DECO2005 Synchronous and Asynchronous Communicationin Design

Mary Lou Maher

27 August 2004

Computer-Mediated Communication

• Asynchronous - send information

• Synchronous - conversation

Type of software Type of information Type ofcommunication

Email text, data files asynchronousList serves text, data files asynchronousBulletin boards text, data files asynchronousTalk, chat Text synchronousBroadcast Video, audio synchronousVideo Conference Video, audio, images,

textsynchronous

Asynchronous Communication• Email

– One to one or one to many

– Personal messages

– informal

• List server– Broadcast to a list

• Bulletin Board– Send message to a central location

• Web Pages

Email: example of an email client

Indicatesattached file

Compose a message

Reply to author

Reply to all

Forward to someone

Redirect to someone

Attach file

Addressbook

Managing Communication in Email

• Subject of email is IMPORTANT• Email address nicknames• Filters and multiple mailboxes• Attachments and file management• Keep old email messages for reference

Email beyond sending text messages

• Broadcast information to mailing lists

• Attaching documents for file transfer

• Discussion threads and documentation

• File management

Listservers, newservers

• LISTSERV is an email distribution software

• users subscribe/unsubscribe to the list

• each time a message is sent to the list server, it is forwarded to all the members of the list.

• sometimes, the messages sent to the list are first checked by a moderator and then forwarded to all the other members.

Bulletin Boards

• The major difference between a bulletin board and a list server is that the message sent to a list server is sent directly to each user’s emailbox whereas a message sent to a bulletin board is viewed by the users when they go to a specific place on the internet.

• The advantage of the bulletin board is that messages do not get mixed up with all the other email messages that a person receives and therefore the messages can be seen as a coherent group representing an asynchronous discussion.

Asynchronous Communication Tools:Advantages, Disadvantages

• Email: direct to person, hard to maintain a discussion• Listservers: broadcast direct to person, hard to control

content• Bulletin boards: threaded discussions, does not go to

person• Web pages: accessible to all, changes do not go to

anyone

Synchronous Communication

• Chat – Talking by typing in a text window

• Video Conference – Talking by speaking with a video window

• Shared or Multi-user window– viewing slides or web pages– drawing board– applications/authoring

• Virtual World – 3D worlds with users as avatars

Chat

• Talking by typing

• Chat, IRC, ICQ, MSN Messenger

• Considerations– Low bandwidth requirements– Multi threaded conversation– Typing skills are important– New registers emerge

Video Conference

• Provides video and audio communication

• “Being there”

• Considerations:– High bandwidth requirements– Protocols– Displacement

Video conference with shared whiteboard

Shared window

• Shared whiteboard– Master-slave, only one person can make changes– Multi-user

• Shared application– Multi-user CAD– Multi-user text editing

Virtual Worlds

• Example– Active Worlds

• Can see the location of other people

• Usually talk by typing

different kinds of communication implies

different kinds of collaboration

Two metaphors for CMC tools:

• Desktop - providing desktop tools for communication, such as email, video conferences, transferring CAD files, web browsers

• Place - providing a place for collaboration, such as virtual worlds, virtual reality, etc.

Desktop Tools

• Web-based tools - use internet protocols for communicating ideas and sharing design files

• “Design Office Automation” packages - use one software vendor for all computing needs, such as Microsoft

Places for Collaboration

• 3D simulations– Mimic the physical world and its functionality– Navigation occurs by moving around the 3D model

• Object-oriented worlds– Functionality can start with physical analogy– Extend the use and interactivity beyond the physical

3D Simulations

• CAVE

• Active Worlds

• VRML

Advantages:•Looks like the physical world•Navigation is intuitive•Good for viewing models that will be physical buildings

Disadvantages:•Difficult to communicate•Functions are limited to those of physical world•No inherent document management

Object-oriented virtual worlds

• Active Worlds

• VWorlds

• VirTools

• TappedIn

Advantages:•Identity of people and places and things•Reactive objects in the world•Invent new functions

Disadvantages:•Less intuitive•Requires expertise to use all functions•No inherent design support