Supporting Interpersonal Communication over Instant Messaging

Instant Messaging, or IM, has been growing in popularity for personal and work-related communication. The limited awareness provided by current IM systems combined with the asynchronous nature of IM result in messages often arriving at inconvenient or disruptive times. The goal of my research is to alleviate some of the shortcomings of IM through the understanding and modeling of IM interaction in the context in which it takes place. This work uses three complementary steps: Predictions of responsiveness to IM (when), observations and predictions of interpersonal relationships (who), and use of properties of human dialogue to support balancing of responsiveness and performance (what). ACM Classification: H5.2 [Information interfaces and presentation]: User Interfaces; H1.2 [Models and Principles]: User/Machine Systems. General terms: Design, Human Factors, Measurement