Charlotte P. Lee

Boundary Negotiating Artifacts: Unbinding the Routine of Boundary Objects and Embracing Chaos in Collaborative Work

Empirical studies of material artifacts in practice continue to be a rich source of theoretical concepts for CSCW. This paper explores the foundational concept of boundary objects and questions the conception that all objects that move between communities of practice are boundary objects. This research presents the results of a year-long ethnographic study of collaborative work, specifically the multidisciplinary collaborative design of a museum exhibition. I suggest that artifacts can serve to establish and destabilize protocols themselves and that artifacts can be used to push boundaries rather than merely sailing across them. Artifacts used for collaboration do not necessarily exist within a web of standardized processes and disorderly processes should not be treated as “special cases”.

Sociotechnical Studies of Cyberinfrastructure and e-Research: Current Themes and Future Trajectories

Cyberinfrastructure (CI), eScience and eInfrastructure are the current terms of art for the networked information technologies supporting scientifi cr esearch activities such as collaboration, data sharing and dissemination of findings. These are the computational infrastructures that enable, for instance, global climate modelers to compile heterogeneous information sources in order to understand environmental change or the tools that make the massive quantitative data emerging from the Large Hadron Collider into tractable scientific visualizations. Within the US and Europe these ventures have garnered significant momentum in terms of funding and technological development. The greater funding of CI for the physical and biological sciences has led to a proliferation of CI studies in those areas (a bias reflected in our own special issue) with CI studies of humanities, arts, and social sciences growing more slowly. Cyberinfrastructure is heralded as a transformative force, enabling new forms of investigation and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The six articles in this special issue are dedicated to the detailed empirical exploration of CI systems, their development, and the changes that are emerging at the intersection of novel information technologies and everyday research practice. The emphasis in the sciences on large-scale and long-term support for collaboration is gaining momentum. The field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), with its historical emphasis on workplace studies and Dedication We dedicate this special issue to the memory of Susan Leigh Star. The influence of her work, and particularly her conceptualization of infrastructure, has been very influential in this growing research area. Almost all of the articles in this special issue cite her work or cite other works that were influenced by her own. Less apparent to others but strongly present in our lives was Leigh’s role as a mentor, colleague and inspiration as she fostered the study of infrastructure. Her pioneering work demonstrated the important role of embedded social scientists that subsequently created openings to the field sites and funding sources that made much of this research possible. Leigh, you will be greatly missed. Computer Supported Cooperative Work (2010) 19:231–244

Synergizing in Cyberinfrastructure Development

This paper investigates the work of creating infrastructure, using as a case study the development of cyberinfrastructure for metagenomics research. Specifically, the analysis focuses on the role of embeddedness in infrastructure development. We expand on the notion of human infrastructure to develop the concepts of synergizing, leveraging, and aligning, which denote the active processes of creating and managing relationships among people, organizations, and technologies in the creation of cyberinfrastructure. This conceptual lens highlights how embeddedness is not only an important result of infrastructure development, but is also a precursor that can act as both a constraint and a resource for development activities.

Supporting Scientific Collaboration: Methods, Tools and Concepts

This paper discusses the interrelationship between e-Science and CSCW in terms of key substantive, methodological and conceptual innovations made in both fields. In so doing, we hope to draw out the existing relationship between CSCW and e-Science research, and to map out some key future challenges where the two areas of research may become more closely aligned. In considering what may be required to draw the two more closely together, the paper focuses primarily on investigations that have been undertaken in two dedicated initiatives into e-Science, along with the key issues emerging from these studies.

Collaboration in Metagenomics: Sequence Databases and the Organization of Scientific Work

In this paper we conduct an ethnographic study of work to explore the interaction between scientific collaboration and computing technologies in the emerging science of metagenomics. In particular, we explore how databases serve to organize scientific collaboration. We find databases existing across scientific communities where scientists have different practices and priorities. We suggest while these databases appear to be boundary objects, they are better understood as boundary negotiating artifacts. Due to rapid scientific and technical innovation the tools, practices, and scientific questions change over the course of merely a few years resulting in challenges for collaboration.

From The Matrix to a Model of Coordinated Action (MoCA): A Conceptual Framework of and for CSCW

The CSCW community is reliant upon technology-centric models of groupware and collaboration that frame how we examine and design for cooperative work. This paper both reviews the CSCW literature to examine existing models of collaborative work and proposes a new, expanded conceptual model: the Model of Coordinated Action (MoCA). MoCA is a broader framework for describing complex collaborative situations and environments including, but not limited to, collaborations that have diverse, high-turnover memberships or emerging practices. We introduce MoCAs seven dimensions of coordinative action and illustrate their connection to past and current CSCW research. Finally, we discuss some ramifications of MoCA for our understanding of CSCW as a sociotechnical design space.

