Intraspect - Task Analysis (Excerpt)

Intraspect - Task Analysis (Excerpt) (created while an employee of Intraspect) Definitions For purposes of this discussion, we will assume the following definitions: text document - an electronic file created with a word processing, spreadsheet, charting, scheduling, or presentation application html document - an electronic file created for viewing using a browser application url document - an electronic file created for viewing using a browser, residing at some location not governed by the corporation uploaded document - a text document that has been translated to an html document database - an electronic file having defined fields. Can be created using database, word processing, or spreadsheet applications. paper document - a set of printed papers oral comments - vocal feedback from many people about anything written comments - feedback written on a paper document, in proximity to the subject of the comment electronic comments - electronic feedback written about any document which is visible to a group of users oral discussion - a vocal roundtable conversation about topics, usually tangential in format electronic discussion - an electronic roundtable conversation about topics, usually threaded by topic folder - a container used for hierarchical organization person - an employee of the corporation or any other person who provides content (answers, documents, etc.) to a collaboration group - a container used to associate multiple people with one another and/or with a project or collaboration effort search results - a list of documents, people, comments, databases, or discussions that match specified search results Use Cases Knowledge management is the combo of information access and collaboration technologies to help people find share and capture their collective knowledge. We want to list a complete set of types of knowledge management. We want this set to be as broad as possible so that our application does not overlook any small, but important, uses of collaboration. (Headings identify an example problem, and bulleted items identify the use of Knowledge Management. Bold face type means the item is an important feature to Intraspect.) Find the Expert Mike wants to synthesize a complex protein, but doesnÕt know how to use the new machine yet. He looks for someone in the corporation to help him. If he doesnÕt find anyone within the corporation, he looks for someone in his industry. If he doesnÕt find anyone in his industry, he looks for someone in the industry which manufactures the machine. á find someone within the company who is an expert on something á find someone outside the company, but within the industry, who is an expert on something á find someone in the manufacturerÕs company who is an expert on something Write a Research a Paper Svoboda is writing a new paper to help her biotech company obtain venture capital, and looks for all the other related papers and results to use as references or related readings in her paper. She reads all the papers in detail, to understand what was reported. She asks her peers how they felt about the findings in each paper. She records where each paper was published and looks to see if the study got discredited in subsequent issues of the journal. á find publications related to a topic á say what you think of a publication á find out what other people think of a publication á find out whether a publication is creditable or not Link Publications Together Wawona has a new legal case. She creates a file about her client and sets out to research the office legal library (now on CD ROM) to find related cases and laws to cite. She writes notes to herself about how each item she finds relates to her case. She stores the file in a locked drawer in her office. á record how a publication relates to a project á keep a set of documents and notes from being seen by the wrong people Pass Documents Through a Workflow Cecilia, May, Rosa, and Theresa all work in the disputes area of a health maintenance organization. When a dispute is first reported, Cecilia records the data about the case. May is responsible for then gathering all the supporting data and associating it with the case. Rosa is the boss and makes the final decision about each case. Theresa is responsible for informing the plaintiffs and defendants in the case of the decision. á bring your work to another personÕs attention Temporarily Reroute a Workflow Rosa is the only one who can make decisions about cases, and she has called in sick. Theresa, who acts on RosaÕs decisions and finds her in box empty, notifies RosaÕs boss, Anthony, that Rosa is gone that day. Anthony makes the decisions in RosaÕs place. á notify someone of a missing player in a workflow á give someoneÕs work to another person Keep Getting All the New Information About a Topic Financial analysts at a large financial company each specialize in an industry. Chris specializes in the software industry. He looks for news items that match a certain set of topics heÕs interested in, coming from a specified set of resources, such as news agencies, each companyÕs marketing department, and other analysts reports. He writes notes about each item and keeps track of how each relates to the others and to each company. á obtain the sources you want to search á keep a constant watch for new reports Use a List to Manage Workflow Melissa is in charge of testing a new software application that Tony, Mike, and Debby wrote. She wants to keep track of the bugs she finds, assigning them to the engineer most likely to fix each one. She creates a template Bug Report with the pertinent fields in it. She reports the number of bugs still open, and who they belong to, each week to her boss Brian. á create a database Lionel and Deborah are reviewing a new rocket booster design created by Neil and Corinne. Together, they list their