The Experts below are selected from a list of 11829 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Carl Gutwin - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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real time Groupware in the browser testing the performance of web based networking
Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2011Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, Michael Lippold, T Nicholas C GrahamAbstract:Standard web browsers are becoming a common platform for delivering Groupware applications, but until recently, the only way to support real-time collaboration was with browser plug-ins. New networking approaches have recently been introduced - based on re-purposed techniques for delivering web pages (Comet), or integration of real-time communication directly into the browser (HTML5 WebSockets). Little is currently known, however, about whether these new approaches can support real-time Groupware. We carried out a study to assess the performance of the three different networking approaches, based on a framework of Groupware requirements, in several network settings. We found that web-based networking performs well - better than plug-in approaches in some cases - and can support the communication requirements of many types of real-time Groupware. We also developed two Groupware applications using Comet and WebSockets, and showed that they provided fast and consistent performance on the real-world Internet. Our studies show that web-based networking can support real-time collaboration, and suggest that Groupware developers should consider the browser as a legitimate vehicle for real-time multi-user systems.
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gone but not forgotten designing for disconnection in synchronous Groupware
Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2010Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, Chris Wolfe, Nelson Wong, T Nicholas C Graham, Brian De AlwisAbstract:Synchronous Groupware depends on the assumption that people are fully connected to the others in the group, but there are many situations (network delay, network outage, or explicit departure) where users are disconnected for various periods. There is little research dealing with disconnection in synchronous Groupware from a user and application perspective; as a result, most current Groupware systems do not handle disconnection events well, and several user-level problems occur. To address this limitation, we developed the Disco framework, a model for handling several types of disconnection in synchronous Groupware. The framework considers how disconnections are identified, what senders and receivers should do during an absence, and what should be done with accumulated data upon reconnection. We have implemented the framework in three applications that show the feasibility, generality, and functionality of our ideas. Our framework is the first to deal with a full range of disconnection issues for synchronous Groupware, and shows how Groupware can better support the realities of distributed collaboration.
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CSCW - Gone but not forgotten: designing for disconnection in synchronous Groupware
Proceedings of the 2010 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work - CSCW '10, 2010Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, T. C. Nicholas Graham, Chris Wolfe, Nelson Wong, Brian De AlwisAbstract:Synchronous Groupware depends on the assumption that people are fully connected to the others in the group, but there are many situations (network delay, network outage, or explicit departure) where users are disconnected for various periods. There is little research dealing with disconnection in synchronous Groupware from a user and application perspective; as a result, most current Groupware systems do not handle disconnection events well, and several user-level problems occur. To address this limitation, we developed the Disco framework, a model for handling several types of disconnection in synchronous Groupware. The framework considers how disconnections are identified, what senders and receivers should do during an absence, and what should be done with accumulated data upon reconnection. We have implemented the framework in three applications that show the feasibility, generality, and functionality of our ideas. Our framework is the first to deal with a full range of disconnection issues for synchronous Groupware, and shows how Groupware can better support the realities of distributed collaboration.
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Supporting Informal Collaboration in Shared-Workspace Groupware
Journal of Universal Computer Science, 2008Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, Saul Greenberg, Roger Blum, Jeff Dyck, Kimberly Tee, Gregor McewanAbstract:Shared-workspace Groupware has not become common in the workplace, despite many positive results from research labs. One reason for this lack of success is that most shared workspace systems are designed around the idea of planned, formal collaboration sessions - yet much of the collaboration that occurs in a co-located work group is informal and opportunistic. To support informal collaboration, Groupware must be designed and built differently. We introduce the idea of community-based Groupware (CBG), in which Groupware is organized around groups of people working independently, rather than shared applications, documents, or virtual places. Community-based Groupware provides support for three things that are fundamental to informal collaboration: awareness of others and their individual work, lightweight means for initiating interactions, and the ability to move into closely-coupled collaboration when necessary. We demonstrate three prototypes that illustrate the ideas behind CBG, and argue that this way of organizing Groupware supports informal collaboration better than other existing approaches.