Core Domains for a Person-Focused Outcome Measurement System in Cancer (PROMS-Cancer Core) for Routine Care: A Scoping Review and Canadian Delphi Consensus

OBJECTIVES The objectives of this scoping review study were 1) to identify core domains and dimensions for inclusion in a person-focused and self-reported outcome measurement system for cancer and 2) to reach consensus among key stakeholders including cancer survivors on the relevance, acceptability, and feasibility of a core outcome set for collection in routine clinical care. METHODS Following a scoping review of the literature, a Rand Delphi consensus method was used to engage key interdisciplinary decision makers, clinicians, and cancer survivors in reaching consensus on a core patient-reported outcome domain taxonomy and outcome measures. RESULTS Of the 21,900 citations identified in the scoping review, 1,503 citations were included in the full article review (380 conceptual articles, 461 psychometric evaluation articles, and 662 intervention studies) and subjected to data abstraction and mapping. Final consensus was reached on 20 domains, related subdimensions, and 45 self-report measures considered relevant and feasible for routine collection in cancer by the Delphi panel (PROMS-Cancer Core). CONCLUSIONS Standardization of patient-reported outcome data collection is key to assessing the impact of cancer and treatment on the person for population comparison and monitoring the quality of clinical care. The PROMS-Cancer Core taxonomy of domains and outcome measures can be used to guide the development of a patient-reported outcome information system for cancer.

Organizational routines, innovation, and flexibility: The application of narrative networks to dynamic workflow

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how current visual representations of organizational and technological processes do not fully account for the variability present in everyday practices. We further demonstrate how narrative networks can augment these representations to indicate potential areas for successful or problematic adoption of new technologies and potential needs for additional training. METHODS We conducted a qualitative study of the processes and routines at a major academic medical center slated to be supported by the development and installation of a new comprehensive HIT system. We used qualitative data collection techniques including observations of the activities to be supported by the new system and interviews with department heads, researchers, and both clinical and non-clinical staff. We conducted a narrative network analysis of these data by choosing exemplar processes to be modeled, selecting and analyzing narrative fragments, and developing visual representations of the interconnection of these narratives. RESULTS Narrative networks enable us to view the variety of ways work has been and can be performed in practice, influencing our ability to design for innovation in use. DISCUSSION Narrative networks are a means for analyzing and visualizing organizational routines in concert with more traditional requirements engineering, workflow modeling, and quality improvement outcome measurement. This type of analysis can support a deeper and more nuanced understanding of how and why certain routines continue to exist, change, or stop entirely. At the same time, it can illuminate areas in which adoption may be slow, more training or communication may be needed, and routines preferred by the leadership are subverted by routines preferred by the staff.

What Counts as Software Process? Negotiating the Boundary of Software Work Through Artifacts and Conversation

In software development, there is an interplay between Software Process models and Software Process enactments. The former tends to be abstract descriptions or plans. The latter tends to be specific instantiations of some ideal procedure. In this paper, we examine the role of work artifacts and conversations in negotiating between prescriptions from a model and the contingencies that arise in an enactment. A qualitative field study at two Agile software development companies was conducted to investigate the role of artifacts in the software development work and the relationship between these artifacts and the Software Process. Documentation of software requirements is a major concern among software developers and software researchers. Agile software development denotes a different relationship to documentation, one that warrants investigation. Empirical findings are presented which suggest a new understanding of the relationship between artifacts and Software Process. The paper argues that Software Process is a generative system, which participants called “The Conversation,” that emerges out of the interplay between Software Process models and Software Process enactments.

Meanings and boundaries of scientific software sharing

In theory, software, like other digital artifacts, can be freely copied and distributed. In practice, however, its effective flow is conditioned on various technical and social factors. In this paper, drawing on ethnographic work primarily with a bio-informatics research team in China, we report on meanings of scientific software sharing as embedded in social practices of learning, apprenticeship, membership, publication, and reputation. We illustrate that while free flow is important, boundary management is equally important for the effective travel of software to its appropriate destinations. Our study highlights a number of issues that are important to consider for effectively supporting sharing and collaboration in science.