Abstract

Groupware and computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) systems are usually considered collaborative, but some kinds of group activity can actually be competitive. People can have different roles which conflict because they are trying to satisfy different intermediate goals associated with their roles, even though there may appear to be a single consistent goal. This paper examines the differences between systems with one role and with several roles, how this potential conflict between the different roles arises, and provides a number of design rules to reduce the problems of this conflict. These rules are illustrated by an example of a large collaborative system involving many different roles.

Citations

1208	WD: The evolution of cooperation - Axelrod, Hamilton - 1981
648	Groupware: some issues and experiences - Ellis, Gibbs, et al. - 1991
208	WYSIWIS revised: early experiences with multiuser interfaces - Stefik, Bobrow, et al. - 1987
48	User Interface: A Personal View - Kay - 1990
47	Groupware and Cooperative Work: Problems and Prospects, in The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design - Grudin - 1990
45	A theoretical framework for computer models of cooperative dialogue, acknowledging multi agent conflict - Galliers - 1989
28	Systematic Sources of Suboptimal Interface Design - Grudin
24	Conversation as direct manipulation: an iconoclastic view - Brennan - 1990
3	Rooms: The user of multiple virtual workspaces to reduce space contention in a window-based graphical user interface - Henderson, Card - 1986
3	The Active Medium: A Conceptual and Practical Architecture for Direct Manipulation - Took - 1991
2	What Do You Say After You Say Hello? André Deutsch - Berne - 1974