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task analysis for Groupware usability evaluation modeling shared workspace tasks with the mechanics of collaboration
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2003Co-Authors: David Pinelle, Carl Gutwin, Saul GreenbergAbstract:Researchers in Computer Supported Cooperative Work have recently developed discount evaluation methods for shared-workspace Groupware. Most discount methods rely on some understanding of the context in which the Groupware systems will be used, which means that evaluators need to model the tasks that groups will perform. However, existing task analysis schemes are not well suited to the needs of Groupware evaluation: they either do not deal with collaboration issues, do not use an appropriate level of analysis for concrete assessment of usability in interfaces, or do not adequately represent the variability inherent in group work. To fill this gap, we have developed a new modeling technique called Collaboration Usability Analysis. CUA focuses on the teamwork that goes on in a group task rather than the taskwork. To enable closer links between the task representation and the Groupware interface, CUA grounds each collaborative action in a set of group work primitives called the mechanics of collaboration. To represent the range of ways that a group task can be carried out, CUA allows variable paths through the execution of a task, and allows alternate paths and optional tasks to be modeled. CUA's main contribution is to provide evaluators with a framework in which they can simulate the realistic use of a Groupware system and identify usability problems that are caused by the Groupware interface.
Saul Greenberg - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Supporting Informal Collaboration in Shared-Workspace Groupware
Journal of Universal Computer Science, 2008Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, Saul Greenberg, Roger Blum, Jeff Dyck, Kimberly Tee, Gregor McewanAbstract:Shared-workspace Groupware has not become common in the workplace, despite many positive results from research labs. One reason for this lack of success is that most shared workspace systems are designed around the idea of planned, formal collaboration sessions - yet much of the collaboration that occurs in a co-located work group is informal and opportunistic. To support informal collaboration, Groupware must be designed and built differently. We introduce the idea of community-based Groupware (CBG), in which Groupware is organized around groups of people working independently, rather than shared applications, documents, or virtual places. Community-based Groupware provides support for three things that are fundamental to informal collaboration: awareness of others and their individual work, lightweight means for initiating interactions, and the ability to move into closely-coupled collaboration when necessary. We demonstrate three prototypes that illustrate the ideas behind CBG, and argue that this way of organizing Groupware supports informal collaboration better than other existing approaches.
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CRIWG - Enhancing creativity with (Groupware) toolkits
2004Co-Authors: Saul GreenbergAbstract:Effective Groupware toolkits not only make it possible for average programmers to develop Groupware, but also enhance their creativity. By removing low-level implementation burdens and supplying appropriate building blocks, toolkits give people a ‘language’ to think about Groupware, which in turn allows them to concentrate on creative designs. This is important, for it means that programmers can rapidly generate and test new ideas, replicate and refine ideas presented by others, and create demonstrations for others to try. To illustrate the link between Groupware toolkits and creativity, I describe example toolkits we have built and how others have leveraged them in their own work.
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task analysis for Groupware usability evaluation modeling shared workspace tasks with the mechanics of collaboration
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2003Co-Authors: David Pinelle, Carl Gutwin, Saul GreenbergAbstract:Researchers in Computer Supported Cooperative Work have recently developed discount evaluation methods for shared-workspace Groupware. Most discount methods rely on some understanding of the context in which the Groupware systems will be used, which means that evaluators need to model the tasks that groups will perform. However, existing task analysis schemes are not well suited to the needs of Groupware evaluation: they either do not deal with collaboration issues, do not use an appropriate level of analysis for concrete assessment of usability in interfaces, or do not adequately represent the variability inherent in group work. To fill this gap, we have developed a new modeling technique called Collaboration Usability Analysis. CUA focuses on the teamwork that goes on in a group task rather than the taskwork. To enable closer links between the task representation and the Groupware interface, CUA grounds each collaborative action in a set of group work primitives called the mechanics of collaboration. To represent the range of ways that a group task can be carried out, CUA allows variable paths through the execution of a task, and allows alternate paths and optional tasks to be modeled. CUA's main contribution is to provide evaluators with a framework in which they can simulate the realistic use of a Groupware system and identify usability problems that are caused by the Groupware interface.
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empirical development of a heuristic evaluation methodology for shared workspace Groupware
Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2002Co-Authors: Kevin Baker, Saul Greenberg, Carl GutwinAbstract:Good real time Groupware products are hard to develop, in part because evaluating their support for basic teamwork activities is difficult and costly. To address this problem, we are developing discount evaluation methods that look for Groupware-specific usability problems. In a previous paper, we detailed a new set of usability heuristics that evaluators can use to inspect shared workspace Groupware to see how they support teamwork. We wanted to determine whether the new heuristics could be integrated into a low-cost methodology that parallels Nielsen's traditional heuristic evaluation (HE). To this end, we examined 27 evaluations of two shared workspace Groupware systems and analysed the inspectors' relative performance and variability. Similar to Nielsen's findings for traditional HE, individual inspectors discovered about a fifth of the total known teamwork problems, and that there was only modest overlap in the problems they found. Groups of three to five inspectors would report about 40-60% of the total known teamwork problems. These results suggest that heuristic evaluation using our Groupware heuristics can be an effective and efficient method for identifying teamwork problems in shared workspace Groupware systems.
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GroupLab Collabrary: A Toolkit for Multimedia Groupware
2002Co-Authors: Michael Boyle, Saul GreenbergAbstract:GroupLab Collabrary is a toolkit for rapidly prototyping multimedia Groupware. It provides a straightforward API to managing and distributing multimedia information between Groupware program instances. The Collabrary also has a culture of use, where a small generic set of useful Groupware programming patterns has evolved over time. In this workshop I will describe the Collabrary, what it offers Groupware developers, and how these features in turn drive requirements for network services for rich Groupware.
T Nicholas C Graham - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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real time Groupware in the browser testing the performance of web based networking
Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2011Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, Michael Lippold, T Nicholas C GrahamAbstract:Standard web browsers are becoming a common platform for delivering Groupware applications, but until recently, the only way to support real-time collaboration was with browser plug-ins. New networking approaches have recently been introduced - based on re-purposed techniques for delivering web pages (Comet), or integration of real-time communication directly into the browser (HTML5 WebSockets). Little is currently known, however, about whether these new approaches can support real-time Groupware. We carried out a study to assess the performance of the three different networking approaches, based on a framework of Groupware requirements, in several network settings. We found that web-based networking performs well - better than plug-in approaches in some cases - and can support the communication requirements of many types of real-time Groupware. We also developed two Groupware applications using Comet and WebSockets, and showed that they provided fast and consistent performance on the real-world Internet. Our studies show that web-based networking can support real-time collaboration, and suggest that Groupware developers should consider the browser as a legitimate vehicle for real-time multi-user systems.
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gone but not forgotten designing for disconnection in synchronous Groupware
Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 2010Co-Authors: Carl Gutwin, Chris Wolfe, Nelson Wong, T Nicholas C Graham, Brian De AlwisAbstract:Synchronous Groupware depends on the assumption that people are fully connected to the others in the group, but there are many situations (network delay, network outage, or explicit departure) where users are disconnected for various periods. There is little research dealing with disconnection in synchronous Groupware from a user and application perspective; as a result, most current Groupware systems do not handle disconnection events well, and several user-level problems occur. To address this limitation, we developed the Disco framework, a model for handling several types of disconnection in synchronous Groupware. The framework considers how disconnections are identified, what senders and receivers should do during an absence, and what should be done with accumulated data upon reconnection. We have implemented the framework in three applications that show the feasibility, generality, and functionality of our ideas. Our framework is the first to deal with a full range of disconnection issues for synchronous Groupware, and shows how Groupware can better support the realities of distributed collaboration.
Mark Roseman - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Groupware TOOLKITS FOR SYNCHRONOUS WORK
1996Co-Authors: Saul Greenberg, Mark RosemanAbstract:Groupware toolkits let developers build applications for synchronous and distributed computer-based conferencing. This chapter describes four components that we believe toolkits must provide. A run-time architecture automatically manages the creation, interconnection, and communications of both centralized and distributed processes that comprise conference sessions. A set of Groupware programming abstractions allows developers to control the behavior of distributed processes, to take action on state changes, and to share relevant data. Groupware widgets let interface features of value to conference participants be added easily to Groupware applications. Session managers let people create and manage their meetings and are built by developers to accommodate the group’s working style. We illustrate the many ways these components can be designed by drawing on our own experiences with GroupKit, and by reviewing approaches taken by other toolkit developers.
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Building real-time Groupware with GroupKit, a Groupware toolkit
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 1996Co-Authors: Mark Roseman, Saul GreenbergAbstract:This article presents an overview of GroupKit, a Groupware toolkit that lets developers build applications for synchronous and distributed computer-based conferencing. GroupKit was constructed from our belief that programming Groupware should be only slightly harder than building functionally similar single-user systems. We have been able to significantly reduce the implementation complexity of Groupware through the key features that comprise GroupKit. A runtime infrastructure automatically manages the creation, interconnection, and communications of the distributed processes that comprise conference sessions. A set of Groupware programming abstractions allows developers to control the behavior of distributed processes, to take action on state changes, and to share relevant data. Groupware widgets let interface features of value to conference participants to be easily added to Groupware applications. Session managers —interfaces that let people create and manage their meetings—are decoupled from Groupware applications and are built by developers to accommodate the group's working style. Example GroupKit applications in a variety of domains have been implemented with only modest effort.
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Groupware Toolkits for
1996Co-Authors: Saul Greenberg, Mark RosemanAbstract:Groupware toolkits let developers build applications for synchronous and distributed computer-based conferencing. This chapter describes four components that we believe toolkits must provide. A run-time architecture automatically manages the creation, interconnection, and communications of both centralized and distributed processes that comprise conference sessions. A set of Groupware programming abstractionsallows developers to control the behaviour of distributed processes, to take action on state changes, and to share relevant data. Groupware widgetslet interface features of value to conference participants be added easily to Groupware applications. Session managers let people create and manage their meetings and are built by developers to accommodate the group’s working style. We illustrate the many ways these components can be designed by drawing on our own experiences with GroupKit, and by reviewing approaches taken by other toolkit developers.
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TCL/TK AS A BASIS FOR Groupware
1993Co-Authors: Mark RosemanAbstract:Tcl and Tk may prove an excellent environment for developing Groupware applications, yet much remains to be done beyond the relatively simple TCP/IP extensions which exist today. Our Groupware research has provided a number of useful models and a Groupware toolkit which could be reimplemented on Tcl and Tk to provide a basis for Groupware development. This position paper provides some background on Groupware and our own research, and then suggests some of the advantages that Tcl and Tk might provide for Groupware developers. It also addresses some of the areas of work which will need to be addressed for Groupware. These include the design of a shared group object model, some extensions to both Tk’s graphics model and event handling model to support overlays, and the issue of cross platform development.
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groupkit a Groupware toolkit for building real time conferencing applications
Conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work, 1992Co-Authors: Mark Roseman, Saul GreenbergAbstract:Abstract This paper presents our approach to the design of Groupware toolkits for real-time work, and how the design is instantiated in our toolkit, GROUPKIT. The design is based on both the technical underpinnings necessary for real-time Groupware, and on user-centered features identified by existing CSCW human factors work. We also present three strategies for building GROUPKIT's components. First, an extendible, object-oriented run-time architecture supports managing distributed processes and the communication between them. Second, transparent overlays offer a convenient method for adding general components to various Groupware applications, for example supporting gestures via multiple cursors and annotation via sketching. Third, open protocols allow the Groupware designer to create a wide range of interface and interaction policies, accommodating group differences in areas such as conference registration and floor control.
David Pinelle - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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task analysis for Groupware usability evaluation modeling shared workspace tasks with the mechanics of collaboration
ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2003Co-Authors: David Pinelle, Carl Gutwin, Saul GreenbergAbstract:Researchers in Computer Supported Cooperative Work have recently developed discount evaluation methods for shared-workspace Groupware. Most discount methods rely on some understanding of the context in which the Groupware systems will be used, which means that evaluators need to model the tasks that groups will perform. However, existing task analysis schemes are not well suited to the needs of Groupware evaluation: they either do not deal with collaboration issues, do not use an appropriate level of analysis for concrete assessment of usability in interfaces, or do not adequately represent the variability inherent in group work. To fill this gap, we have developed a new modeling technique called Collaboration Usability Analysis. CUA focuses on the teamwork that goes on in a group task rather than the taskwork. To enable closer links between the task representation and the Groupware interface, CUA grounds each collaborative action in a set of group work primitives called the mechanics of collaboration. To represent the range of ways that a group task can be carried out, CUA allows variable paths through the execution of a task, and allows alternate paths and optional tasks to be modeled. CUA's main contribution is to provide evaluators with a framework in which they can simulate the realistic use of a Groupware system and identify usability problems that are caused by the Groupware interface.
