Supporting Group Work through Hardware and Software Solutions

By Gerd Waloszek, SAP AG, SAP User Experience – September 12, 2002

The focus in this "Collaboration" edition is portal- and Internet-based approaches. In this article, however, I present some combined hardware and software solutions that can increase the efficiency of group work today – or may do so in the future.

With respect to the classification scheme for collaboration presented in Keywords and Definitions Around "Collaboration," most solutions shown here reside in the quadrant "same time (synchronous) – same place (colocated) ;" that is, a group is physically working together at the same time and possibly in parallel. I also discuss how some of the solutions can be extended to other quadrants of the scheme.

 

Enhancing Group Meetings

Let's begin with the simplest form of group work, namely group meetings. In such a setting, a number of people sit together in one room and either listen to a presentation or discuss issues cooperatively; more rarely, the group will be working together on a certain task, such as creating an artifact (other than some paper or electronic document).

Media Support

We all know that group meetings can be more effective with the appropriate media support. Media help, among other things, to structure discussions and illustrate points. Media also allow the participants to carry common results "home." Yet many meetings are conducted without sufficient media support and rely on the participants' imagination and memory.

To illustrate this, let's look at informal meetings in coffee corners. While its informal nature makes such meetings attractive and easy to schedule, they also have their drawbacks, for example, high background noise level and – as indicated above – insufficient media support. For two to three people, a laptop, or paper notes may be appropriate tools, but as soon as the group becomes larger, it is hard to demonstrate applications or present issues and results to the whole group.

There is also no network support in coffee corners that would enable groups to connects their computers to the company Intranet or to internal servers. In a few years, however, companies will have wireless LANs installed that overcome these limitations. Then employees will be able to connect their computers to the company network from any location within a company's site.

Whiteboards and Flipcharts

Blackboards were the traditional media in group meetings for a long time. While most of them have been replaced by whiteboards and flipcharts in the meantime, their basic functionality and purpose has not changed. Flipcharts offer the advantage of keeping a paper record of the public notes, while whiteboards have to be erased before the presenter can continue with new notes if the board is filled. However, flipcharts are much smaller than whiteboards and – on the other side of the medal – cannot be easily erased if you make an error or want to modify notes.

The real problem with the whiteboard, however, arises, when people leave the meeting to continue their work. Most often, the notes on the whiteboard are lost if the participants did not take personal copies. For participants who could not take part in the meeting but need to be informed, the problem is even more severe – they need to be sent meeting minutes if there are any (which is often not the case), or personal notes taken by someone else. When using a flipchart, you can keep the flipchart sheets but distribution of the meeting results to interested parties is still an issue.

So what can you do? The first option that may come to mind are whiteboards that are able to print out information or even it to a computer. Such whiteboards are often bulky, expensive, and therefore available or only in restricted rooms, if at all. They only offer black-and-white output typically.

There is a less expensive and easily transportable option, though, called "mimio" – a small device that is attached to a whiteboard. (A "flipchart version" of mimio is also available.) It records all pen and eraser movements and thus can keep a complete record of the whiteboard changes during a session. You can save a session in a file and then distribute the file to the participants and to people who could not attend the meeting. The mimio viewer software can be downloaded for free from the Virtual Ink Website, which encourages distribution of files. However, an unedited file may not be that useful to others because it contains too much extraneous information and needs annotation.

mimio can also be used with an ink-less pen in "mouse mode," which allows you to interact with the computer on a screen projection on a wall or whiteboard. However, if you need both modes you are better with two mimios because switching modes is cumbersome.

mimio has its drawbacks and requires getting used to. It educates you to write legibly, which may be a good thing.

mimio connected to a whiteboard and a laptop computer

Figure 1: mimio connected to a whiteboard and a laptop computer (image taken from mimio Website with my own drawing)

A digital camera (digicam) allows you to take static snapshots of flipchart pages, or of relevant whiteboard states. That sounds like an ideal solution for meetings that do not require a dynamic protocol, but few departments currently own a digital camera. Image processing is another issue: You will often find that whiteboard photos require some retouching because low contrast, light gradients, reflections, or distortions make the content hard to read. Many employees, however, lack the required knowledge for image processing. But help is at hand: Whiteboard Photo, a small application from PolyVision, aims to simplify this task. You can download a demo version from PolyVision's Website and check for yourself whether it lives up to its promises.

