A communication-based framework for group interfaces in computer-supported collaboration

The authors present a framework to guide researchers in examining the communication needs of groups and their members in computer-supported collaborative work and provides a scheme for categorizing the contributions of empirical work.

Abstract

Communication is fundamental to all group work, whether cooperative or competitive. A thorough understanding of the communication flows among collaborators is necessary for effective group interface design, and in turn requires an identification of the various dimensions of intragroup communication. The authors present a framework to guide researchers in examining the communication needs of groups and their members in computer-supported collaborative work. An analysis of communication flows is provided along four dimensions: concurrency, content, path, and channel. The framework is intended to encourage a detailed focus on key aspects of the group interface, to provide a scheme for categorizing the contributions of empirical work, and to identify factors worthy of empirical scrutiny.>