Part V Research Frontiers in HCI

CS631p - Human-Computer Interaction

Spring 2001

Lecture 10

Groupware and Computer-supported Cooperative Work

Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW)

Computer-assisted coordinated activity carried out by groups of collaborating individuals

e.g.

communication
problem solving
co-authoring a document

Groupware - information technology used to help people work together more effectively.

Groupware makes user aware that he is part of a group.
Groupware defined by Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz (1982) their ideas included:

messaging
conferencing
filtered exchanges
relational structures
voting
decision support tools

Computer Supported Cooperative Work (1984) coined by Gireif and Cashman

Today serves as a forum - collaborative/cooperative a metaphor, it could support competition.

A Paradigm Shift for Computing

Transformation from human-machine to human-human interaction

Results from several convergent phenomena:

Pervasive networking
Growth of workgroup computing
Growth of technology supporting executive and managerial group decision making
Merging of telecommunications and computing supporting applications such as video conferencing
Advancement in work-at-a-distance
New technologies - ISDN, DSL, cable modem

Widespread groupware:

Email
Computer conferencing (aka structured email)
Teleconferencing (use of audio/video)
Joint problem solving:

Collaborative writing or drawing
Group decision support systems (with electronic meeting rooms)

A CSW Taxonomy

DeSanctis and Gallup (1987) - 2x2 matrix differentiates groupware technologies into two groups - bridge time and bridge space
Today systems are moving toward anytime/anyplace

	One Meeting Site	Multiple Meeting Sites
Synchronous Communications	Face-to-Face Interactions Public Computer Displays Electronic Meeting Rooms Group Decision Support Systems	Remote Interactions Shared View Desktop conference Systems Desktop Conferencing with Collaborative Editors Video Conferencing Media Spaces
Asynchronous Communications	Ongoing Tasks Team Rooms Group Displays Project Management	Communicationand Coordination Vanilla email Async conferencing bulletin boards Stuctured messaging systems Workflow management Version Control Meeting Schedulers Cooperative hypertext, organizational memory

Asynchronous Groupware

Supports communication and problem solving among groups of individuals who contribute at different times

Email and computer conferencing systems
Structures messaging systems
Cooperative hypertext or hypermedia systems

Email and Computer Conferencing

Most successful: asynchronous, fast, can be sent to multiple receivers, has built-in external memory
Can contain text, image, video, sound
Organized email:

Computer conferencing system:

Messages organized by topic, emphasizing dialogue

e.g. Comic Chat (Microsoft)

D. Kurlander, David H. Salesin, T. Skelly. "Comic Chat." Proceedings of SIGGRAPH 96, in Computer Graphics Proceedings, Annual Conference Series, 225-236, August 1996.

Electronic bulletin boards:

Messages organized by time, emphasizing broadcast of information

Case study by Sproull and Kiesler (1991)

Electronic communications increase informational and emotional connections of employees

Especially those geographically or hierarchically peripheral to center of activity

Two groups working on project
One group used electronic communication other not
e - supported group achieved greater breadth of access and greater opportunity to lead or participate
Result: higher degree of contact, felt more involved in group work, reported less communication isolation

Structured Messages, Agents and Workflow

Structured messaging systems - better methods of organizing, classifying, filtering, and managing messages
Agent - create intelligent messaging system delegating tasks to computer process
Workflow - focus on messages that define processes - sets of rules which create conversations

Cooperative Hypertext and Organizational Memory

Applications which focus on messages or documents and their interrelationships - cooperative hypertext systems

Support:

collaborative knowledge building
Asynchronous collaborative writing
Creating organizational memory

e.g. Schatz (1991-1992)

Community systems project - build electronic scientific community by collecting all community's scientific Knowledge and make available
The Telesophy System - 500 researchers studying the nematode worm

Extend support beyond document to include process. (Conklin 1992)

Software integrates three technologies:

Hypertext, groupware, and a rhetorical method (improves dialogue and conversational record and Organizational memory

Most successful organizational memory - Lotus Notes

Integrated communications and database network application
Designed to gather, organize, distribute information among workgroups
Platform for developing workgroup applications
Used for message routing, report distribution, idea discussion, and for tracking and managing projects
Biggest application - Price-Waterhouse (tens of thousands of notes licenses) why?

No on knew who had knowledge to solve a particular problem
Constantly reinventing wheel worldwide
Need for better communication
Results:

Retention of knowledge
Support for global collaboration and global discussion
Enhanced communication

Synchronous Groupware

Software that assists a group of individuals in working together simultaneiously to carry out a task
Four classes:

Desktop conference systems (e.g. outlining, writing, sketching, spreadsheet)
System infrastructure for desktop conferencing
Electronic meeting and decision rooms
Media spaces that include computer controlled AV networks and virtual meeting environments

Desktop Conferencing Systems

NLS shared-screen conferencing systems 1968 -augment face-to-face communication
Xerox Parc Colab Project 1987

Tools for collaborative brainstorming, argument development, free style sketching
Workstation-based with large touch screen in front of room
WYSIWIS (what you see is what I see)

System Infrastructure for Desktop Publishing

Two approaches to developing groupware:

Collaboration transparency - single user software made available to group
Collaboration aware - rewritten software for group use

#1 is simplest approach - some software run on multiple workstations under control of screen sharing software
Example Systems:

Groupkit (Roseman and Green berg)
Rendevous (Patterson et al)

Electronic Meeting and Decision Rooms

Decision support systems - work in electronic meeting room

Supports parallel or sequential activity

Support:

Idea generation
Idea organization
Voting

e.g CIMBLE

Media Spaces

Computer controlled teleconferencing system where A/V communication and shared digital workspaces overcome physical separation

e.g. Hiroshi Ishii - Teamwork system

Display of shared digital workspaces with displays of drawing surfaces and desktop materials
Implements seamlessness between individual and workgroup by overlaying translucent workgroup by overlaying translucent workspace images-live video analog images of computer screens and desktop surfaces
Computer screen overlay is a shared screen combining windows from individual collaborators
Creates shared interpersonal space using small windows displaying live video of one's collaborator
Extended with ClearBoard

Other systems: CAVECAT (University of Toronto)

Challenges for Deployment

Requires all group members to use - not everyone benefits
Evaluating groupware difficult
Need critical mass of users
Difficult to support existing social conventions
High degree of execution handling
Must be unobstrussive