Here is a short demo of what Whiteboard Photo does:

Original whiteboard photo

Figure 2a: The original whiteboard photo (cropped vertically)

Result of Whiteboard Photo's processing including automatic cropping

Figure 2b: The result of Whiteboard Photo's processing including automatic cropping. (Note: the demo version adds a background text to the image.)

Screen Sharing

If you want to extend the meeting scenario to the quadrant "same time – different place," you may be in trouble, again. But take heart: There are a number of video conferencing tools and services, such as NetMeeting, WebEx, or Click to Meet that allow you to share computer screens over local networks or the Internet. WebEx, for example, is a screen sharing service using the Internet; the concurrent voice signal is transmitted via phone lines. At SAP, WebEx is primarily used for presentations, that is, for one-to-many settings.

mimio offers two options for one-to-many settings, such as teaching scenarios or presentations:

  • mimio boardCast: You can use streaming audio to transmit the whiteboard state and an audio signal over the Internet
  • mimio classRoom: Students can add private annotations to the teacher's presentation on the virtual whiteboard, which is transmitted over a computer network (thus, this technology does not use the Internet)

mimio notes (whiteboard images) can be shared over the Internet using the Glance Networks service, a simple screen sharing service similar to WebEx but targeted at the home market (no audio, Windows only).

Video Sessions

Finally, let's look at the quadrants "different time – same/different place." For one-to-many settings, such as presentations or keynote speeches, video recordings are an option. The video recording can be converted into computer-readable format, such as streaming video, and distributed over the Intranet or Internet. SAP uses this technology for internal project forums as well as for major public events. This technology can also be used for real-time transmission to different locations ("same time – different place"). The keynote speeches from Steve Jobs at Apple Computers are a famous example of this.

References

 

Collaborative Planning with Physical Icons

The techniques described above have focused on more "natural interactions" like writing on a whiteboard. I have tried to show how they can enhance group work with the addition of appropriate software and hardware. Of course, there are sophisticated software-only tools for sharing electronic documents and making annotations. But these tools typically require interacting with the mouse and are cumbersome to use to some degree.

Now I return to the quadrant "same place – same time" to further investigate options for computer-supported group work that is based on natural physical actions. The great advantage of simple physical actions is that they are easily understood and can be carried out in parallel. (Parallel mouse pointers are possible but probably very confusing). This will also gain significance in the future because the solution presented here is explored in a research project only and will not be available for quite some time.

The Senseboard – A Tangible Interface

The Tangible Media group at the MIT Media Lab, headed by Hiroshi Ishii, explores so-called "tangible interfaces." These are made of simple physical objects (once called physical icons), which are manipulated in physical space, for example, moved, rotated, added, or removed. The physical space may be flat, for example, a projection from a computer screen, a large-sized computer screen itself, a real map on a table, and so on, or even three-dimensional like a building. The small objects are able to interact with this computer-generated or -supported space (computer-supported means that the computer reconstructs the physical space) because they contain tiny electronic circuits that transmit their location and identity to the computer (see Smart Dust below). A wireless network and appropriate software for the interaction are prerequisites for such a scenario.

