Facilitating Collaborative Sensemaking in Distributed Project Teams Using Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) tools Shy Ravid

Avy Shtub

Faculty of Industrial Engineering Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management

and Management

Technion – Israel Institute of

Technion – Israel Institute of

Technology

Technology

Haifa 3200, Israel

Haifa 3200, Israel

[email protected]

[email protected]

Anat Rafaeli Faculty of Industrial Engineering and Management Technion – Israel Institute of Technology Haifa 3200, Israel [email protected]

Copyright is held by the author/owner(s). CHI 2008, April 5 – April 10, 2008, Florence, Italy ACM 1-xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx.

Abstract We discuss ways in which computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) tools can support collaborative sensemaking in distributed project teams. Prevailing analyses have focused on collaborative sense-making in the context of ongoing and recurring face to face interaction. This may suggest that distributed project teams are challenged since their sensemaking can draw only on interaction that is mediated by technological aids. We suggest that visualization and synchronous communication tools can help distributed teams to overcome this challenge. Moreover we suggest that the integration of both types of tools would enhance collaborative sensemaking and as a consequence would improve the quality of decisions and project outcomes. We make these suggestions by building on relevant literature and present an empirical setting to test our theory. The empirical studies should be completed by the time of the workshop.

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Keywords Collaborative Sensemaking; CSCW; Virtual Teams.

ACM Classification Keywords H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces; H.1.2 User/Machine Systems.

In the following sections we first describe the problems that distributed teams are faced with when they are trying to make sense collaboratively. Then we explain how CSCW tools can facilitate sensemaking. Finally we present methodology to test our theory.

Collaborative Sensemaking in Virtual teams Introduction Sense making is a critical element of collaborative work. This is the process through which individuals view and interpret the world and then act accordingly. Sensemaking determines the way in which people respond to uncertain events and construe their perceptions regarding goals, priorities and problems they should face [14]. Collaborative sensemaking is performed when a group of people makes sense collectively and comes to shared understandings. We consider collaborative sensemaking as drawing from individual level cognitive processes as well as social interaction processes. More specifically, individuals process information, integrate and interpret it and through social interaction they share their understandings [3]. In traditional face to face settings this process can rely on intensive face to face communication and the tacit verbal as well as the nonverbal information it affords [14]. In the work of distributed virtual teams interaction must rely on computer mediated communication and the non-verbal and tacit information is more limited. Hence such teams may encounter difficulties in developing collaborative sensemaking. In this paper we suggest how technological aids can help overcoming these difficulties. More specifically, we suggest that web based visualization and synchronous communication tools can facilitate collaborative sensemaking in distributed teams.

Global economic expansion has led to a work environment in which work teams are geographically distributed. Especially when the work is technologically complex, such as in product development teams, work in virtual teams is common. The development of complex technological systems requires knowledge and expertise that is likely to be distributed geographically. Hence project teams often involve experts employed by the same firm but located in different geographical areas. Moreover, project stakeholders – suppliers, customers, and support staff -- are often globally distributed and hence project teams are geographically distributed. One of the problems that can haunt distributed teams is that their member do not develop social awareness and don't know what other people are doing [5]. The lacking social awareness limits the ability to engage in collaborative sensemaking from several reasons: (1) it is hard to ask for a team member to seek support or advice from another member when not knowing who may have the answers [6]. (2)People are not aware of all work products (documents, programming codes, plans etc.) and moreover do not aware of the activities that others perform to produce them. (3) People are not aware of contrasting goals and constraints of others and may hold unrealistic expectations from them. As a consequence each person is likely to interpret the goals

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and problems of the team according to his or her own knowledge and perspective.

have a facilitated role in this process as we elaborate next.

Without some shared knowledge base or an effective interaction between team members, severe gaps are likely to occur in the understanding of reality. In other words, people are unlikely to make sense of the reality the team faces in a collective fashion. Rather than having one team what may evolve is a set of individual perceptions of reality that do not blend into one coherent picture. Such environment may harm decision making and work processes. In addition conflicts may arise and will be difficult to resolve. Indeed, conflicts are found to be more frequent and more disruptive in distributed teams than in collocated teams [7].

