Requirements Engineering

Lecture 16 - Requirements for Collaborative Technologies

Prof Marina Jirotka

HT 2025
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 Outline - collaborative systems
The shift from individual to collaborative support
• Distinctions between di erent forms of collaboration (time - place)
• Example technologies to support collaboration
Support for distributed synchronous collaboration (e.g. work ow)
Support for co-present, synchronous collaboration (e.g. media spaces,
human-robot interaction)
Re ections on the design, development and deployment of
collaborative technologies in organisations
Requirements for di erent types of technology
Importance of understanding work and interaction

How to support common everyday work Introduction to technologies to support

practices with technology organisations 2
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 Changes in the nature of technology

Mainframe Workstation Personal Networked

used by used by computer computers used by
operator Mainframe skilled user groups -
used by used by
The Five Foci of Interface programmer individual
Development, after Grudin 1990 3
 Changes in the nature of technology
• increased use of networks

• improved speed of network connections

• wider availability of the internet

• availability of shared (distributed) applications

(shared drawing, writing tools)

Networked
• greater use of computer communication tools
computers used by (e.g. email, web video)
groups -

The Five Foci of Interface

Development, after Grudin 1990 4
 Academic Debates

cognitive science and focus on personal

(individual) systems

• experiments to develop models of the user and

assess use of a system

• focus on the individual user of a single

computer

• concepts such as goals, methods, operators

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 Academic Debates

from cognitive science to social science

• naturalistic methods from social
• usability experiments science (e.g. ethnography)

• groups, teams, organisations

• individual user
• collaboration, negotiation, …
• goals, methods, operations

Even when system principally

used by an individual others
involved
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Example collaborative applications

• Groupware - systems and applications to support groups

• CSCW - Computer Supported Co-operative Work (the eld to
study technologies for collaboration)
PLACE
Co-present Distributed

synchronous GDSS shared drawing tools

human- media spaces*
TIME robot
interaction*
asynchronous workflow systems*
electronic mail
bulletin boards
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 Example 1: distributed asynchronous collaborative
systems

• Conventional networking applications

• electronic mail

• bulletin boards
PLACE
• web noti cation services (for Co-present Distributed
formal and informal activities)

• Extensions of networking applications

synchronous GDSS shared drawing tools
• Tailored to support organisational human- media spaces*
activities TIME robot
interaction*
• Example: work ow tools asynchronous workflow systems*
electronic mail
bulletin boards
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 Work ow Tools

• Early example of groupware

• Developed into products (or parts of applications)

• Collaboration in terms of work ows

• Assignment of responsibilities and sequencing of

activities

• Supporting co-ordination between different individuals

(and parts of an organisation)

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 Work ow tools: an example use in the nancial sector
(e.g. a bank)

• xed number of processes (e.g. funds transfer, loans, direct debits,…)

• movement to electronic support for processes (telephone services,

scanning of all mail, electronic record-keeping, networked customer
databases, ‘paper-less of ces’, remote banking and support)

• requirement to support (formal) electronic communication processes

(particularly where collaboration between staff is required)

• to ensure appropriate tasks are carried out

• to ensure appropriate safeguards are met

processes are done on time in the right
order through the collaboration
• to ensure right people are consulted
between the appropriate individuals
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 Work ow Tools: de ning a process
(e.g. processing a loan request)
• different roles responsibilities - team leader, banker, customer

• different tasks

• checking status (assets) of customers (quick and full) - e.g.

full check if the request is for a large loan (> £10,000)

• con rming or rejecting loan request

• contacting customers (short con rmation - long explanation)

• make sure right tasks carried out in the right order by the
appropriate people
Work ow for: “Valued Customer’ makes
request for loan 11
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 Work ow Tools: de ning a process
(e.g. processing a loan request) banker writes con rmation email to
customer

“Valued Customer’ makes request for

(if loan <= £10,000) banker
team leader assigns leader notes
loan to banker banker performs accepts reason
request
quick asset check
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1 2 leader disagrees 6
3 with decision

banker
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(if loan >£10,000)
banker perform full rejects leader
leader writes
asset check
rejection letter to
con rms customer
rejection
7 leader con rms
banker full asset check banker writes
accepts loan 8 con rmation letter
team leader to customer
con rms
decision
banker rejects
loan
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leader con rms 9
rejection
leader changes decision
leader writes rejection
12 letter to customer
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 Work ow tools: advantages

• ensure correct procedures are followed

• automatic checks that activities have been done

• activities done by right people in right order

• someone is assigned as responsible for each task

• de ne a division of responsibilities (division of labour, allocation

of function)

• can monitor how tasks are being performed (time taken, errors…)

• can substitute tasks with automated tasks later

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 Work ow tools: extensions

• extend support e.g. templates for communication

• possible to monitor processes through system

• what activities time being spent on

• what activities are people spending their time on

• identify possible issues and problems

most current work ow

useful for well-de ned processes -
management systems have these
order processing, customer
features
management, banking processes
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 Work ow systems: challenges
• considerable effort to de ne work ows

