Exploring Awareness Related Messaging Through Two Situated-Display-Based Systems

This article focuses on our exploration of awareness issues through the design and long-term deployment of two systems: the Hermes office door display system (which enabled staff in a university department to post awareness messages to their door displays) and SPAM (a messaging system for supporting coordination HUMAN–COMPUTER INTERACTION, 2007, Volume 22, pp. 173–220 Copyright © 2007, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. Keith Cheverst is a computer scientist with an interest in human factors issues associated with Ubicomp/Mobile system deployments; he is a Senior Lecturer in the Computing Department of Lancaster University. Alan Dix is a computer scientist with an interest in human factors issues associated with Ubicomp/Mobile system deployments; he is a Professor in the Computing Department of Lancaster University. Daniel Fitton is a computer scientist with an interest in issues associated with situated-display-based deployments; he is a Research Associate in the Computing Department of Lancaster University. Mark Rouncefield is a social scientist with an interest in ethnomethodology; he is a Senior Researcher in the Computing Department of Lancaster University. Connor Graham is a social scientist with an interest in ethnography and field work; he is an Associate Lecturer in the Department of Information Systems at the University of Melbourne. between staff at two associated residential community care facilities). In the case of both systems, a significant number of the messages sent could be classified as relating to awareness. Furthermore, with both systems, the situatedness of displays (outside office doors in the case of Hermes and in staff offices in the case of SPAM) had a significant impact on the design and subsequent use of the deployed systems. In particular, the placement of displays provided significant context for awareness messages, including, for example, the identity of the sender of the mes174 CHEVERST ET AL.