The chapter deconstructs the notion of malleability in regard to interactive systems, mainly seen... more The chapter deconstructs the notion of malleability in regard to interactive systems, mainly seen as the affordance that the system offers to the end users to adapt (some of) the system’s behaviors and structures to their contingent needs, and it positions this concept in the ambit of the different approaches that have characterized it so far in the EUD perspective. The notion of malleability adopted in this chapter lies at the core of a research line that, starting in the late ‘90 with the notion of Coordination Mechanism, is now focusing on a conceptual framework called Logic of Bricolage. This framework conceives of malleability as a first-level affordance to be put in the hands, i.e., in full control of the end users to empower them in appropriating and adapting their applications at different (potentially any) level of detail. The chapter illustrates how this framework has been defined on the basis of several field studies and sketches how it can be instantiated in a computational platform, AdHoc, that is currently oriented to document-based management systems. The chapter will highlight the research efforts that are still needed to make the framework more effective in supporting the collaborative bricolage of the end users.
Abstract The paper shows how redundancy can be put at work to play a positive role in facilitatin... more Abstract The paper shows how redundancy can be put at work to play a positive role in facilitating the cognitive and coordinative tasks of clinicians in a ward setting. The main requirement to accomplish this positive function is to allow and support clinicians in annotating the clinical record and making correlations between redundant data explicit. We report an observational study we undertook in the design of coordination mechanisms based on a minimal set of meaningful correlations.
The paper reports on two different adoption experiences of an in-house Enterprise Social Media (E... more The paper reports on two different adoption experiences of an in-house Enterprise Social Media (ESM), at the local and global level in a big company. It compares the deployment strategies and their impact on the users appropriation of the ESM in the two settings. Our observations let emerge how the local level design strategy aimed to link the initiative to concrete aspects of working practices and to their expected evolution. This met the companies goals, improved users work effectiveness, and led to a quite successful appropriation. The same success was not achieved at the global level, where a quite different strategy drove the initiative on a slippery slope towards a drift from success. The paper distills lessons that can shed light on how an ESM should be introduced within large organizations by taking care of different local conditions, consolidated practices and legacy technologies.
CSCW at large seems to be pursuing two diverging strategies: on one hand a strategy aiming at coo... more CSCW at large seems to be pursuing two diverging strategies: on one hand a strategy aiming at coordination technologies that reduce the complexity of coordinating cooperative activities by regulating the coordinative interactions, and on the other hand a strategy that aims at radically flexible means of interaction which do not regulate interaction but rather leave it to the users to cope with the complexity of coordinating their activities. As both strategies reflect genuine requirements, we need to address the issue of how the gap can be bridged, that is, how the two strategies can be integrated conceptually. In addressing this problem, the paper discusses two general modalities of articulation work — ad hoc alignment and improvisation on the basis of mutual awareness versus coordination in terms of a predefined flow of work — and argues that these modalities are seamlessly meshed and blended in the course of real world cooperative activities. On the basis of this discussion the p...
Abstract. This is a report on an attempt to develop a CSCW infrastructure that can support the co... more Abstract. This is a report on an attempt to develop a CSCW infrastructure that can support the construction and use of malleable and linkable coordination mechanisms. On the basis of a scenario derived from field studies, the paper outlines the Ariadne framework, describes the notation’s main features and illustrates how it can be applied to the scenario. The paper attempts to bridge from sociological investigation to computer science.
This paper investigates the requirements for a technology helping elderly to share their memories... more This paper investigates the requirements for a technology helping elderly to share their memories with acquaintances in terms of narratives. We report the findings from a literature review, a market review and a focus group and draw some principles informing the design of reminiscence-oriented technologies.
Abstract. In this paper, we present an observational case study at a major teaching hospital, whi... more Abstract. In this paper, we present an observational case study at a major teaching hospital, which both inspired and gave us valuable feedback on the design and development of LWOAD. LWOAD is a denotational language we propose to support users of an electronic document system in declaratively expressing, specifying and implementing computational mechanisms that fulfill coordinative requirements. Our focus addresses (a) the user-friendly and formal expression of local coordinative practices;(b) the agile mocking-up of ...
