Interaction in collaborative computer supported diagram development

Abstract

A number of computer programs have been developed to allow multiple people to work on the same document at the same time from different computers possibly in different locations. These allow groups to create and modify text and diagrams. A problem for people using these programs is that the physical constraints of working together are removed. For example, there is no pen to share, and everyone can access any part of the diagram without bumping into another person. Without being able to see each other, two people might try to make changes to the same word or shape in a diagram. While this might be good cooperative work, there is a risk that they have different intentions, which results in interfering actions. CoDiagram, a program to allow multi-person drawing of diagrams, was used to measure the interactions between people working together to create a diagram to solve a design problem. Understanding this interaction is an important aspect of designing collaborative software that will be easy to use and that people will like. It was found that the people readily adapted to using the multi-person diagram software. About 65% of the shapes in the diagram were manipulated by more than one of the people in a group, showing widespread sharing of the work. While it was found that interference is relatively rare, the people rated the impact of the interference as significant.