Automated assistance for the telemeeting lifecycle

ABSTRACT

We analyse eighteen months of national and international deployment of a prototype telemeeting system supporting synchronous remote meetings which make extensive use of shared documents as well as video and audio conferencing. Logistics of a telemeeting include scheduling people and equipment, document format conversion, pre-sending documents, training, equipment and call setup, and meeting followup. The logistics burden is much larger than expected and can be a barrier to adoption of telemeeting technology. Using a process model that recognises moving between solo and group, asynchronous and synchronous work modes, the paper explores the amenability of individual logistics tasks to automated assistance, proposes a framework for such assistance, and develops a set of design principles.

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INDEX TERMS

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

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.2 Types of Systems
          Subjects: Logistics

General Terms:
Theory

Keywords:
CSCW, automated assistance, group work