1. Collaboration Quality of Service (Shneiderman and Plaisant Chs. 9 and 10, also, Preece et al. Ch 4 and Dix et al. Ch. 13 and 14) from http://wps.aw.com/aw_shneider_dtui_10, 11 Preece site

2. Notes Shoot for ~1/2 hours Good about human conversation elements – and often lost in electronic communication Need paper vs. screen (if no where else) Need response time: <100 ms “instantaneous”, etc. –Tie to “directness” of direct manipulation –Graphic manip – critical –Web is better though of (w/long latency) as “information repository Cut/streamline redundancy of “time/space matrix Cut/better various pieces of unconnected crap –Maybe find some contemporary systems

3. Overview Types of collaborative interfaces About human “conversation –Background for collaboration – from Preece and Dix Collaborative systems –Four types and examples “Quality of service” – a term from networks –Effect of system parameters …

4. Collaboration and Social Media Shneiderman and “terminology” “Collaboration” typically more “(work) task oriented”, but malleable

5. Collaboration and Cooperation “Computer Supported Collaborative Work” - CSCW –HCI literature Goals of cooperation (Shneiderman): –Focused partnerships –Lecture or demonstration –Conference –Structured word processes –Meeting and decision support –Electronic commerce –Tele-democracy –Scientific “collaboratories”

6. Types of Collaborative Interfaces: Time/Space Groupware Matrix - 1/2 Schema for representing types of interaction Same TimeDifferent Times Same Place Face to face conversation (classrooms, meeting rooms) Asynchronous interaction (project scheduling, coord. tools) Different Places Synchronous distributed (shared editors, video windows) Asynchronous distributed (email, listservs, conferences) Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

7. Types of Collaborative Interfaces: Time/Space Groupware Matrix – 2/2

8. Conversation and Collaboration Much of the challenge of computer mediated collaboration follows from the lack of elements of human face to face conversation / interaction Conversation with others –In each of four ways Awareness of others How to support people to be able to: –talk and socialise –work together –play and learn together Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

9. About Conversation with Others Various mechanisms and ‘rules’ followed in conversation (Dix) 1.Mutual greetings 2.Turn taking to coordinate conversation 3.Back channel signals to continue and following 4.Farewell rituals 5.Implicit and explicit cues Mutual greetings: A: Hi there B: Hi! C: Hi A: All right? C: Good, How’s it going? A: Fine, how are you? C: OK B: So-so. How’s life treating you?

10. Conversational Rules Typically harder and less “rich” when electronically mediated –And especially when asynchronous Turn-taking to coordinate conversation … + iteration is efficient –A: Shall we meet at 8? –B: Um, can we meet a bit later? –A: Shall we meet at 8? –B: Wow, look at him? –A: Yes what a funny hairdo! –B: Um, can we meet a bit later? Back channeling to signal to continue and following –Uh-uh, umm, ahh Farewell rituals –Bye then, see you, bye, see you later…. Implicit and explicit cues –e.g. looking at watch, fidgeting with coat and bags –explicitly saying “Oh dear, must go, look at the time, I’m late…”

11. Breakdowns in Conversation Breakdown in communication also harder to handle when electronically mediated and asynchronous As all, easily enough to handle face to face –More challenging, ot herwise E.g., when someone says something that is misunderstood: –Speaker will repeat with emphasis: A: “this one?” B: “no, I meant that one!” –Also use tokens: Eh? Er? Huh? What?

12. What happens in technology-mediated conversations? Do same conversational rules apply? Are there more breakdowns? How do people repair them? –Phone? –Email? –Instant messaging –Texting?

13. Design implications How to support conversations when people are ‘at a distance’ from each other Many applications have been developed –Email, videoconferencing, videophones, computer conferencing, instant messaging, chatrooms, collaborative virtual environments, media spaces How effective are they? Do they mimic or extend existing ways of conversing?

14. Will video be a success using (“next” – now this generation) mobile phones? Will the jidder, sudden jerks and shadows disappear? Will it be possible to establish eye contact and read lips on such a small image? Will people find it socially acceptable to talk to an image of someone in the palm of their hands?

