Supporting Co-operative Work Through Ubiquitous Awareness-Filtration Mechanisms

Rameshsharma Ramloll, Department of Computing Science, University of Glasgow

A number of researchers contend that collaborative systems intended to support co-operative work need to provide some means for users to be aware of peer activities. Common approaches involve broadcasting events generated by a user's actions at the interface to others. However, rather than flooding users with detailed information about all activities occurring in the shared environment, filtration techniques under the control of each user are required so that they are exposed only to relevant awareness information. Currently, such techniques can mostly be traced to user configurable agents. Unfortunately, such user configuration approaches can be effective only in cases where interactions can be anticipated and where configuration plans can be drawn. Workplace studies have revealed that collaborative activities often lack a formal structure and tend to be highly improvisational in nature. Configurable agents have typically failed to capture the diversity and the complex interrelationships between collaborative activities. In addition, agent configurations tend to impose a heavy task load on participants. This is especially true in cases where participants wish to synchronise agent configurations with their rapidly evolving needs in highly dynamic collaborative environments. Our approach to support unstructured work at the multi-user desktop is more in line with the direct manipulation of information rich interfaces to reveal what information is needed at the right level of emphasis. It also allows every user to function in a multi-user environment with the same freedom as experienced in a single-user environment. The approach involves extending the desktop metaphor and designing awareness filtration control mechanisms which are ubiquitous to but in the full control of the user. The cross-client linkage of the desktop interface elements, the use of multi-media and its browsing techniques allows a unique integration of filtration configuration with normal workpractice at the desktop interface.

For more information contact: ramesh@dcs.gla.ac.uk