Collaborative Virtual Environments - What Next

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    C o l l a b o r a t i v e V i r t u a l E n v i r o n m e n t s - W h a t N e x t ?Ivan TomekJodrey School of Com puter ScienceAc adia University,Wo lfville, No va Sc [email protected]

    A B S T R A C TAs wo rk b eco mes i n c reas in g ly g eo g rap h i ca l l y d i sp er sedo v e r t i m e z o n e s a n d c u l t u re s , n e w t y p e s o f e n v i r o n m e n t sa re n eed ed t h a t mak e co l l ab o ra t i o n i n t h ese co n d i t i o n smo re p ro d u c t i v e an d mo re en jo y ab l e . I n t h i s co n t r i b u t i o n ,we l i s t so me o f t h e is su es t h a t we h av e t en t a t i v e lyid en t i f i ed an d t h a t we u sed t o co n c lu d e t h a t Co l l ab o ra t i v eVi r t u a l En v i ro n men t s a r e i d ea l l y su i t ed fo r t h i s p u rp o se .W e t h e n v e r y b r i e f ly d e sc r i b e a w o r k i n g C V E f r a m e w o r kth a t we h av e d ev e lo p ed t o ad d ress t h e i s su es t h a t we h av era i sed . Th e m ain p o in t o f t h e p ap er i s an ad m iss io n o f t h ea d h o c n a t u r e o f o u r w o r k a n d a p l e a f o r t he d e v e l o p m e n to f so l i d u n d er s t an d in g o f co l l ab o ra t i v e wo rk i n t h e a r ea o fso f tware d ev e lo p men t t h a t co u ld b e u sed t o co n s t ru c t ar ea l i s t ica l l y g ro u n d ed co l l ab o ra t i v e en v i ro n m en t .P O T E N T IA L O F VE S IN C O L L A B O R A T I V E W O R KVir tu a l en v i ro n men t s (VEs) , d e f i n ed h ere as n e two rk -b ased emu la t i o n s o f t h o se f ea tu res o f t h e r ea l wo r ld t h a ta r e r e l ev an t t o co mmu n ica t i o n an d co l l ab o ra t i o n , h av eb een k n o w n s in ce t h e l a t e 1 9 7 0 s wh en t h e f i r s t M UD(M u l t i -u se r Du n g eo n s ) was d ev e lo p ed . Ov er t h e y ear s ,M U D s d e v e l o p e d f r o m d e d i c a t e d T e l n e t t e x t - o n l yc o m m a n d - b a s e d e n v i r o n m e n t s t o u s e r e x t e n d i b l e a n dm o d i f i a b l e M O O s w i t h G U I - b a s e d u s e r i n t e r f a c e s a n dev en i n t e r f aces emu la t i n g 2 D a n d 3 D rea l -wo r ld v iews .Al th o u g h t h ese en v i ro n m en t s were i n i t ia l l y u sed s t r i c t l yfo r r ec rea t i o n a l u ses (mu l t i -u se r f an t asy g ames ) , t h ese u seswere so o n fo l l o wed b y u se as a so c i a l i z i n g en v i ro n men t ,an d f i n a l l y M OOs p en e lx a t ed i n to co l l ab o ra t i o n an ded u ca t i o n [1 ] .La t e ly , t h e i n t e r es t i n co l l ab o ra t i v e u ses o f M OOs h asb een s t ead i l y g ro win g , d u e main ly t o t h e i n c reas in g lyin t e rn a t i o n a l n a tu re o f o rg an i za t i o n s an d w o rk t eams an dt h e g r o w i n g p e r v a s i v e n e s s o f n e t w o r k - b a s e d c o m p u t i n ga n d c o m m u n i c a t i o n . S e v e r a l c o m m e r c i a l t o o l s b a s e d o nth ese p r i n c ip l es su ch as TeamWav e [2 ,3 ] a r e n o wav a i l ab l e an d i n l imi t ed u se . I n o u r o p in io n , h o wev er ,t h e r e h a s n o t b e e n e n o u g h w o r k d o n e t o e x p l o r e w h a t t h eu s e r s r e a l l y n e e d a n d w h a t k i n d o f e n v i r o n m e n t w o u l dm a k e t h e i r w o r k m o r e p r o d u c t i v e a n d m o r e e n j o y a b l e . T oo u r k n o wled g e , mo s t o f t h e av a i l ab l e r esea rch d ea l s wi thth e u se o f ex i s t i n g so f tware su ch as p r im i t i v e tex t -b asedM O O s [ 4 , 5 ] , w h i c h h a s n e v e r b e e n i n t e n d e d f o rco l l ab o ra t i o n as i t s ma in ap p l i ca t i o n . Th i s r esea rch t h u s