15. FYI - … have seen basic ideas

16. Synchronous Computer-mediated Communication Conversations supported in real- time through voice and/or typing Examples include video conferencing and chatrooms Benefits –Can keep more informed of what is going on –Video conferencing allows everyone to see each other providing some support for non- verbal communication –Chatrooms can provide a forum for shy people to talk more Problems: –Video lacks bandwidth so jidders and lots of shadows –Difficult to establish eye contact with images of others –People can behave badly when behind the mask of an avatar Same TimeDifferent Times Same PlaceFace to face Asynchronous interaction Different Places Synchronous distributed Asynchronous distributed

17. Asynchronous Communication Communication takes place remotely at different times Email, newsgroups, computer conferencing Benefits include: –Read any place any time –Flexible as to how to deal with it –Powerful, can send to many people –Can make saying things easier Problems include: –Spamming –Message overload –False expectations as to when people will reply Same TimeDifferent Times Same PlaceFace to face Asynchronous interaction Different Places Synchronous distributed Asynchronous distributed

18. Asynchronous distributed interfaces: Different place, different time Electronic mail: –can be too loosely structured –sometimes overwhelming –transient –tools filtering archiving mailing lists discussion groups –typically text-only, but increasingly includes other structured objects graphics sounds animations web pointers video Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

19. Asynchronous distributed interfaces: Different place, different time (cont.) Electronic mail (cont.): –Online directories – Web services with E-mail E.g. Hotmail, and Yahoo! Mail – Email on mobile devices Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

20. Asynchronous distributed interfaces: Different place, different time (cont.) Blogs, wikis, newsgroups, listservers, discussion boards, conferences, –focused electronic discussions by group of people –online conference in addition to listserv tools, may also include additional facilities –voting –online directories of users –online directories of documents –online magazines and newsletters –Web-logs/blogs and wikis Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

21. Asynchronous distributed interfaces: Different place, different time (cont.) Online and networked communities –Group identity –Patient support groups –Impact on offline communities –Community policies & freedom of speech –Network communities can be controversial hackers hate groups para-military groups –Distance education courses –Reputation managers for online stores Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

22. Synchronous distributed interfaces: Different place, same time Synchronous distributed applications –group editing –shared screens for customer assistance –give demonstrations simultaneously at multiple sites –allow sharing of information for various applications –interactive games Chat, instant messaging, and texting –CHAT, Internet Relay Chat (IRC) –Flamers –MUDS –Texting and cell phones Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

23. Example: Babble “Circle with marbles” –Represents people taking part in conversation in a chatroom –IBM, Erickson et al, 1999 Those in middle are doing most chatting. Those towards outside less active in conversation Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

24. Synchronous distributed interfaces: Different place, same time (cont.) Audio and video conferencing –videoconferencing slow response times for entering and leaving session distracting background audio difficulty in determining who is speaking inadequate lighting difficulty in making eye contact changed social status small image size potential invasion of privacy need for convenient turn taking need for document sharing –issues of ownership and control private and public workspaces identity of participants location of actions care with updating Whether audio or video conferencing is more appealing than chat, IM, and texting, or more effective than asynchronous text, depends on the goals and the task environment Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

25. Face-to-face interfaces: Same place, same time Examples –File sharing –Shared workspace –Group activities –Colab and Liveboard –SMART Board –Public spaces facilitate sharing –Sharing photos is very popular –Notification systems Innovative approaches to work and learning include: –Shared display from lecturer workstation –Audience response units –Text-submission workstations –Brainstorming, voting, and ranking. –Benefits of electronic meeting systems: Parallel communication promotes broader input into the meeting process and reduces the chance that a few people dominate the meeting. Anonymity mitigates evaluation apprehension and conformance pressure, so that issues are discussed more candidly. The group memory constructed by participants enables them to pause and reflect on information and opinions of others during the meeting and serves as a permanent record of what occurred. Process structure helps focus the group on key issues and discourages irrelevant digressions and unproductive behaviors. Task support and structure provides information and approaches to analyze it. Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