comments and suggestions for changing the design and mark what the priority of each comment or suggestion is. Neil and Corinne come up with fixes to the design. They describe the fixes next to each comment or suggestion and wait for Lionel and Deborah to approve or disapprove the change. They review this list once a week. á keep a list of things to do Find the Answer Angela is a technical support engineer. A customer calls with a problem, and she logs the initial data. Since she does not know the answer off hand, Angela asks if any of the other technical support engineers have solved the problem. None of them have, so she asks the engineers themselves for a solution. They give her a solution which she relays to the customer. She writes some notes to remind herself of the solution should the problem come up again. á ask a question á find similar problems á write down the solution to a problem Make a Sale Bert in Sales wants to make a big sale into the Development unit of MCI. He asks around his company for another person who has made a similar deal in the past. He finds Jim and learns from Jim the name of the decision maker within the MCI unit. He also learns from Jim that this personÕs boss has blocked deals in the past, however. Bert records this data and contacts this person at MCI. á discuss tactics with a person in the company Meet About a Topic Joe, Margaret, and Carmen need to decide if they want to bid on a proposal. Carmen says sheÕs done the analysis, and the corporation has indeed done this type of work before. Margaret says that this project involves a new area, though. Joe says he is an expert in that new area. They decide to bid on the project. á come to a consensus about something Collaborate on a Document Nicola and Gina want to write a white paper about using the Internet to allow customers to update their own database information. They sit down at the same time and write an outline. Later, Nicola writes a draft of the document and give it to Gina to review. Gina works on the document and returns it to Nicola. á jointly create a document Review a Document Nicola asks Janice, Mark, and Gary to take a look at her white paper and offer any suggestions. Mark gets hold of the document first and makes grammar corrections and writes comments next to a few paragraphs. Janice reads the document next and writes a comment next to one of MarkÕs saying that she disagrees with Mark. Gary reads the document last, makes one comment separate from any of MarkÕs or JaniceÕs, and tells Mark that Janice has disagreed with him. Mark asks for the paper back, reads JaniceÕs comment, and adds a rebuttal. Mark gives the paper back to Nicola on the date she asked that it be returned. Nicola touches up the document using her teamÕs suggestions. á mark up a document Tools We also want as broad as possible a list of tools people use in a corporation when collaborating. á shared file system á web publication (public and personal servers) á threaded discussion á email (point-to-point) á Internet search service á synchronous conferencing (electronic whiteboards, shared screens) á floppy disk ("walk net") á client-server database á personnel directory/database á white board á face-to-face conversation at meetings á live presentation to audience á telephone and voicemail á manually distributed paper á library of books (physical or on CD ROM) The Task List
Look/Ask for Data | á ask people for an expert á ask people a question á ask people about an author or content provider á ask people what they think of a publication á enter a personÕs name in a search engine OR-ed with expertise keywords á enter a topic in a search engine á daily, enter a topic in a search engine á enter the publication name in a search engine á enter a question keywords in a search engine á query the database by likely department and title á browse the correct folder to find related topics á search the index for topics
Ask People | á post a query for a person with expertise á post a query soliciting opinions about a publication á post a query to a discussion including people who have read the publication á post a query about the reliability of the author or the content provider á post a question á write a query for a person to someone you know á write a question to someone you know á write a query about the reliability of the author or content provider to someone you know
Ask for Notification | á periodically check for replies á wait for email reply á wait for return phone calls á wait for responses á bookmark the sites of interest to search á bookmark the sites of interest to constantly watch á subscribe to the site with Smartmarks
Read/Browse/Review | á read the replies á read the responses á browse the results á listen to the responses á recognize the author or content provider á read the matches that are opinions
Collect/Store | á save papers in marked folders á put the publication inside the project folder á put the document in a shared folder á put the publication on the project shelf á put the document on a floppy á retrieve the publications from the shelf á create a link to the project page from the publication, and vice versa á create a project folder á create a project shelf
Transfer | á send the document to another person á send a to do list to a person á transfer the document to the correct people by floppy á pass the floppy along to another person á put the floppy on the other personÕs desk á pass the document around to the correct people á pass the document around á move the document to another personÕs "In" folder á put the printed document on the other personÕs desk á change the assignment of a record to another person
Comment | á handwrite your opinion on the document itself á make comments about a document