    f o c u s e s o n t h e a p p l i c a t io n o f o u t d a t e d t e c h n o l o g y t o n e wwo rk s i t u a ti o n s r a th e r t h an t h e s t u d y o f t h e i s su es r a i sedb y t h e n e w w o r k p r o c e s s.W H A T A R E T H E I S S U E S ?W o rk in g o n a p ro j ec t i n t en d ed t o ex p lo re t h e p o t en t i a l u seo f V E b y s o f t w a r e d e v e l o p m e n t te a m s [ 6 ], w e d i d s o m ei n f o r m a l e x p l o r a t i o n o f t h e n e e d s o f w o r k e r s i ng eo g rap h i ca l l y d i sp er sed t eams an d co n c lu d ed t h a t o u rs o f tw a r e d e v e l o p e r s c o n s i d e r e d t h e f o l l o w i n g f e a t u r e s o fco l l ab o ra t i v e so f tware t o b e imp o r t an t - a l t h o u g h n o tn ecessa r i l y i n t h i s o rd er .1 ) S y n c h r o n o u s a n d s s y n c h ro n o u s c o m m u n i c a t i o n a m o n gm e m b e r s o f g e o g r a p h i c a ll y d is p e r s e d t e a m s , p r i m a r i ly a s asu b s t it u t e fo r f ace - t o - f ace co mmu n ica t i o n . S y n ch ro n o u sg ro u p co mmu n ica t i o n i n c lu d es t h e ab i l i t y t o sh are t h ev i e w a n d u s e o f t oo l s s u ch a s s o f t w a r e d e v e l o p m e n te n v i r o n m e n t s , a n d a s y n c h r o n o u s c o m m u n i c a t i o n s h o u l ds u b s u m e c o m m u n i c a t i o n m o d e s s u c h a s p h o n e , e - m a i l ,a n d v i d e o - c o n f e r e n c i n g . E x i s t in g m e a n s o fco mmu n ica t i o n ( e -mai l , p h o n e , f t p ) a r e p r imi t i v e an dd i s j o in t , r eq u i t i n g sev era l co mmu n ica t i o n ch an n e l s t o b eo p en a t t h e same t ime , p o r t i n g d a t a f ro m o n e t o an o th er ,e t c . Ex i s t i n g r esea rch sh o ws t h a t t ex t -b asedc o m m u n i c a t i o n w o u l d p r o b a b l y b e s u f f i c i e n t , a u d i oc o m m u n i c a t i o n w o u l d b e w e l c o m e , b u t v i d e o i su n n e c e s s a r y .2 ) S e a m l e s s n e s s . W e h a v e a l r e a d y s u g g e s t e d t h a t m o s tf ac i l i t i e s n eed ed t o su p p o r t co l l ab o ra t i o n ex i s t b u t a r ed i s j o in t . Th e i d ea l co l l ab o ra t i v e en v i ro n men t wo u ldin t eg ra t ed a l l th ese f ea tu res an d t o o l s i n to o n e wh o le .3 ) E x t e n d i b i li t y a n d c u s t o m i z a b il i ty . T h e n e e d s o f w o r k e r su s i n g a n e w t y p e o f w o r k e n v i r o n m e n t a r e u n p r e d i c t a b l ean d o n e o f t he f ew th ing s t h a t can b e sa id ab o u t su ch anen v i ro n m en t i s t h a t i t w il l co n t i n u o u s ly n eed t o b emo d i f i ed an d cu s to mized . Id ea l l y , t h e u se r sh o u ld b e ab l eto do th is .4 ) S u p p o r t f o r f ea tu res su b su med u n d er t h e t i t l e sc o r p o r a t e k n o w l e d g e a n d o r g a n i z a t io n a l m e m o r y . B y t h i s ,w e m e a n a n i n t e g r a te d s e a m l e s s e n v i r o n m e n t t h a t a l l o w su ser s t o cap tu re t h e ' co n t ex t ' o f a p ro j ec t an d sea rch an daccess i t eas i l y an d e f f i c i en t l y . S u ch an en v i ro n m en two u ld a l l o w i t s u se r s t o cap tu re fo rmal an d i n fo rmal