• to de ne all processes in an organisation possibility to use the activities of

identifying and de ning tasks as a
resource for re ection about work
• to transfer these to digital activities processes

• concerns over workplace monitoring and surveillance

Identify
• ‘core’ tasks
• less important,
redundant tasks
• duplication of tasks
• vague and unclear
processes 15
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 Work ow systems: problems
• Some tasks cannot be de ned precisely

• Spend most of time de ning what should happen in very rare cases
Work ow systems can be rigid
• Dif culty managing non-electronic processes (e.g. in person-customer interaction,
and …) in exible - for direct and
indirect users
• Dif culty handling exceptions and contingencies
not tting with some user
• For unde ned or poorly de ned work ows personnel adopt ‘workarounds’ - ‘offneeds
the (e.g. responsiveness)
system’ solutions
Can notice if organisation
• informal communication, non-digital activities cannot respond to exceptional
or ‘non-standard’
• consequences for monitoring or control
circumstances
• De nition of ‘tasks’ may differ between users

• Requirement for more exible systems - allowing for work-arounds

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Example 2: Distributed synchronous collaborative
systems

Extensions of advanced video

conferencing

• desktop video-conferencing

• support for real-time everyday PLACE

collaboration Co-present Distributed

• audio and visual support

synchronous GDSS* shared drawing tools
• includes other tools : shared media spaces*
computer applications TIME

asynchronous workflow systems*

electronic mail
bulletin boards
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Video Conferencing

• Only available in dedicated

rooms

• Tends to be used for formal

interaction - (e.g. meetings)

Problems with coordinating conversations

with many (>2) participants
Different levels of participation
Problems viewing objects (documents) at
the same time
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 Media spaces

• systems to support remote collaboration

• audio-visual infrastructures

• switching to any of ce and any public space

• maintaining organisational awareness

• supporting informal interaction

• similar to an ‘always open’ Teams/ Skype/

Facetime/Zoom/Google Meet connection +
shared desktop
↪ face -to-face, head-and-shoulders
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Media space features
• Continuously available access to remote participants

• Support for geographically dispersed colleagues

• Creating a ‘virtual space’

• Potential to support informal work

• Importance of co-location

• Importance of ‘serendipitous’ interaction

• Importance of visual conduct for interaction

Informal interaction a
• Supporting workplace awareness critical aspect of everyday
work practice
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 Problems with video-mediated interaction

Technological: Limits to access to another’s

remote space

• Camera angles

• Largely focused on ‘head and

shoulders’ of one colleague

Social: Lack of impact of Visual conduct

• gestures become more

exaggerated

Why might this be

important?
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 Consequences

• more ‘effort’ to use - ‘zoom fatigue’

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Limitations with video-mediated communication

Co-ordination problems

• Around the use of documents

• Coordinating talk and visual conduct when limited

access

‘Screen-sharing’ capabilities limited

compared to real world objects
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Issues and Problems

• Focus on informal communication rather than collaborative tasks

• neglects the uses of objects, artefacts and documents

• Emphasis on informal interaction neglects ‘formal’ work activities

• Separates ‘informal interaction’ from ‘formal interaction’

• ‘Head and shoulders’ views

• Emphasis on ‘eye contact’, etc.

• Requirement to support activities with objects (documents) and in the

wider environment

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 Consider

how we work together in physical spaces

• not necessarily face-to-face

• work side-by-side

• work over corner of a desk

• view screen and so documents together

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 Extending media spaces to support collaborative
work : Agora
Requirements
Life
• variable access to Size
documents: multiple Shared Image
areas for working Screen

• co-ordinating multiple
activities

• gradual transition into

collaborative activities - Document
Space
visible transitions

Working
area
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 Extending media spaces to support collaborative
work : Agora

• can refer to features of objects

in the same space

• can gesture and point with

‘your hands’ - wide variety of
gestures

• can collaborate synchronously

- at the same time (not strict
turn-taking as in screen
sharing)

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 Extending media spaces to support work
(t-Room by NTT Japan)
• advanced high de nition video systems: cameras and screens

• supporting remote communication, meetings, research

• simulates the wider environment, participants, objects (physical and

digital)
Tokyo Kyoto

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 Other developments
John C. Tang, Robert
Xiao, Aaron
• Extending studies of work to domestic settings Hoff, Gina
Venolia, Patrick
(Awareness though Video at home: Tang et al. Therien, Asta
Roseway:
2013) HomeProxy:
exploring a physical
proxy for video

Robots for more manoeuvrable video (e.g.

communication in the
• home. CHI 2013: 133
9-1342
mobile telepresence robots in hospitals)

• on the desk e.g. Kubi (on the desk)

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Example 3 - synchronous co-present
collaboration

Robots

• Manufacturing
• Delivery - warehouse

• Autonomous vehicles

• Retail - customer service

• Healthcare - drug delivery, care
home

Minimal interaction with humans… often kept

separate or humans in supportive role
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Some trials,…
Physical Systems - autonomous vehicles: levels of
Level 0: no driving automation - most current vehicles
autonomy

Level 1: driver assistance - can assist in steering, acceleration

Manufacturing and braking functions (as examples)

Delivery Level 2: partial driving automation - when active, can control

steering, acceleration and braking

Retail - customer service

Level 3: conditional driving automation - carries out all aspects
of the driving functions, however the driver must be
Healthcare seated in the driver’s position and ready to take control

Level 4: high driving automation - able to intervene in the

instance of a malfunction without necessarily involving the
driver.

