Analysis of gestures in face-to-face design teams provides guidance for how to use groupware in design

Abstract

Many phases of design projects are done in groups. Communication in these groups is naturally supported through a variety of gestures. We catalog four types of gestures that people use when engaged in design (kinetic, spatial, pointing, and other), and overlay it with the purpose of the design subtask, -- design, meeting management, and other. From this and other observations, we list recommendations for supporting this kind of communication in settings which have technology support, either face-to-face with group editors (where people do not necessarily see the same thing at the same time), and remote work (where people see neither the same view of the object nor a full room view of the other participants).