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Groupware walkthrough adding context to Groupware usability evaluation
Human Factors in Computing Systems, 2002Co-Authors: David Pinelle, Carl GutwinAbstract:Discount usability evaluation methods have recently been introduced as a way to assess Groupware systems. However, one criticism of these techniques is that they do not make use of information about users and their work contexts. To address this problem, we developed Groupware walkthrough, a new usability inspection technique for Groupware. The technique is a substantive modification of cognitive walkthrough to include consideration for the complexities of teamwork. The two components of Groupware walkthrough are a task model for identifying and analysing real-world collaborative tasks, and a walkthrough process for assessing a system's support for those tasks. Groupware walkthrough is a low-cost technique that can identify collaboration-specific usability problems and can find problems that would not be revealed through other inspection methods
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CHI - Groupware walkthrough: adding context to Groupware usability evaluation
Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human factors in computing systems Changing our world changing ourselves - CHI '02, 2002Co-Authors: David Pinelle, Carl GutwinAbstract:Discount usability evaluation methods have recently been introduced as a way to assess Groupware systems. However, one criticism of these techniques is that they do not make use of information about users and their work contexts. To address this problem, we developed Groupware walkthrough, a new usability inspection technique for Groupware. The technique is a substantive modification of cognitive walkthrough to include consideration for the complexities of teamwork. The two components of Groupware walkthrough are a task model for identifying and analysing real-world collaborative tasks, and a walkthrough process for assessing a system's support for those tasks. Groupware walkthrough is a low-cost technique that can identify collaboration-specific usability problems and can find problems that would not be revealed through other inspection methods
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a review of Groupware evaluations
Workshops on Enabling Technologies: Infrastracture for Collaborative Enterprises, 2000Co-Authors: David Pinelle, Carl GutwinAbstract:A better understanding of how Groupware systems have been evaluated in the past can help to frame the discussion of what methods and techniques should be considered for future evaluations. We reviewed all papers from the ACM CSCW conference (1990-1998) that introduced or evaluated a Groupware system. Forty-five papers were included in the review. The main findings are that almost one-third of the Groupware systems were not evaluated in any formal way, that only about one-quarter of the articles included evaluations in a real-world setting, and that a wide variety of evaluation techniques are in use. Our main conclusions from the review are that more attention must be paid to evaluating Groupware systems and that there is room for additional evaluation techniques that are simple and low in cost.
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A Survey of Groupware Evaluations in CSCW Proceedings
2000Co-Authors: David PinelleAbstract:Groupware software is still not widely used in spite of continued hardware advances in processing power and network speeds. This indicates that developers may not be matching the software they design with the needs of the target user groups. For this reason, a further understanding of Groupware evaluation should be sought to help provide a means for identifying the key issues developers must address for successful implementations. This paper presents the findings of a survey of Groupware evaluations in CSCW Proceedings ‘90, ‘92, ‘94, ‘96, and ‘98. Articles were selected if they included evaluations of Groupware applications or included thorough discussions of Groupware applications. In order for an application to be classified as Groupware, it had to allow multiple users to work collaboratively toward a common goal [23]. A total of 45 articles were included in the study. In order to collect a broad range of information, a set of categories and criteria were developed to serve as a collection framework for the data in the articles. Data in the evaluations found in the articles was then gathered and analyzed. Of the 32 articles that included evaluations, only 41% evaluated complete implementations of Groupware applications in real world settings, and even fewer of these evaluated the social, organizational, or cultural impact the software had on the work settings. Additionally, a high proportion of articles introduced new Groupware applications but failed to discuss evaluation or included incomplete information. This paper discusses these findings and makes recommendations for improvements in current research methods and proposes new directions for research on Groupware evaluation.
