What ideal end users teach us about collaborative software

Abstract

Many studies have evaluated different uses of collaborative software. Typically, the research has focused on the shortcomings and, sometimes, the ways end users succeed or fail to work around these shortcomings. In a recent field study, surprisingly, a group demonstrated unimpaired dexterity using a full range of collaborative software. Some interesting lessons emerged from observing these "perfect" collaborators. Lessons include implications for more typical or "less than perfect" end users, especially around the adoption of collaboration technology. Also, there is a general, but subtle, lesson that studying successful users of technology (or "ideal end users" as we put it) can be as valuable as studying those who struggle with technology and highlight its shortcomings.