Lightweight Collaboration

1. Lightweight Collaboration Lisa M. Smith Michelle Chang Pratik Dave CPSC 672 Topic 4 Presentation

2. lightweight “without much user involvement” [dourish and bly, 1992] lightweight communication impromptu quick/easy to initiate short/informal multiple/distinct occurrences lightweight interaction two-way (dyadic) example systems & issues dyadic Montage 1994, Sunsoft TeleNotes 1997, Lotus Development Corporation distributed work groups Portholes 1992, Xerox EuroPARC/PARC multiple users CWB 2002, Mitsubishi Electric Research Laboratories Lightweight Collaboration

3. dyadic Montage [tang et al.] hallway metaphor lightweight audio/video glances accessibility modes do not disturb, locked, out of office, other 3-way support results similar to face-to-face or phone provide awareness TeleNotes [whittaker et al.] presentation metaphor stack of stickies per topic Notes database lightweight features conversational threading, one-way drop, quick connection, context preservation and regeneration, shared objects results quicker to start, “quickfire” exchanges, personal reminding and notes for others Lightweight Collaboration: systems and issues

4. distributed work groups Portholes [dourish and bly] joint management of distributed data space by cooperating servers iterative design/development/use broadcast mode all users have access to all information results shared awareness “sense of community” multiple users CWB: Collaborative Web Browsing [esenther] multiple users synchronize views of web pages while talking on phone “one-click collaboration” shared pointer results ‘casual collaboration’ between arbitrary users unobtrusive avoids pre-collaboration and trust requirements Lightweight Collaboration: systems and issues (cont.)

5. awareness gives daily view of work environment who’s around? what activities are going on? who’s talking to whom? helps maintain relationships informal interactions spontaneous connections development of shared cultures co-located groups distributed groups at multiple sites issues how awareness information affects/supports collaborative work? what awareness information is meaningful and how to provide it? how to effectively present useful awareness information in user interface design? further information/overview see [liechti, 2000] Awareness

6. peripheral awareness systems providing awareness information via software residing in user’s peripheral attention how systems present information without requiring focus of attention calm technology (Weiser and Brown) “move easily from the periphery of our attention, to the center, and back” Natalie Jeremijenko’s “Dangling String” example system Sideshow [cadiz et al, 2002] , Microsoft Research internet or intranet information; screen real estate; launch point for accessible (further) information tickets on side bar of primary display results “stay aware of important information without switching away from primary task” Peripheral Awareness

7. situational awareness also referred to as peripheral awareness continually monitoring variety of inputs (auditory, visual, tactile), instantly shifting attention if required safety or time critical systems example air traffic control ethnographic studies: role of paper flight strips [mackay, 1999], University of Aarhus this is a “honed skill”: passive and active unobstrusively monitor evolving situation process multiple threads extract information as needed off-duty team members “chatting” students must gradually learn Situational Awareness

8. framework for cooperative problem solving airline operations [mccoy et al.], situation real-time information background knowledge cooperation (knowledge needed for decision-making) shared understanding of local situations interpersonal bonds (trust) results: level of detail needed to maintain situational awareness varies on circumstances safety or time critical systems, further information military see [kruse, 2000], University of Arizona emergency service work (CAD) see [pettersson et al., 2002], Sweden, Manchester Metropolitan University Situational Awareness:research

9. Mobile Ad hoc Collaboration

10. Mobile Ad hoc Collaboration • Spans geographic separation and time • Challenges: • Poor Wireless bandwidth networks • Out of service area • Pre-defined group doesn’t exist • Creating an active seamless link • Other user already engaged or mobile device switched off

11. Hocman • Mattias Esbjornsson and Mattias Ostergren Mobility, Interactive Institute, Stockholm Sweden • Ad hoc collaboration among motorcyclists • HTTP peer to peer application • Share audio, images, HTML documents on a handheld device • Maintains profiles of motorcyclists in the vicinity

12. RoamWare • Mikael Wiberg, Umea University, Sweden • Seamless interaction in between mobile meetings • 3 components: Desktop, PDA, Radio PDA : records meeting interactions, times, participants Radio: finds names & emails of all participants in the vicinity Desktop: allows user to sync and refine notes on office PC.

13. Call-Kiosk • Thomas Rst, Patrick Brandmeier, Gerd Herzog, Elisabeth Andre, German Research Center for AI, Germany • Simulates the function of a tourist office • Information delivered as WML pages stored on server • Client downloads pages to mobile device

14. WebSplitter • Richard Han, Veronique Perret, Mahmoud Naghshineh, IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center, NY • Form of collaborative web browsing • Different access privileges to different parts of the same web page • Creates partial views depending on user login • Uses a server-side XML metadata policy file

15. Instant Messaging and Chat

16. Synchronous/Interactive immediate context less likelihood of misunderstandings Can be used asynchronously conversation at slower pace throughout day flexible for globally/temporally distributed groups Highly visible alerting mechanism higher probability of response reasonable deniability stays on screen, low cost for response Informal/Coordinate social activity contact with family/friends useful in scheduling alternate media contact Awareness/Socially Translucent Interfaces e.g. door with sign versus glass window easier to conform to social conventions awareness of availability serves as a cue for opportunistic interaction Lightweight ease of initial setup ease of ongoing interaction continual presence swift exchanges easy to locate colleagues/respond Large-scale Problems to Adoption: privacy issues critical mass required General Issues with Instant Messaging

17. Problems with IM/Chat Communication • Lack of Recognition • Lack of Intention Indicators • Typing Inefficiency • Diminished effectiveness for slower typists • Lack of status information • Lack of context From: “Alternative Interfaces for Chat” Vronay, Smith, and Drucker (UIST ’99)

18. Babble • IBM (CHI ’99) • Part of “Loops” project (“keep me in the loop”) • See level of participation - social cues • See history – cues from content • Social proxy – sense of audience and activity

19. Flow Chat • Microsoft Research (UIST ’99) • Address lack of status and typing issues • User Interface issues (scrolling) provided less than stellar feedback

20. Threaded Chat • Microsoft Research (CSCW ’00) • Oriented toward collaborative decision making • User’s pleased with quality of decision, but interface issues (awareness of new messages) problematic

21. Reach Out • IBM Haifa (CSCW ’02) • Addresses issue of peer support • IT & Internet produce cultural obstacles to knowledge sharing • Newsgroups and mailing lists require active participation versus push technology

22. IM in the Workplace • Adoption difficulties • Email and telephone responded to existing needs • Not a direct replacement for any existing tools • Most widely-publicized use teenagers gossipping • Seen as water-cooler talk • Kraut / Informal communications benefits • Studies show most messages pertinent to work • Studies show usefulness in distributed workplaces/groups • Responds to Rhythms of Work • Individual patterns of business vary across the day, location, day of week, etc. • Promotes social understanding across geographically distributed groups

23. Nicole Yankelovich (SUN) John Tang (SUN) Wendy Kellogg (IBM) Thomas Erickson (IBM) Bonnie Nardi (AT&T) Steve Whittaker (AT&T) Elizabeth Churchill (FXPAL) James “Bo” Begole (SUN) People Sara Bly (Sara Bly Consulting)