Create/Write/Say/Present | á open a document on-line, allowing synchronous access by several people á create a document á publish your opinion about the document on your own web publication á publish the solution in your own web publication á publish the solution on paper á post your opinion about the document to a discussion á post the solution to a discussion á post tactics to a discussion á email your opinion about the document to someone you know á email the solution to someone you know á email the tactics to someone you know á email a supervisor when someone is missing á present your opinion about the document to an audience á tell people your opinion about the document á tell a supervisor when someone is missing á talk to people about tactics á call people about tactics á draw the solution on the white board á draw a diagram of the project and its parts á present a diagram of the project and its parts á write a to do list on the white board
Template/Format | á create a to do list document á create tables and define fields and links á create an interface to the database
Update/Change | á allow one person at a time to update the to do list á allow one person at a time to update the document á allow anyone to update the to do list á allow synchronous hand written updates to the paper á allow the other person to update the document á the person checks off the to do list and sends it back á the person updates the document and sends it back á update the document on-line
Secure/Restrict | á set the security on the document á put the document behind a firewall á keep the document on an isolated computer á set the security on a table or on a set of records á keep the document at a printed version only
Intraspect Windows (Navigation) Look/Ask for Data This searching and question asking task should be separate from any of the other tasks, and should occupy its own window. Search results should be displayed in the bottom half of this same window to indicate the relationship with the query. Sub-queries (refining the results list by searching only those items that appear in the results list already) will be a feature. The user will be able to double click a result in the Search window and have that item be displayed in its native application. Users will be able to specify "Search For" and "Source." "Search For" includes non-exclusive choices of Person, Topic, Author, Content Provider (Publication Name), and Keywords, where there is a field to enter the keywords. "Source" includes non-exclusive choices of Publication, Comments, Discussion, Public Email, Public Document, and Person. Any search can be saved, thus preserving the settings. Users can return to these persistent searches to see new results. Users will be able to subscribe to persistent searches, as well. See section "Ask for Notification." The Search window is a child of the Collection window. (See Collect/Store.) Multiple Search windows can be displayed at once. Ask for Notification Intraspect will provide a separate Smartmarks-like utility which will not only be able to keep track of updates to (subscriptions) html documents but also keep track of text documents, email, postings to discussion lists, persistent searches, and comments about a document. The list of items a user is subscribed to should be kept in a separate window. Active notifications (items that have been updated) will be listed in that window as well, either in an "in box" fashion --like email-- or as an Explorer-like interface. The email-like interface will feature small child windows (like mailboxes in Eudora) wherein users organize their subscriptions, and a Notifications child window which lists currently updated items. When the user double clicks an item in this child window, the item opens in its native application, and is removed from the Current Updates window. The Explorer-like interface displays a user-created tree structure on the left and a list folder contents on the right. The icons for updated items have a corona behind them, and folders containing updated items also have a corona behind their icons. When an item is double-clicked and viewed, its icon loses the corona. When all the items within a folder have been viewed, the folder loses its corona. Users can set the update type (manual or automatic) for each subscription. For automatic subscriptions, users can specify the schedule in terms of hours and minutes, or in terms of a daily time and days of the week. Furthermore, users can specify whether they want to monitor changes to the page content or changes to the links on a page. Intraspect will not handle the notification of returned phone calls. The Subscription/Notification window is a child of the Collection window. (See Collect/Store.) Multiple Subscription/Notification windows can be displayed at once. Each window displays the subscriptions and notifications of one registered Intraspect user. Collect/Store The task of organizing the documents, email, postings, and comments is a problem that Intraspect solves with a Windows Explorer-like window. On the left is a tree structure of folders and regions. Since a nested structure of folders is only useful as context, rather than being a way to find something, nesting should only go a few levels deep. To solve the problem of relating various groups and projects within a corporation to one another without restricting the depiction to a nested folder structure, the Intraspect Collection window also displays regions, which are loose groupings of roots (the top level of a folder structure). This display is a (undirected) graph, and appears above the folder tree structure. The root of the currently displayed folder structure is highlighted in this graph, in multiple regions (clouds), if it is a member of multiple regions. Users click on the folder roots or on the regions to display the folder structures they are interested in. Users can indicate new links between items, folders, and regions using toolbar or menu items for this upper pane. