Use of scenario evaluation in preparation for deployment of a collaborative system for knowledge transfer - the case of KiMERA

This paper presented an approach for the evaluation of a collaborative system, after the completion of system development and software testing but before its deployment. Scenario and collaborative episodes were designed and data collected from users role-playing. This was found to be a useful step in refining the user training, in setting the right level of user expectation when the system started to roll-out to real users and in providing feedback to the development team

A Framework to Manage the Complex Organisation of Collaborating: Its Application to Autonomous Systems

In this paper we present an analysis of the complexities of large group collaboration and its application to develop detailed requirements for collaboration schema for Autonomous Systems (AS). These requirements flow from our development of a framework for collaboration that provides a basis for designing, supporting and managing complex collaborative systems that can be applied and tested in various real world settings. We present the concepts of "collaborative flow" and "working as one" as descriptive expressions of what good collaborative teamwork can be in such scenarios. The paper considers the application of the framework within different scenarios and discuses the utility of the framework in modelling and supporting collaboration in complex organisational structures

Improving groupware design for loosely coupled groups

Loosely coupled workgroups are common in the real world, and workers in these groups are autonomous and weakly interdependent. They have patterns of work and collaboration that distinguish them from other types of groups, and groupware systems that are designed to support loose coupling must address these differences. However, they have not been studied in detail in Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), and the design process for these groups is currently underspecified. This forces designers to start from scratch each time they develop a system for loosely coupled groups, and they must approach new work settings with little information about how work practices are organized. In this dissertation, I present a design framework to improve the groupware design process for loosely coupled workgroups. The framework has three main parts that add a new layer of support to each of the three stages in the general groupware design process: data collection about the target work setting, analysis of the data, and system design based on the analysis results. The framework was developed to provide designers with support during each of these stages so that they can consider important characteristics of loosely coupled work practice while carrying out design for the target group. The design framework is based on information from CSCW and organizational research, and on real-world design experiences with one type of loosely coupled workgroup—home care treatment teams. The framework was evaluated using observations, interviews, and field trials that were carried out with multidisciplinary home care treatment teams in Saskatoon Health Region. A series of field observations and interviews were carried out with team members from each of the home care disciplines. The framework was then used to develop Mohoc, a groupware system that supports work in home care. Two field trials were carried out where the system was used by teams to support their daily activities. Results were analyzed to determine how well each part of the design framework performed in the design process. The results suggest that the framework was able to fill its role in specializing the general CSCW design process for loosely coupled groups by adding consideration for work and collaboration patterns that are seen in loosely coupled settings. However, further research is needed to determine whether these findings generalize to other loosely coupled workgroups

Distributed cognition in joint music composition: exploring the role of language and artefacts in multi-session creative collaborative work

PhDMy thesis takes steps towards understanding the role technology can play in supporting multisession creative collaborative work. This is achieved by exploring the relationship between the outcomes of a session of work and the resources available within the environment where work takes place. My domain of study is Joint Music Composition, which is a form of collaborative work that requires participants to generate, share, develop and remember information about a musical composition across a number of sessions. Although musical instrument and recording technology have advanced, there appears to be little understanding of how technology can be used to support collaboration in Joint Music Composition. To investigate this, I used the Distributed Cognition framework (Hutchins, 1995a), which has traditionally been employed to study work activities within socio-technological settings, to better understand how to support collaboration and coordination within my domain of study. The findings of my thesis are based on studies conducted in real life settings (i.e., field) and in environments that I helped to organise (i.e., laboratory). Research from the field describes how groups naturally organise their session, their physical setting, and their communication. It also helps to highlight a number of issues relating to the cognitive burden associated with compositions when they are in development. The first laboratory study illustrates the distributed nature of problem solving in Joint Music Composition by giving examples of different ways knowledge is shared within the group and across sessions. The second laboratory study describes how a shared work space appears to change the way knowledge is represented and distributed within two different rehearsal set-ups. Overall, the main insights that are applicable to informing design relate to the way practitioners of Joint Music Composition manage the distributed nature of problem solving using transient representations across multiple sessions of work.Engineering and Physical Science Research Council (EPSRC