Open Implementation and Flexibility in CSCW Toolkits

Based on an analysis of current CSCW toolkits, and on the interaction between user behaviour and system design, it is demonstrated that, as in many other areas of system development, traditional notions of abstraction in system design mitigate against the design of open, flexible systems.

Abstract

The design of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) systems involves a variety of disciplinary approaches, drawing as much on sociological and psychological perspectives on group and individual activity as on technical approaches to designing distributed systems. Traditionally, these have been applied independently---the technical approaches focussing on design criteria and implementation strategies, the social approaches focussing on the analysis of working activity with or without technological support. However, the disciplines are more strongly related than this suggests. Technical strategies---such as the mechanisms for data replication, distribution and coordination---have a significant impact on the forms of interaction in which users can engage, and therefore on how their work proceeds. Consequently, the findings of sociological and psychological investigations of collaborative working have direct impact for how we go about designing collaborative systems. In support...