Helping CSCW applications succeed: the role of mediators in the context of use

ABSTRACT

This study found that the use of a computer conferencing system in an R&D lab was significantly shaped by a set of intervening actors—mediators—who actively guided and manipulated the technology and its use over time. These mediators adapted the technology to its initial context and shaped user interaction with it; over time, they continued to modify the technology and influence use patterns to respond to changing circumstances. We argue that well-managed mediation may be a useful mechanism for shaping technologies to evolving contexts of use, and that it extends our understanding of the powerful role that intervenors can play in helping CSCW applications succeed.

REFERENCES

• 1: Cynthia Mathis Beath, Supporting the information technology champion, MIS Quarterly, v.15 n.3, p.355-372, Sept. 1991 [doi>10.2307/249647]
• 2: Christine V. Bullen , John L. Bennett, Learning from user experience with groupware, Proceedings of the 1990 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, p.291-302, October 07-10, 1990, Los Angeles, California, United States [doi>10.1145/99332.99362]
• 3: Culnan, M. J. Chauffeured versus end-user access to commercial databases: The effects of tasks and individual differences. MIS Quarterly 7,1 (March 1983), 56-67.
• 4: Gordon B. Davis , Margrethe H. Olson, Management information systems: conceptual foundations, structure, and development (2nd ed.), McGraw-Hill, Inc., New York, NY, 1984
• 5: DeJean, D., and DeJean, S.B. Lotus Notes at Work. Lotus Books, New York, 1991.
• 6: Eisenhardt, K.M. Building theories from case study research. Academy of Management Review 14,4 (1989), 532-550.
• 7: Andrew L. Friedman , Dominic S. Cornford, Computer Systems Development: History Organization and Implementation, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, NY, 1989
• 8: Jonathan Grudin, Why CSCW applications fail: problems in the design and evaluation of organization of organizational interfaces, Proceedings of the 1988 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, p.85-93, September 26-28, 1988, Portland, Oregon, United States [doi>10.1145/62266.62273]
• 9: Jonathan Grudin, Interactive Systems: Bridging the Gaps Between Developers and Users, Computer, v.24 n.4, p.59-69, April 1991 [doi>10.1109/2.76263]
• 10: Jonathan Grudin, Groupware and social dynamics: eight challenges for developers, Communications of the ACM, v.37 n.1, p.92-105, Jan. 1994 [doi>10.1145/175222.175230]
• 11: Austin Henderson , Morten Kyng, There's no place like home: continuing design in use, Design at work: cooperative design of computer systems, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Mahwah, NJ, 1992
• 12: Howell, J.M., and Higgins, C.A. Champions of technological innovation, Administrative Science Quarterly 35,2 (1990), 317-341.
• 13: Bonnie McDaniel Johnson , Ronald E. Rice, Managing organizational innovation: the evolution from word processing to office information systems, Columbia University Press, New York, NY, 1987
• 14: Kenneth L. Kraemer , John Leslie King, Computer-based systems for cooperative work and group decision making, ACM Computing Surveys (CSUR), v.20 n.2, p.115-146, June 1988 [doi>10.1145/46157.46158]
• 15: Mackay, WE. Users and Customizable Software: A Co-adaptive Phenomenon. Unpublished Ph.D. Thesis, MIT, Cambridge, MA, 1990.
• 16: Maidique, M.A. Entrepreneurs, champions, and technological innovation. Sloan Management Rev~few 21,2 (Winter 1980), 59-76.
• 17: Thomas W. Malone , Kum-Yew Lai , Christopher Fry, Experiments with Oval: a radically tailorable tool for cooperative work, Proceedings of the 1992 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, p.289-297, November 01-04, 1992, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [doi>10.1145/143457.143532]
• 18: Markus, M.L. Towards a "critical mass" theory of interactive media: Universal access, interdependence and diffusion. Communication Research 14 (1987), 491-511.
• 19: M. Lynne Markus , Terry Connolly, Why CSCW applications fail: problems in the adoption of interdependent work tools, Proceedings of the 1990 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, p.371-380, October 07-10, 1990, Los Angeles, California, United States [doi>10.1145/99332.99368]
• 20: Miles, M.B., and Huberman, A.M. Qualitative Data Publications, Newbury Park, CA, 1984.
• 21: Modesto, M.A. Entrepreneurs, champions, and technological innovation. Sloan Management Review 21,2 (Winter 1980), 59-76.
• 22: Bonnie A. Nardi , James R. Miller, An ethnographic study of distributed problem solving in spreadsheet development, Proceedings of the 1990 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, p.197-208, October 07-10, 1990, Los Angeles, California, United States [doi>10.1145/99332.99355]
• 23: Wanda J. Orlikowski, Learning from Notes: organizational issues in groupware implementation, Proceedings of the 1992 ACM conference on Computer-supported cooperative work, p.362-369, November 01-04, 1992, Toronto, Ontario, Canada [doi>10.1145/143457.143549]
• 24: Schon, D.A. Champions for radical new inventions. Harvard Business Review 41,2 (March-April 1963), 77-86.
• 25: Strassman, Paul A. Information Payoff: The Transformation of Work in the Electronic Age. The Free Press, New York, 1985.
• 26: Randall H. Trigg , Susanne Bødker, From implementation to design: tailoring and the emergence of systematization in CSCW, Proceedings of the 1994 ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work, p.45-54, October 22-26, 1994, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States [doi>10.1145/192844.192869]
• 27: Von Hippel, E. The Sources of Innovation. Oxford University Press, New York, 1988.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications
          Subjects: Computer conferencing, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)

General Terms:
Management, Measurement, Theory

Keywords:
computer conferencing system, contextualizing technology, intervention, technology use