26. Face-to-face interfaces: Same place, same time (cont.) Electronic classrooms –Active individual learning experiences include using software during class time to: –Write essays in English or poems in a foreign language –Find antecedents of Impressionism in an art history library of 9000 images –Run business simulations to increase product quality –Perform psychological statistical analyses –Do landscaping with computer-assisted design and graphics packages –Compose computer programs and search the Internet Small teams and large teams Changes teaching style Different Same DifferentSame Place Time

27. Example: Collaborative Virtual Environments Like Second Life, etc. The rooftop garden in BowieWorld, –Collaborative Virtual environment (CVE), supported by Worlds.com –Users take part by “dressing up” as an avatar. 100s of avatars to choose from, including penguins and real persons. Once an avatar has entered a world they can explore it and chat to other avatars. Source: www.worlds.com/bowiewww.worlds.com/bowie Second Life, etc.

28. Example: VideoWindow system Bellcore - A shared space that allowed people 50 miles apart to carry on a conversation as if in same room drinking coffee together 3 x 8 ft ‘picture-window’ between two sites with video and audio People did interact via the window but strange things happened Talked constantly about the system Spoke more to other people in the same room rather than in other room When tried to get closer to someone in other place had opposite effect - went out of range of camera and microphone –No way of monitoring this

29. Example: Hypermirror Allows people to feel as if they are in the same virtual place even though in physically different spaces –Morikawa and Maesako, 1998 (woman in white sweater is in a different room to the other three) People in different places are superimposed on the same screen to make them appear as if in same space

30. Example: Creating personal space in Hypermirror 2) Two in this room are invading the ‘virtual’ personal space of the other person by appearing to be physically on top of them 3) Two in the room move apart to allow person in other space more ‘virtual’ personal space

31. Awareness of others Involves knowing who is around, what is happening, and who is talking with whom Peripheral awareness –Keeping an eye on things happening in the periphery of vision –Overhearing and overseeing - allows tracking of what others are doing without explicit cues Provide awareness of others who are in different locations Media spaces - “extend the world of desks, chairs, walls and ceilings” (Harrison et al, 1997) –Examples: Clearboard, Portholes and Cruiser

32. Example: Clearboard ClearBoard –Transparent board that shows other person’s facial expression on your board as you draw –Ishii et al, 1993

33. Example: Portholes (Xerox PARC) Regularly updated digitized images of people in their offices appeared on everyone’s desktop machines throughout day and night Creepy

34. Notification systems Users notify others as opposed to being constantly monitored (cf. Portholes) Provide information about shared objects and progress of collaborative tasks Example –Tickertape is a scrolling one-line window, going from left to right –Group name, sender’s name and text message –Segall and Arnold, 1997

35. Key points Social mechanisms, like turn-taking, conventions, etc., enable us to collaborate and coordinate our activities Keeping aware of what others are doing and letting others know what you are doing are important aspects of collaborative working and socialising Many collaborative technologies (groupware or CSCW) systems have been built to support collaboration, especially communication and awareness

36. Quality of Service

37. A network term … Focus here is on how delays, etc. affect user perception, etc.

38. Quality of Service Introduction –Early (and other contexts) computation time –Now, more, “system response time” e.g., with web, network congestion, etc., affects response time –Time is precious (and money) Lengthy or unexpected system response time can produce: –Frustration –Annoyance –Eventual anger But, (too) speedy and quickly done work can result in users: –learning less –reading with lower comprehension –making more ill-considered decisions –committing more data-entry errors

39. Models of Response Time Impacts About Response time –The number of seconds it takes from the moment users initiate an activity until the computer presents results on the display User think time –The number of seconds the user thinks before entering the next action In fact, a number of things going on, e.g., planning –So modeling has challenges

40. Models of Response Time Impacts Design of response times and display rates in HCI must consider: –complex interaction of technical feasibility –cost –task complexity –user expectations –speed of task performance –error rates –error handling procedures Overall majority of users prefer rapid interactions –Lengthy response times (15 seconds) are detrimental to productivity –Rapid response times (1 second or less) are preferable, but can increase errors for complex tasks

41. Models of Response Time Impacts Display Rate –Alphanumeric displays: Speed in characters per second at which characters appear for the user to read –World Wide Web Applications: Display rate may be limited by network transmission speed or server performance Reading textual information from screen is challenging cognitive and perceptual task –Users relax when the screen fills instantly –Beyond a speed where someone may feel compelled to keep up Cognitive human performance would be useful for: –making predictions –designing systems –formulating management policies

