Page 137 -

106 Chapter 4 Design for collaboration and communication

I
The main aims of this chapter are to:
Explain what is meant by communication and collaboration.
Describe the main kinds of social mechanisms that are used by people to
communicate and collaborate.
Outline the range of collaborative systems that have been developed to sup-
port this kind of social behavior.
Consider how field studies and socially-based theories can inform the design
of collaborative systems.

I
4.2 Social mechanisms in communication and collaboration
I
l
A fundamental aspect of everyday life is talking, during which we pass on knowl-
edge to each other. We continuously update each other about news, changes, and
developments on a given project, activity, person, or event. For example, friends
and families keep each other posted on what's happening at work, school, at the
pub, at the club, next door, in soap operas, and in the news. Similarly, people who
work together keep each other informed about their social lives and everyday hap-
penings-as well as what is happening at work, for instance when a project is about
to be completed, plans for a new project, problems with meeting deadlines, rumors
about closures, and so on.
The kinds of knowledge that are circulated in different social circles are di-
verse, varying among social groups and across cultures. The frequency with which
knowledge is disseminated is also highly variable. It can happen continuously
throughout the day, once a day, weekly or infrequently. The means by which com-
munication happens is also flexible-it can take place via face to face conversa-
tions, telephone, videophone, messaging, email, fax, and letters. Non-verbal
communication also plays an important role in augmenting face to face conversa-
tion, involving the use of facial expressions, back channeling (the "aha's" and
"umms"), voice intonation, gesturing, and other kinds of body language.
All this may appear self-evident, especially when one reflects on how we inter-
act with one another. Less obvious is the range of social mechanisms and practices
that have evolved in society to enable us to be social and maintain social order.
Various rules, procedures, and etiquette have been established whose function is to
let people know how they should behave in social groups. Below we describe three
main categories of social mechanisms and explore how technological systems have
been and can be designed to facilitate these:
the use of conversational mechanisms to facilitate the flow of talk and help
overcome breakdowns during it
the use of coordination mechanisms to allow people to work and interact
together
the use of awareness mechanisms to find out what is happening, what others
are doing and, conversely, to let others know what is happening