Characteristics, Work Modes, and the Design of Digital Collaboration Tools

This thesis investigates digital collaboration tools (DCTs), including the work modes supported by them and their general characteristics. This is done to inform current research on local-first software, which are new types of collaboration apps aiming to shift computing from the cloud back to local devices without compromising the ability to collaborate with other people.

Existing literature on the topic of collaboration and computer-supported collaborative work (CSCW), spanning the past 40 years, is reviewed and discussed. Older research is contrasted with more recent research, and existing definitions and taxonomies are collected. An analysis of 45 currently available collaboration apps is performed. The apps are categorized and investigated regarding supported work modes and general properties.

A user survey with 37 participants is conducted in the form of a digital questionnaire, asking questions about people's usage of DCTs, positive as well as negative experiences with them, and their opinions on different work modes.

Based on these results, definitions of collaboration and digital collaboration tools are given, as well as a taxonomy and characterization of the latter.

The results are further discussed and recommendations for the development and design of modern DCTs are made. The main findings include that DCTs are diverse in nature, and their support for different work modes heavily depends on the type of application and work being done with it. The asynchronous work mode can be considered the default, except for the case of pure meeting apps. The synchronous work mode is beneficial for most apps, and should be properly supported with appropriate awareness mechanisms. Local-first software is promising, but still has several limitations that hinder its development and adoption. Automatic conflict resolution is found to have several drawbacks, therefore transparency and preservation of user intent is emphasized instead. The thesis concludes by outlining suitable areas for future research, including evaluation of a synchronous-independent work mode, and improvements in conflict-free replicated data types (CRDTs).