THE EFFECTS OF WORKSPACE AWARENESS SUPPORT ON THE USABILITY OF REAL-TIME DISTRIBUTED GROUPWARE

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dc.contributor.authorGutwin, Carleng
dc.contributor.authorGreenberg, Sauleng
dc.date.accessioned2008-02-27T22:12:46Z
dc.date.available2008-02-27T22:12:46Z
dc.date.computerscience1999-05-27eng
dc.date.issued1998-10-01eng
dc.description.abstractReal-time collaboration in current groupware workspace is often an awkward and clumsy process. We hypothesize that better support for workspace awareness - the understanding of who is in the workspace, where they are working, and what they are doing - can improve the usability of these shared computational workspaces. We conducted an experiment that compared people's performance on two versions of a groupware interface. The interfaces used workspace miniatures to provide different levels of support for workspace awareness. The basic miniature showed information only about the local user, and the enhanced miniature showed the location and activity of other people in the workspace as well. We examined five aspects of groupware usability: task completion times, communication efficiency, the participants' perceived effort, overall preference, and strategy use. In two of three task types tested, completion times were lower in the awareness-enhanced system, and in one task type, communication was more efficient. The additional awareness information also allowed people to use different and more effective strategies to complete the tasks. Participants greatly preferred the awareness-enhanced system. The study provides empirical evidence that support for workspace awareness improves the usability of groupware, and also uncovers some of the reasons underlying this improvement.eng
dc.description.notesWe are currently acquiring citations for the work deposited into this collection. We recognize the distribution rights of this item may have been assigned to another entity, other than the author(s) of the work.If you can provide the citation for this work or you think you own the distribution rights to this work please contact the Institutional Repository Administrator at digitize@ucalgary.caeng
dc.identifier.department1998-632-23eng
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/30780
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1880/45975
dc.language.isoEngeng
dc.publisher.corporateUniversity of Calgaryeng
dc.publisher.facultyScienceeng
dc.subjectComputer Scienceeng
dc.titleTHE EFFECTS OF WORKSPACE AWARENESS SUPPORT ON THE USABILITY OF REAL-TIME DISTRIBUTED GROUPWAREeng
dc.typeunknown
thesis.degree.disciplineComputer Scienceeng
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