CSCW Tools and Sensemaking: Visualization and Synchronous Communication

Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) aids are claimed to support the process of sensemaking in distributed teams [1]. Available work supports the claims that tools can support individual level sensemaking [10, 11, 13]. However, research gave little attention to the question of whether these work aids are effective in supporting collaborative sensemaking. An open and unresolved question that we address regards whether and how support technologies help distributed teams to make sense in a collective manner. We suggest that the influence of CSCW tools can carry over to the ability and willingness of team members to share knowledge, exchange ideas and construe a coherent view of the problems they should face as a team. In other words we claim that CSCW tools support both the cognitive and social components of collaborative sensemaking. Especially we suggest visualization and synchronous communication tools to

CSCW tools make the work of virtual teams possible [2, 9]. We further suggest that visualization tools and synchronous communication tools have the potential to facilitate collaborative sensemaking in distributed teams. Visualization tools present information and arrange knowledge in a visual representation. An advantage of visual representation is that it makes important information more accessible and easier to remember and process. There is evidence that visualization tools support sensemaking at the individual level [4, 13]. We extend this logic to suggest that visualization tools can also support collaborative sensemaking in groups. Using shared visual elements can mean that people observe the work through similar perceptual frames, and rely on similar boundary artifacts. Moreover, visualization helps create social awareness of the team by providing a succinct picture of what others are doing, or under which constrains and toward which goals others are operating [5]. Synchronous communication tools (e.g. video conferencing, instant messaging, whiteboard, voice over IP, etc.) can help creating social awareness [5] and bring virtual communication closer in quality to face to face interaction. Hence we suggest these tools help distributed teams to overcome the lack of FTF communication in the process of sensemaking. In addition, we claim that the integration of synchronous communication aids and visual representations of

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information may enhance the ability of team members to reach agreements and share understandings regarding critical issue such as goals, constraints and other problems they are facing. For example, text messaging and VOIP tools which are matched with visual information sources (charts, graphs etc.) increase the probability that team members will communicate and discuss the work, which is likely to increase collaborative sensemaking. Keel [8] present a system aimed to support collaborative sensemaking according to similar principles. However, there is still no strong empirical evidence that this tool or others indeed enhanced collaborative sensemaking.

Methodological Issues The theory developed above will be examined in empirical work that will be piloted in a laboratory study. Groups of students from two universities will work in a distributed setting on a joint project. Each team will be composed of members from both universities and will work on a project design task. Each team member will be assigned a role description that will specify relevant background, goals and constraints. These will vary between team members. To successfully complete the task, team members will have to coordinate their work and take decisions together as a team. The outcome of the teams would be a complete design and plan of a project. Independent variables – (1)Visualization tools: Teams will vary in the visualization tools that they will be allowed and trained to use. As a visualization tool we will use project management web tools that include charts such as Gantt and networks of activities. These charts help teams better understand the project planning, prioritizing, scheduling and resources

allocation. Half of the groups will be instructed to work with shared written "to do" lists and written documentation templates. The other half will be allowed and trained to work with a shared visual representation of the activities (e.g. Gantt charts) and will be asked to plan the project using a visual representation of the design. (2)Synchronous communication: teams will vary in the communication tools they will use - asynchronous tools (e-mail; forum) or synchronous tools (instant messaging; VOIP/video conversations). Dependent variables – (1) Collaborative Sensemaking to capture the process of collaborative sensemaking the understanding of teams members regarding issues related to the project will be sampled in several time points during the project. The measure for shared understanding will be the rate of agreement between team members regarding key issues such as goals, resources allocation or constraints. The sense-making process will be evident in the change in the agreement over time. Another aspect of sensemaking we will examine is the integration of information sources among teams members using a set of questions to which participants will respond at several points of time during the project. (2) Quality of decisions and outcomes – the quality of decision and outcome of the project plan would be assessed using objective criteria determined by experts on the team task.

Data Analysis The data analysis would focus on the relationships between the different tools used by teams and the measures for sensemaking and project outcomes. In addition we'll examine the interaction between

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visualization tools and synchronous aids in their effect on sensemaking and outcomes.

Software Development. IEEE Transactions on Software Engineering 29, 6 (2003), 1-14.

Summary

[7] Hinds, P. J. and Bailey, D.E. Out of sight, out of synch: Understanding conflict in distributed teams. Organizational Science 14 (2003), 615–632.

This research effort will contribute to the literature by enhancing the knowledge regarding sensemaking in distributed teams and regarding tools that support this process. Our theoretical and empirical analyses will assist in the creation of tools that can more effectively support the work of distributed teams.

References

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