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4.3 ~thno~ra~hic studies of collaboration and communication 1 29

4.3 Ethnographic studies of collaboration
and communication

One of the main approaches to informing the design of collaborative technolo-
gies that takes into account social concerns is carrying out an ethnographic study
(a type of field study). Observations of the setting, be it home, work, school, pub-
lic place, or other setting, are made, examining the current work and other col-
laborative practices people engage in. The way existing technologies and
everyday artifacts are used is also analyzed. The outcome of such studies can be
very illuminating, revealing how people currently manage in their work and
everyday environments. They also provide a basis from which to consider how
such existing settings might be improved or enhanced through the introduction
of new technologies, and can also expose problematic assumptions about how
collaborative technologies will or should be used in a setting (for more on how to
use ethnography to inform design, see Chapter 9; how to do ethnography is cov-
ered in Chapter 12).
Many studies have analyzed in detail how people carry out their work in differ-
ent settings (Plowman et al., 1995). The findings of these studies are used both to
inform the design of a specific system, intended for a particular workplace, and
more generally, to provide input into the design of new technologies. They can also
highlight problems with existing system design methods. For example, an early
study by Lucy Suchman (1983) looked at the way existing office technologies were
being designed in relation to how people actually worked. She observed what really
happened in a number of offices and found that there was a big mismatch between
the way work was actually accomplished and the way people were supposed to
work using the office technology provided. She argued that designers would be
much better positioned to develop systems that could match the way people be-
have and use technology, if they began by considering the actual details of work
practice.
In her later, much-cited study of how pairs of users interacted with an interac-
tive help system-intended as a facility for using with a photocopier-Suchman
(1987) again stressed the point that the design of interactive systems would greatly
benefit from analyses that focused on the unique details of the user's particular sit-
uation-rather than being based on preconceived models of how people ought to
(and will) follow instructions and procedures. Her detailed analysis of how the
help system was unable to help users in many situations, highlighted the inade-
quacy of basing the design of an interactive system purely on an abstract user
model.
Since Suchman's seminal work, a large number of ethnographic studies have
examined how work gets done in a range of companies (e.g., fashion, design, multi-
media, newspapers) and local government. Other settings have also recently come
under scrutiny to see how technologies are used and what people do at home, in
public places, in schools, and even cyberspace. Here, the objective has been to un-
derstand better the social aspects of each setting and then to come up with implica-
tions for the design of future technologies that will support and extend these. For
more on the way user studies can inform future technologies, see the interview at
the end of this chapter with Abigail Sellen.