CSCW research examples:
From ethnographic studies to
working prototypes
John C. Tang
October 30, 2007
Research: Using video to
support collaboration
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My research focuses on supporting
collaboration (CSCW)
Uses ethnographic studies for needfinding
Example of design process, differences
from popular trends
NEEDS
DESIGN
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EVALUATE
IMPLEMENT
Popular: High fidelity
video conferencing
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Cisco Telepresence
HP Halo
Polycom Real Presence Experience
High fidelity video and audio
Cisco Telepresence
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Target audience: Company Executives
Rules of Telepresence
• Present far end participants life size
• Provide virtual eye contact
• Do not pollute visual display with
distractions
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Are these the main needs for successful
everyday collaboration?
Popular: iChat AV
desktop video conferencing
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Apple iChat AV
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Integrated into all Macintosh
computers
Very easy to use
Attractive graphical presentation
Are these the main needs for successful
everyday collaboration?
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Awareness cues for
remote collaboration
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Hard part is social problem
• Gracefully sharing a workspace
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Cues for negotiating interaction lost among
remote collaborators (i.e., phone)
Review research prototypes for remote
collaboration
• VideoDraw
• VideoWhiteboard
Innovation in mediated support for collaboration
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Ethnography
Branch of anthropology that deals with
the scientific description of specific
human cultures
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Typically applied to study of foreign
cultures
More recently applied to work cultures
or simply users of technology
Ethnographic studies of
collaboration activity
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Studying pairs and teams of people
working together
Shared drawing example
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Shared workspace
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Creating an engaging, interactive shared
workspace among remote collaborators
Sharing awareness cues that enable
collaborators to negotiate
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Graceful turn-taking
Gestures with respect to drawings
Showing the process of creating drawings
Sharing space
Building on each others’ work
VideoDraw shared
drawing space
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Based on empirical studies of teams
engaged in conceptual design
Series of video-based prototypes for
creating a shared drawing surface
– Table-sized VideoDraw
– Whiteboard-sized VideoWhiteboard
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Built in a Media Space environment
Xerox PARC
Scott Minneman and Media Space team
VideoDraw Schematic
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VideoDraw (video)
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VideoDraw circa 2007
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Recently announced Microsoft Surface
Research prototype application
http://www.popularmechanics.com/blogs/technology_news/4213259.html
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VideoWhiteboard
Schematic
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VideoWhiteboard demo
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Ethnography in HCI
design
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Identifying user needs
– Sharing workspace
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Design implications for innovative
technology
Enabling doing new things
in familiar ways
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For more information
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Tang, John C. and Scott L. Minneman, "VideoDraw:
A Video Interface for Collaborative Drawing", ACM
Transactions on Information Systems, Vol. 9, No. 2,
April 1991, pp. 170-184.
Tang, John C. and Scott L. Minneman,
"VideoWhiteboard: Video Shadows to Support
Remote Collaboration", CHI '91, 1991, pp. 315-322.
Tang, John C. and Scott L. Minneman, "VideoDraw:
A Video Interface for Collaborative Drawing", CHI
'90, Seattle, WA, 1990, pp. 313-320.
Group project assignment
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Checkpoint now due Nov. 7
– Sign up for 15-minute block from 12:00-3:00 on
Nov. 7 (Soda 405)
– Email btsao@berkeley.edu with 3-top choices of
15-minute block by Thursday, Nov. 1 (he will
publish schedule)
– Prepare 10-minute demo of at least 2 features
– Your opportunity to get feedback from us
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Public demo sesssion still Nov. 13
– Prepare poster by 5:00pm Sunday, Nov. 11