Level 5: Full driving automation - requires no human intervention

and not even emergency manual intervention
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Physical Systems - robotic surgery: levels of
autonomy Level 0: no autonomy - most current operations

Level 1: robot assistance - passive support e.g. tremor

assistance

Level 2: task autonomy- system performs a task (suturing, sewing

two pieces of tissue, bone drilling)

Level 3: conditional autonomy - carries out part of pre-defined

plan (1 FDA cleared) e.g. bone milling in orthopaedic
surgery, prostate biopsy in urology, and hair follicle
extraction in plastic surgery

Level 4: high level autonomy - robot independently selects

patient-specific plan

Level 5: full autonomy - robot/ system independently makes

Lee, A., Baker, T.S., Bederson, J.B. et al. Levels of autonomy in FDA- decisions and carries out whole surgical procedure
cleared surgical robots: a systematic review. npj Digit. Med. 7, 103
(2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41746-024-01102-y 32
Physical Systems - robots and everyday tasks
Hard tasks

Navigation around complex (natural) environments

managing obstructions, climbing

seeing things

picking objects up, passing objects

Individual activities - collaborative activities

Interacting with humans - talk and physically

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 Human-robot interaction The trouble with
self-driving cars
Autonomous vehicles
Erik Vinkhuyzen
• problems interacting with pedestrians https://youtu.be/xwif-h4DeLo

• Different assumptions of pedestrians with

human-driven and self-driving cars

• social nature of shared road use

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 Human-Robot Interaction
• engineering of robots, movement, physical motors, sensors

• computer science - speech understanding, image analysis

• informed by studies of social interaction - body movement

and relation to talk

• aims to make interaction more natural

Pitsch, K., Kuzuoka, H., Suzuki, Y., Süssenbach,

L., Luff, P., & Heath, C. (2009) “The First
Five Seconds": Contingent Stepwise Entry
into an Interaction As a Means to Secure
Sustained Engagement in HRI. 18th IEEE
International Symposium on Robot and
Human Interactive Communication Sept.
27-Oct. 2, 2009), Toyama, Japan.
Yamazaki, K. Yamazaki, A. Okada, M.,. Kuno, Y.,
Kobayashi, Y. Hoshi, Y. Pitsch, K. Luff, P.
vom Lehn, D. Heath. C. (2009). Revealing
Gauguin: Engaging Visitors in Robot Guide's
Explanation in an Art Museum, Proceedings
of CHI 2009, Boston. 1437-1446 35
 Example: robots and passing objects
• very dif cult - collaboration and social interaction very complex

• even simple interactions dif cult

for example - passing an object

no direct interaction (no talk about passing)

passing smooth, each one different

depends on implement, procedure, conduct of the other

reliance on competence other

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 A simple physical task - Passing objects - to and fro,
robots

• very dif cult - collaboration and social interaction very complex

• even simple interactions dif cult

no direct interaction (no talk about passing)

passing smooth, each one different

depends on implement, procedure, conduct of the other

reliance on competence other

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 Passing - to and by robots
• very dif cult - collaboration and social interaction very complex

• even simple interactions dif cult

for example - passing an object

no direct interaction (no talk about passing)

passing smooth, each one different

depends on implement, procedure, conduct of the other

reliance on competence other

Turing 1950 p460 38

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 Conceptions of work

examples: ’Work ows’, ‘informal work’, ‘physical tasks’

How they are conceived by designers may be constrained

• Work ‘ ows’ and ‘activity’ as xed and pre-de ned

• rigid distinctions between ‘formal’ and ‘informal’ work

• physical tasks distinct from context

May lead to rigid and in exible or unusable systems

• Designers have pre-conceptions of tasks, activities, …

• Social Scientists can identify and critique them and suggest alternatives

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 Collaboration and Interaction

Developing technologies to support collaboration

• very dif cult - collaboration and social interaction between

people very complex

• even simple ‘interactions’ dif cult

for example - passing an object

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Understanding Work

• nature of collaboration
• contingent action (related to circumstances at the time)

• takes place in a complex physical environment

• with objects

• with other people

• taking material objects, context and human practices seriously

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 Implications
Social Scienti c analysis of use of collaborative systems can identify, for example,

• the constraints and limits of the technology

• why they fail

• why they are under-utilised when deployed

can lead to:

• suggestions on how to design them better

• how to deploy them more appropriately

and

• richer understandings of the nature of collaboration and organisational activities

For conventional and innovative

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 Summary
• Individual to collaborative systems

• technologies, activities and studies

• Example collaborative technologies

• Supporting different types of collaboration and interaction

• with different conceptions of collaboration

• Social scientists working with computer scientists to develop innovative

technologies
Consider how different conceptions of
‘activities’ inform the design of different
technologies
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