The chapter deconstructs the notion of malleability in regard to interactive systems, mainly seen... more The chapter deconstructs the notion of malleability in regard to interactive systems, mainly seen as the affordance that the system offers to the end users to adapt (some of) the system’s behaviors and structures to their contingent needs, and it positions this concept in the ambit of the different approaches that have characterized it so far in the EUD perspective. The notion of malleability adopted in this chapter lies at the core of a research line that, starting in the late ‘90 with the notion of Coordination Mechanism, is now focusing on a conceptual framework called Logic of Bricolage. This framework conceives of malleability as a first-level affordance to be put in the hands, i.e., in full control of the end users to empower them in appropriating and adapting their applications at different (potentially any) level of detail. The chapter illustrates how this framework has been defined on the basis of several field studies and sketches how it can be instantiated in a computational platform, AdHoc, that is currently oriented to document-based management systems. The chapter will highlight the research efforts that are still needed to make the framework more effective in supporting the collaborative bricolage of the end users.
Abstract The paper shows how redundancy can be put at work to play a positive role in facilitatin... more Abstract The paper shows how redundancy can be put at work to play a positive role in facilitating the cognitive and coordinative tasks of clinicians in a ward setting. The main requirement to accomplish this positive function is to allow and support clinicians in annotating the clinical record and making correlations between redundant data explicit. We report an observational study we undertook in the design of coordination mechanisms based on a minimal set of meaningful correlations.
The paper reports on two different adoption experiences of an in-house Enterprise Social Media (E... more The paper reports on two different adoption experiences of an in-house Enterprise Social Media (ESM), at the local and global level in a big company. It compares the deployment strategies and their impact on the users appropriation of the ESM in the two settings. Our observations let emerge how the local level design strategy aimed to link the initiative to concrete aspects of working practices and to their expected evolution. This met the companies goals, improved users work effectiveness, and led to a quite successful appropriation. The same success was not achieved at the global level, where a quite different strategy drove the initiative on a slippery slope towards a drift from success. The paper distills lessons that can shed light on how an ESM should be introduced within large organizations by taking care of different local conditions, consolidated practices and legacy technologies.
CSCW at large seems to be pursuing two diverging strategies: on one hand a strategy aiming at coo... more CSCW at large seems to be pursuing two diverging strategies: on one hand a strategy aiming at coordination technologies that reduce the complexity of coordinating cooperative activities by regulating the coordinative interactions, and on the other hand a strategy that aims at radically flexible means of interaction which do not regulate interaction but rather leave it to the users to cope with the complexity of coordinating their activities. As both strategies reflect genuine requirements, we need to address the issue of how the gap can be bridged, that is, how the two strategies can be integrated conceptually. In addressing this problem, the paper discusses two general modalities of articulation work — ad hoc alignment and improvisation on the basis of mutual awareness versus coordination in terms of a predefined flow of work — and argues that these modalities are seamlessly meshed and blended in the course of real world cooperative activities. On the basis of this discussion the p...
Abstract. This is a report on an attempt to develop a CSCW infrastructure that can support the co... more Abstract. This is a report on an attempt to develop a CSCW infrastructure that can support the construction and use of malleable and linkable coordination mechanisms. On the basis of a scenario derived from field studies, the paper outlines the Ariadne framework, describes the notation’s main features and illustrates how it can be applied to the scenario. The paper attempts to bridge from sociological investigation to computer science.
This paper investigates the requirements for a technology helping elderly to share their memories... more This paper investigates the requirements for a technology helping elderly to share their memories with acquaintances in terms of narratives. We report the findings from a literature review, a market review and a focus group and draw some principles informing the design of reminiscence-oriented technologies.
Abstract. In this paper, we present an observational case study at a major teaching hospital, whi... more Abstract. In this paper, we present an observational case study at a major teaching hospital, which both inspired and gave us valuable feedback on the design and development of LWOAD. LWOAD is a denotational language we propose to support users of an electronic document system in declaratively expressing, specifying and implementing computational mechanisms that fulfill coordinative requirements. Our focus addresses (a) the user-friendly and formal expression of local coordinative practices;(b) the agile mocking-up of ...
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Papers by Carla Simone