The module is structured into two main parts, covering theory and practice.

The theoretical part will cover:

• Basic components of CSCW: technology, organisations, people and tasks, and their interrelations.
• Introduction to principles of group psychology (social identity, group decision making, group polarisation, co-operation, competition) and their link to CSCW.
• Groupware design.
• Groupware evaluation.
• Issues related to Online communities, Social Information Systems and Computer-Mediated Communication.
• Issues related to Mobility, Culture and Accessibility.

The practical part will consist of:

• Ethnographic evaluation of selected on-line communities.
• Observation and analysis of group dynamics.
• Dialogue analysis.
• Integration of the results in the framework of CSCW.
• Design exercise.

On successful completion of this course unit, students should be able to

Academic knowledge:

• Explain the concept of CSCW and its associated design problems.
• Describe and classify the kinds of systems that have been developed to make CSCW possible.
• Understand the theory of small groups as complex system and link it to CSCW.
• Specify sociability and usability requirements for the design of on-line communities.
• Demonstrate the ability to specify CSCW systems that maximise the potential offered by groupware technologies for supporting co-present and remote collaboration.
• Demonstrate awarenessof the opportunities and challenges posed by mobile and community-oriented technologies for creating more accessible CSCW systems.

Intellectual skills:

• Analyse groupware in terms of social dynamics and relate them to CSCW design issues.
• Assess the appropriateness of particular groupware technologies for specific contexts.
• Critical evaluation of groupware, including usability and sociability issues.
• Practical skills: Collaborate with other people through the use of groupware systems.
• Observe and understand group dynamics.

Transferable skills:

• Demonstrate report writing, presentation and communication skills.
• Improve deductive reasoning.
• Improve team work.

• Preece Jenny. Online communities: Designing Usability, Supporting Sociability. John Wiley & Sons, 2000.

• Benyon David, Turner Phil and Turner Susan. Designing Interactive Systems: People, Activities, Contexts, Technologies. Pearson Education Limited, 2005.

• Arrow Holly, McGrath, J.E., Berdhal, J.L. Small groups as complex systems. Sage Publications, 2000.

• Dix Alan, Finlay Janet, Abowd Gregory D., Beal Russell. Human-Computer Interaction. Pearson Prentice Hall, Third Edition, 2004.