The critical nature of some working environments, such as hospitals or search
and rescue operations, gives rise to the need for timely collaboration.
However, interactions are not always possible since potential collaborators may
be unreachable because of the lack of a communication channel to carry out the
interaction or due to their involvement in other activities. The use of
adequate interaction facilitators may allow users to collaborate even in these
circumstances. This paper presents a characterization of this type of situation
and then introduces a set of design suggestions that may help improve
opportunities for user interaction in time critical mobile collaborative
settings.