Determining the causes of end-to-end delay in CSCW applications

Collaborative multimedia applications are becoming mainstream business tool s. Useful work can only be performed if the subjective quality of the appli cation is adequate. This is influenced by many factors including the end-sy stem and network performance. End-to-end delay has been identified as a sig nificant parameter affecting the user's satisfaction with the application. Earlier work has determined acceptable delay bounds for undertaking real ta sks. This paper describes an investigation of the system components that co ntribute to this delay. The components contributing to the delay of audio a nd video have been measured and the major sources identified. (C) 2000 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.