C S C W C omputer S upported C ollaborative W ork Henrry Rodríguez

Introduction n The term was coined by Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz in October 4, [3]. " Groupware is often used to specifically denote the technology that people use to work together, whereas CSCW refers to the field that studies the use of that technology." Tom Brinck [2] Concept: A class of software that helps groups of colleagues (workgroups) attached to a local-area network organize their activities [1].

CSCW and Groupware n HCI: Single user-computer and CSCW: User-computer-user performing co-operative activities n Groupware refers to the technology used by people while working together. u System that support groups of people engaged in a common task or goals and that provide an interface to a shared environment.[ Ellis, Gibbs, Rein, 1991] n CSCW focus on groupware u CSCW is the study of the tools and techniques of groupware as well as the psychological, social, and organisational effects.

n When planning a collaborative work [4] it should be take into account the following elements: n General goals and specific goals n Tasks to be performed u Activities or steps group/individual n Focus on u Acting Group (or Group Interaction Process) u Behaviour Setting. F properties of the individuals, the standing group (or group structure), the task/situation, and the properties of the environment. McGrath J.E: his view on groupware

Examples of CSCW systems n n Shared database/hypertext n Videoconferencing n Chat systems n Real-time shared application u Aspects collaborative writing u Drawing u Games

Core stones of group activity n Communication u Support for ongoing and direct communication among people u Text, voice, video, and Face to face communication n Collaboration u The act of joint co-operation in solving a problem or undertaking a task - e.g. finding a place and a time to meet, decision making. u Support for sharing info such as awareness of others’ activities n Co-ordination u Orchestra the communication and the collaboration u Adjusting individual contributions to fit into the overall task u Includes distributing tasks to team members, and reviewing their performance

Computer mediated communication n distributing information n increasing organizational efficiency n creating electronic democracy n challenging traditional hierarchies.

Computer mediated communication (cont.) n +networking ---> promote long-distance collaboration n Branching n Emotions, Flaming, free rider n Distance learning n Virtual communities

Time-space matrix

Same place same time n Meeting face-to-face. Brainstorming, voting, and ranking. n Managers spent about half of their time in meetings n Difficult to keep a fixed focus and decision making n E-whiteboard, WYSIWIS, Meeting rooms (1981 Arizona)

Same place different times n Usually it needs a shared space n Co-ordination tools n Project scheduling

Different places same time n Distance n Video conferencing n Desktop conferencing u Replication on others’ screen n Chat, IRC, ICQ, CuSeeMe, Instant messager, Shared-Editor session, Lectures

Different places different times n Electronically file transfer n Durable messages n WWW in CSCW u E-groups, BSCW, Newsgroups n

Awareness n Who is/was who n Who does/did what n What is done n Are you there? From to F2F n Couple/Uncouple awareness.

Other issues n Departure/adding users to the team n Anonymity n Distinct roles n Users who need each other to complete a task n Security

Discussion n - what is shared? n Group vs. Community n From Here and Now to Everywhere and Forever [5] n Human-human interaction

References n [1] n [2] n [3] search for Groupware:Coining and Defining It. We [Peter and Trudy Johnson-Lenz ] first coined the term "groupware" in our research notes on October 4, 1978 during our work with Murray Turoff and S. Roxanne Hiltz on the Electronic Information Exchange System (EIES) at the New Jersey Institute of Technology. We wrote about it in an informal paper, "On CC and Citizen Participation," dated February 2, 1979, that we made available on EIES ("CC" = computer conferencing). n [4] McGrath, J. E., 1984, Groups, interaction, and performance. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice Hall. n [5] Jonathan Grudin, Group Dynamics and Ubiquitous Computing. Comm. ACM 45, 12 (Dec. 2002),