    S IG GR OU P Bul le tin Apr il 2000 /Vol 21 , No .1 19

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    co mmu n ica t i o n s , c r ea t e l i n k s wi th in d es ig n ,imp lemen ta t i o n , an d o th e r so f tware a r t i f ac t s , a s we l l a sl inks to o ther ar t i facts such as e-mai ls , on- l ined i scu ss io n s ,W eb s i te s , e t c .At p resen t , f o rmal so f tware d ev e lo p men t a r t i f ac t s a r eo f t e n r e q u i r e d b y m a n a g e m e n t b u t n o t a p p r e c i a t e d b yd ev e lo p er s . Dev e lo p er s u su a l l y f i n d i n fo rmal co n t ex tu a li n fo rmat io n - e l u c id a t i n g wh y d ec i s i o n s were mad e , wh yo n e ap p ro ach w as ch o sen r a th e r t h an an o th er , wh a t a r e t h eso u rces o f ad o p t ed so lu t i o n s , wh a t i s t h e d y n amic o fp ro j ec t ev o lu t i o n , e t c . - mu ch m o re u se fu l t h an r es t r i c t i v e ,h a r d t o p r o d u c e , a n d t h u s o f t e n o u t d a t e d f o r m a ld o cu m en t s . Th i s t r en d i s co n f i rm ed b y r ecen t tr en d s i nd ev e lo p men t meth o d o lo g i es wi th accen t o n f l ex ib i l i t y ,s u c h a s E x t r e m e P r o g r a m m i n g [ 7 ] .5 ) E v e n t a w a r e n e s s t o a l lo w t e a m m e m b e r s t o s u b s c ri b e t oe v e n t s s u c h a s r e l e a s e o f n e w v e r s i o n s o f m o d u l e s o w n e db y o t h e r t e a m m e m b e r s , a n d t o b e a u t o m a t i c a ll y n o t i f ie do f t h e i r o c c u r r e n c e . T h i s i s r e q u i r e d b e c a u s e o fi n t e rd ep en d en c i es amo n g t ask s as s ig n ed t o d i f f e r en td ev e lo p er s , an d t h e n eed t o h av e access t o t h e l a t es tv e r s i o n o f a r t i f ac t s r e l a ted t o o n e ' s t a sk s .6 ) R e s p o n s i v e n e s s . T h e e n v i r o n m e n t m u s t b e v e r yresp o n s iv e . Resp o n se d e l ay s l o n g er t h an two o r t h r eeseco n d s a r e u n accep t ab l e an d wi l l d i sco u rag e u se r s f ro mu s in g t h e en v i ro n men t .7 ) E a s e a n d f u n t o u s e . T h e e n v i r o n m e n t s h o u l d n o t

