The second conference on Computer Supported Cooperative Work has provided focus on use of computers for supporting workers that are at various levels of geographic dispersion. The participants in this panel reported case studies at that conference on group work (1) in face-to-face meetings, (2) in the same building, and (3) distributed across a number of sites. Each panelist therefore brings insight about the communication needs of their research subjects and both the value and limitations of particular technologies for supporting the communication that ties the members of the groups together as geographic distance varies.

Approaches to integrating human factors or user interface knowledge and expertise with software development are still exploratory and evolving. The human-computer interface provides a broader range of user interface challenges than earlier technology, but human factors is only now starting to be widely recognized as a distinct discipline requiring integration with system development. Devoting human and computer resources to user interface enhancement has been considered a luxury, and in many places still is, but the falling cost of computational power and the growing user resistance to poor interfaces, as well as a rising need for product differentiation in the marketplace, insure that human factors will become a necessity where it has not already. The need to develop organizational approaches to support the integration of human factors or user interface expertise with product development is thus a relatively new concern. The integration problems that have been identified include some that are shared with more established support activities such as technical writing, and others that are particular to human factors or result from the relative unfamiliarity of the discipline.

Office automation is used by groups of people with complex communication needs to help them reach business goals such as scheduling, tracking, reviewing, and delegating. Effective individual and group decisions are heavily dependent on communication protocols and social conventions. Because these conventions are so ingrained, they are sometimes not readily available to conscious inspection during the design of communication systems. Even more problematic, system designers may not have first hand knowledge of the conventions and protocol for the range of environments in which their systems will be used. Nevertheless, office systems must work in tandem with these conventions. Wang Laboratories has a continuing program of research directed at identifying the psychological and social factors that come into play during the adoption and use of computer communication systems and the implications of these factors for the design of those systems. Highlights of a three year program of research are presented covering implications for voice mail, electronic mail, and electronic calendars.

Human factors professionals are not completely free to support the optimization of user interface design within the time span of individual software development projects. Interface design is constrained by conservative forces, such as the expectations of users of existing systems in the installed base and emerging de facto or formal standards. At the same time, human factors involvement with a particular product may ultimately have its greatest impact on future product releases. In this paper we explore an expanded time line for influencing product design. This time line brings middle- and upper-management concerns into focus, revealing critical opportunities for effectively positioning and applying human factors resources.

The adoption of new computer communication systems into organizations requires behavioral change. Planning for successful adoption requires knowledge of individual organizational communication patterns and the relationship between those patterns and particular communication system solutions. This paper documents a sequence of studies of organizational communication. Needs for office communication systems were identified, as were social and psychological factors temporarily inhibiting their use. Strategies for assuring smooth adoption of such systems are highlighted.