Let me present just one example of the Tangible Media Group's work, the Senseboard, which is used for organizing abstract information on a grid – scheduling might be an appropriate task here. The research group presents Senseboard as follows:

Senseboard is one facet of our using tangible media for manipulating abstract information. It allows the user to arrange small magnetic pucks on a grid, where each puck represents a piece of information to be organized, such as a message, file, bookmark, citation, presentation slide, movie scene, or newspaper story. As the user manipulates the physical puck, the corresponding digital information is projected onto the board. Special pucks may be placed on the board to execute commands or request additional information. We seek to combine the benefits of physical manipulation (natural, fluid, rapid, two-handed, multi-person interaction) with the benefits we can get from computer augmentation (interactive commands, functions, queries, operations, importing and exporting data, and remote collaboration). We believe this type of interface is thus more effective for tasks involving organizing, grouping, and manipulating types of information that have no inherent physical representation, and it provides an example of a tangible interface for a typical "knowledge worker" task.
(From Tangible Media Group Website)

Manipulating data with Senseboard

Figure 3: Manipulating data with Senseboard in parallel (from Tangible Media Group Website)

Senseboard was demonstrated in a paper at the CHI 2002 conference. The authors conclude:

Our conference paper task is representative of a larger class of generic arranging, organizing, or grouping tasks for which this type of interface should be useful, such as papers for a literature search, pages for a Web site design, files on a computer disk, slides for a presentation, employees to be reorganized, or ideas in a brainstorming session. We demonstrate how a tangible user interface can be provided for this kind of abstract or non-geometric problem domain to yield better performance than existing alternatives.
(From CHI 2002 paper)

Distributed Senseboards

If we want to extend our scenario to other quadrants, the most obvious choice is "same time – different place." That is, people equipped with a Senseboard might do the organization task in parallel at different places. A video connection that displays the remote groups during their work and provides sound is also needed. Pucks from remote groups might be indicated on the Senseboard by the respective visual attributes.

References

 

Turning Rooms and Buildings into Collaborative Environments – The Future

Smart Dust – It's Me and I am Here

The Senseboard and many other physical devices used by the MIT's Tangible Media Group utilize a variant of Smart Dust, which has been developed by Brett Warneke and Kris Pister at the University of Berkeley, CA. Smart Dust is a tiny electronic device that transmits information about the identity and location of objects; it also has the potential of reporting more information if more memory is built-in. If the information transmitted by such a device is fed into a wireless computer network it can be utilized in a variety of ways. For example, Smart Dust can be used in smart office spaces and conference rooms.

In his view of sensor networks in 2010, Kris Pister writes about the buildings and conference rooms of the future:

In 2010 your house and office will be aware of your presence, and even orientation, in a given room. Lighting, heating, and other comforts will be adjusted accordingly. If you and a colleague are looking for a conference room, you will know which is the nearest available . If you're in an unfamiliar building, lighting will guide you, with a ribbon of arrows on the floor or the walls, annotated with the name of the room they are pointing to, and color coded if there are two lost souls whose paths may cross.

Smart Dust

Figure 4: Smart Dust (from K. Pister's Website)

A Future Conference Scenario

Let's spin Kris Pister's thread further and apply it to a business scenario: If you enter a conference room in your company, the devices inside the room will announce their availability and state, the room itself will announce its schedule and options and also register who takes part in the meeting physically and who does so from a remote site. Of course, the room software will also take care of the meeting minutes. And because the room detects who is present, conference minutes can be sent automatically to the participants, including the remote ones, and interested parties. If your meeting exceeds the time reserved you may connect to the central room booking service and either reserve the room for another hour or search for an available room with appropriate equipment

It's not only Smart Dust that enables this vision. As with tangible interfaces, you also need a wireless computer network inside the building, or even within a company's site, and the respective software that offers services, such as conference room bookings.

References

 

Turning Rooms and Buildings into Collaborative Environments – Where We Are Today

Finally, let's return to what is already available – even though it may not be affordable for every company. The German Fraunhofer Institute is conducting a project called Ambiente, which is based on preceding approaches, such as i-LAND, and explores the role of offices and buildings as activity and experience spaces. Physical spaces, such as buildings, take a new role as "cooperative spaces" and become interfaces to information and cooperation.

