizational teams. Much attention has been paid to coordination in teams and
organizations. In this paper we focus on the looser interpersonal structures we
call active support networks (ASNs), and on technology that meets their needs.
We describe two needfinding investigations focused on social support, which
examined (a) four application areas for improving coordination in ASNs: (i)
academic coaching, (ii) vocational training, (iii) early learning intervention,
and (iv) volunteer coordination; and (b) existing technology relevant to ASNs.
We find a thus-far unmet need for personal task management software that allows
smooth integration with an individual's active support network. Based on
identified needs, we then describe an open architecture for coordination that
has been developed into working software. The design includes a set of
capabilities we call "social prompting," as well as templates for accomplishing
multi-task goals, and an engine that controls coordination in the network. The
resulting tool is currently available and in continuing development. We explain
its use in ASNs with an example. Follow-up studies are underway in which the
technology is being applied in existing support networks.
