In creating computer-based systems, we work within a perspective that shapes the design questions that will be asked and the kinds of solutions that are sought. This article introduces a perspective based on language as action, and explores its consequences for system design. We describe a communication tool called The Coordinator, which was designed from a language/action perspective; and we suggest how further aspects of coordinated work might be addressed in a similar style. The language/action perspective is illustrated with an example based on studies of nursing work in a hospital ward and contrasted to other currently prominent perspectives.
Most computer-based aids for researchers and other workers have had individuals rather than groups or teams as their beneficiaries. This is unfortunate, since much work in business, government, and academia is performed by groups of people. In this paper we examine research collaborations as a particularly informative example of group work and propose a model of research collaboration that should provide guidance to those developing technology to support collaborative work. The model is based on 50 semi-structured interviews with researchers in psychology, management science, and computer science. It focuses on the problems in forming and maintaining personal relationships and completing tasks that researchers must solve to have a successful collaboration. These problems occur when collaborators are initiating projects, executing them, and documenting results.
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