"I'd be overwhelmed, but it's just one more thing to do": availability and interruption in research management

  • Authors:

  • James M. Hudson;Jim Christensen;Wendy A. Kellogg;Thomas Erickson

  • Affiliations:

  • Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA;IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Hawthorne, NY;IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Hawthorne, NY;IBM T.J. Watson Research Center, Hawthorne, NY

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2002

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Abstract

Many CSCW projects dealing with individual availability and interruption filtering achieve only limited success. Perhaps this is because designers of such systems have limited evidence to draw upon; most data on interruption management is at least a decade old. This study uses an empirical sampling method and qualitative interviews to examine attitudes toward availability and interruption. Specifically, we analyze how corporate research managers spend their time and look at how their attitudes toward interruption relate to their various activities. Attitudes toward interruption are marked by a complex tension between wanting to avoid interruption and appreciating its usefulness. We conclude by discussing the implications of these findings for design, suggesting that the notion of socially translucent systems may be a fruitful approach