First sketch of the I-LAND office environment

Figure 5: First sketch of the I-LAND office environment (1997), a predecessor of Ambiente (from Ambiente Website)

Ambiente and Roomware® – Intelligent Buildings and Furniture

Roomware® is part of the Ambiente project and explores computer-augmented room elements like doors, walls, and furniture (for example, tables and chairs) with integrated information and communication technology. A cooperation with the German furniture manufacturer Wilkhahn added a more stylish look to the second-generation Roomware® components. The networked environment is managed through the hypertext software BEACH that connects all room elements and allows the easy exchange of computational objects between different Roomware® components. The software is operated with pens and gestures. The current steep price tag will however prevent Roomware® from invading too many offices.

The Roomware components in action

Figure 6: The Roomware® components in action, featuring the new design by Wilkhahn (from Ambiente Website)

Now, let's take a look at the hardware and software components of Roomware®.

Hardware Components

Roomware® consists of a number of hardware components, such as tables, chairs and projection walls with inbuilt interaction, display, and communication facilities. The devices are connected to the computer via a wireless network. You can see the second-generation versions of the Roomware® components below.

DynaWall   InteracTable
DynaWall®: Interactive electronic wall (4.5x1.1 sq.m.)   InteracTable®: Interactive table for informal group discussions and planned cooperation
CommChar   ConnecTable
CommChair®: Combines the mobility and comfort of armchairs with the functionality of a pen-based computer  

ConnecTable®: Modular version of the CommChair® with new functionality; it is a mobile, networked, and context-aware information appliance that facilitates pen-based individual and cooperative work
Passage    

Passage: The Passage mechanism provides an intuitive way to physically transport virtual information structures using arbitrary physical objects (Passengers)

The figure shows a red Passenger on the bridge of the InteracTable®

    

Figure 7a-e: The Roomware® hardware components. (Texts and photos from Ambiente Website.)

Software Components

The Roomware® hardware components are controlled by the following software:

  • BEACH: Cooperative hypermedia system based on the use of fingers and pens (gestures); allows cooperative sharing for multiple-device interactions
  • MagNets: Metaplan software
  • PalmBeach: Special version of BEACH that supports mobile work; can be used with PDAs

Thus BEACH can be manipulated through simple physical interactions using fingers or pens (gestures) – a type of interaction that is a recurring theme in this article.

It is possible to complement the software package with further software for group support, such as mind-mapping tools, idea processors, or scheduling and planning software. In a Senseboard-like planning session, for example, a grid might be projected at the DynaWall® to be watched by the whole group and also displayed on the chair or table screens so that it can be manipulated locally.

And Now?

Before you rush out to buy a collection of Roomware® furniture to pack into your offices, keep in mind that this equipment has its price. You also have to install a wireless network and the respective computers. On the other hand, Roomware® not only demonstrates what is possible today, it also shows that the right mixture of innovative hardware and software is the way to go for effectively enhancing group work.

And What About Distributed Roomware®?

While there is no mention in the Roomware® publications or on its Website of distributed Roomware® settings, it is conceivable to extend Roomware® to the quadrant "same time – different place." Video conferencing software could be used to record the teams live. Remote teams could be displayed in almost life-size on DynaWalls® and thus integrated into the other teams fairly naturally. Passage mechanism and the BEACH software could enable the exchange of virtual artifacts between teams. As far as I see it, insufficient bandwidth is the major obstacle to overcome today to transmit the required video and interaction data in real-time.

References

 

Final Word

Technology is one option for improving collaboration; personal relations and a productive company culture on the other hand are at least as important. Secondly, with respect to technology, it is not enough to just feed the computers we have today with some smart programs to do the trick. Of course, we need smart programs, especially those capable of operating in a networked environment. But we also have to face the fact that new and innovative hardware – be it as small as Smart Dust or as large as DynaWalls® – is necessary to transform our working environments and possibly our private homes, too, into productive collaborative environments.

 

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