Information-Enriched Workspaces

Easy access to external information is essential to the performance of many information-intensive activities conducted in computer application systems. However, information repository systems that support the retrieval of external information are researched as a self-contained problem with no consideration of the context where the information is applied. We propose the concept of information-enriched workspaces that integrate the process of retrieving information from information repository systems and the process of applying information in computer application systems. In an information-enriched workspace, users can immediately access, without leaving their current working environments, the information contextualized to their current task and background knowledge. The design principles and implementation challenges of such information-enriched workspaces are discussed and highlighted in terms of an example system, CodeBroker, which supports immediate access to software components in a programming environment.