42. Models of Response Time Impacts Review …, but here in text Limitations of short-term and working memory (Shneiderman): Any cognitive model must emerge from understanding of human problem-solving abilities Magic number seven - plus or minus two –The average person can rapidly recognize seven chunks of information at a time –This information can be held for 15 to 30 seconds in short-term memory –Size of the chunks depends on the person' s familiarity with the material Short-term memory and working memory are used in conjunction for processing information and problem solving –Short-term memory processes perceptual input –Working memory generates and implements solutions People learn to cope with complex problems by developing higher-level concepts using several lower-level concepts brought together into a single chunk Short term and working memory are highly volatile –Disruptions cause loss of memory –Delays require that memory be refreshed

43. Models of Response Time Impacts Source of errors: –Solutions to problems must be recorded to memory or implemented Chance of error increases when solutions are recorded –When using an interactive computer system users may formulate plans and have to wait for execution time of each step –Long (1976) found unskilled and skilled typists worked more slowly and made more errors with longer response times For a given user and task, there is a preferred response time Conditions for optimum problem solving: –Longer response time causes uneasiness in the user because the penalty for error increases –Shorter response time may cause the user to fail to comprehend the presented materials –Progress indicators shorten perceived elapsed time and heighten satisfaction: graphical indicators blinking messages numeric seconds left for completion

44. Models of Response Time Impacts Conditions for optimum problem solving (cont.) –Rapid task performance, low error rates, and high satisfaction when: Users have adequate knowledge of the objects and actions necessary for the problem-solving task The solution plan can be carries out without delays Distractions are eliminated User anxiety is low There is feedback about progress toward solution Errors can be avoided or handled easily –Other conjectures in choosing the optimum interaction speed Novices may exhibit better performance with slower response time Novices prefer to work at slower speeds With little penalty for an error, users prefer to work more quickly When task familiar and easily comprehended, users prefer more rapid action If users have experienced rapid performance previously, they will expect in future situations

45. Response Time Expectations and attitudes Related design issues may clarify the question of acceptable response time –E.g. how long before hearing a dial-tone –Two-second limit (Miller, 1968) appropriate for many tasks But, users have adapted a working style and expectation based on responses in fraction of second –E.g., Cars, dragging icons vs. waiting on traffic light, letters Dealing with constancy of expectation – “response-time choke” –System slowed down when load light and potential performance high! – maintain expectations –Makes response time more uniform over time and across users, avoiding expectations that can’t always be met Response time for pages across web sites varies –Affects user interest and quality assessment 3 primary factors influence user expectations and attention to response-time: –Previous experiences –Individual differences - individual's tolerance for delays –Task complexity Simple, repetitive, should be fast

46. User Productivity Nature of the task has a strong influence on whether changes in response time alter user productivity Repetitive tasks –Shorter response time means users responds more quickly, but decisions may not be optimal –Goodman and Spence (1981) – reduced response time lead to more productivity –Teal and Rudnecky (1992) – slower response time lead to more accuracy Problem solving tasks –Users will adapt their work style to the response time –Users will change their work habits as the response time changes Grossberg, Wiesen, and Yntema (1976) – the time to solution was invariant with respect to response time Summary –Users pick up pace of system to work more quickly with shorter response time –Higher throughput of work demands more attention must be paid to minimizing the cost of delay of error recovery

47. Variability People are willing to pay substantial amounts of money to reduce the variability in their life, e.g., insurance Goodman and Spence (1981) –Subjects took more advantage of fast response time by making their subsequent commands immediately and balancing the time lost in waiting for slower responses Modest variations in response time (plus or minus 50% of the mean) appear to be tolerable It may be useful to slow down unexpected fast responses

48. Frustrating Experiences (Ceaparu et al., 2004) 46% to 53% of users’ time was seen as being wasted Recommendations include improving the quality of service and changes by the user Poor quality of service is more difficult in emerging markets and developing nations User training can help Email a common application, but also a common source of frustration

49. End.