    p resen t an ad d i t i o n a l co g n i t i v e l o ad (d ev e lo p er s a r e t o ob u sy d o in g t h e i r ' r ea l wo rk ' ) an d sh o u ld en co u rag e u se r s t ou se i t . Wi th o u t g en era l t eam accep t an ce , t h e en v i ro n men tis useless .I t i s o u r h y p o th es i s t h a t a Co l l ab o ra t i v e Vi r t u a lE n v i r o n m e n t ( C V E ) b a s e d o n g e n e r a l i z e d M O Op r in c ip l es i s i d ea l l y su i t ed t o sa t i s fy t h ese n eed s .O U R C U R R E N T W O R K A N D O U R N E E D SF o l lo win g t h e r easo n in g o f t h e p rev io u s sec t i o n , we h av ed e v e l o p e d a w o r k i n g f r a m e w o r k o f a M O O - b a s e de n v i r o n m e n t c a l l e d M U M w h e r e w e a d d r e s s e d s o m e o fth e ab o v e i s su es , n amely ev en t -b ased o p era t i o n(ev ery th in g i s an ev en t an d a l l ev en t s a r e ' su b scd b ab l e ' ) ,an d u se r - f r i en d l i n ess ( easy t o u se u se r i n t e r f aces as i nF ig u re 1 ). Ho we v er , b e in g so f tware d ev e lo p er s r a t h e r t h anwo rk e th n o g rap h er s , an d h av in g l imi t ed access t o r ea l -w o r l d w o r k e n v i r on m e n t s , w e a r e n o t c o n v i n c e d t h a t o u rd es ig n t ru ly ad d resses t h e n eed s o f t h e p o t en t ia l u se r s . Wefee l t h a t i t i s n ecessa ry t o u n d er t ak e a se r i o u s s t u d y t oan swer t h e fo l l o win g q u es t i o n s:1 . W h a t d o t e a m w o r k e r s , s u c h a s m e m b e r s o f s o f t w a r ed e v e l o p m e n t t e a m s , d o .2 . W h a t i s t h e r e l a t iv e i m p o r t a n c e a n d e f f o r t r e q u ir e d b ythese tasks .3 . Wh ich t o o l s a r e t h ey u s in g t o p e r fo rm th e i r wo rk .

    ~ o u ; s a y ~ H i ; i~ e ~ h a , , t e ~ o u ~ , x e d , t h e : a t it o m a i :| i ~ o o f!~ J ~ e .

    F i g u r e 1 . U n i T o o l - u n iv e r s a l c o m m u n i c a t i o n a n d n a v i g a t i o n t o ol in M U M . A n e x a m p l e o f a u s er - fr i e n d ly M O Oi n t e r f a c e .

    2 0 S I G G R O U P B u l le t in A p r i l 2 0 0 0 / V o 1 2 1 , N o .1

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    4. What envi ronment would make the i r work moreproduct ive and mo re enjoyable .Al though an ideal work envi ronment i s a moving targetbecause new t echno logy c rea t es new needs and new workstyles, our w ork co uld a t least proceed from sc ient if ica l lyconfi rmed foundat ions. We hope tha t socia l sc ient i s t sresearching wo rk processes and envi ronments wi l l provideus with such a foundation.R E F E R E N C E S[1] Haynes, C. , Holmevik, J . R.(1998) . High wired: Onthe design, use , and theory of educat ional MOOs,Universi ty of M ichigan Press.[2 ] [Roseman, G reenberg 1996] Rosem an, Greenberg, M .,S. TeamRooms (1996) . Network places for col labora t ion.In Proceed ings o f CSCW'96 : 325-333.

    [3] TeamWave, ht tp: / /www.tearnwave.com/[4] Churchill , E., Bly S. (1999a) Virtual Environments atWork : Ongo ing use o f MUDs in t he Workp lace ,W A C C ' 9 9 .[5] Churchill , E., Bly S. (1999b) It 's all in the words:Supporting work activit ies with l ightweiht tools,Group '99.[6] Tomek, I . , Gi les R. (1999): Vir tua l Environments forWo rk, Study, and Leisure , Vir tua l Real i ty , vol. 4 , no. 1 .[7] Beck, K. (1999): Extreme Programming expla ined,Add i son-Wesl ey .

    SI G G R O U P B u l le t in A pri l 2 0 0 0 /V o l 2 1 , No .1 2 ]