Collaborative problem framing at scale on an online platform for professionals

This study investigates how collaborative problem framing is accomplished at scale on Stack Overflow, a large-scale online community question answering platform for software developers. Drawing on the practice-based theoretical perspective, the study examines how users coordinate problem framing through interactions with one another and with the platform via asking, commenting on, and editing questions. Based on the sequential analysis of four Stack Overflow threads, the findings specify the role of dynamic jointly created profession specific objects in producing broadly intelligible and solvable problems. The study also unpacks how the technical features of the platform, more specifically the dynamics of the dual space of editing and commenting, enable problem framing and solving to unfold at scale. Finally, the findings unpack interactional strategies enacted by users to coordinate problem framing on the large-scale platform. The study suggests contributions to the fields of professional learning and design of online environments aimed to support problem solving and collaborative activities more broadly.