A field study of the software design process for large systems
Communications of the ACM
Experiences in the use of a media space
CHI '91 Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
Patterns of contact and communication in scientific research collaborations
Intellectual teamwork
Proceedings of the conference on Graphics interface '92
The scope and importance of human interruption in human-computer interaction design
Human-Computer Interaction
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Media spaces such as CAVECAT[6] and RAVE[3] have been designed to facilitate collaborative work at a distance, but they have primarily focused on the use of computer managed audio and video as mechanisms to support meetings and video phone calls. Research has shown that frequent and spontaneous informal communication is crucial for project coordination and that the amount of communication that occurs varies directly with the proximity of co-workers[2, 4]. However, proximity is not always possible or desirable in today's work world. We suggest that a large amount of communication among co-workers is not from actual intentional communication contact but from opportunistic contact and environmental scanning in which each individual is picking up valuable coordination information. In an open office, proximal co-workers can overhear relevant conversations, view levels of partner progress, perceive changes in project direction, note co-worker's skill advantages and disadvantages, etc. on a real time basis. We propose that it is this aspect of the constant contact of an open office environment which provides the closeness and cohesion necessary for effective work coordination. The environment we want to create with the multi-media tools is not one of supporting meetings but one of supporting constant and continuous contact among co-workers. We want to simulate a shared office and have co-workers who may be miles apart or a simple corridor away working together in the environment to maintain a sense of group. We do not suggest that meeting support by media spaces is inappropriate, but rather, that it is insufficient for the type and amount of communication needed in complex detailed work assignments.