CoasterMe: Supporting Informal Workplace Awareness Through the Everyday Behaviour of Drinking

Abstract

Maintaining awareness of the presence of colleagues can be difficult when collaboration is distributed across separate offices. In this paper we present CoasterMe, a situated desktop widget that leverages the natural behaviour of drinking to support informal awareness of a colleague's availability in the workplace. A pilot field trial showed that CoasterMe helped coworkers to build in-the-moment awareness of availability and supported an improved understanding of work routines, enhancing social coordination and preventing wasted effort. CoasterMe also created a sense of co-presence and connectedness by making users feel as if they are sharing a drink over distance.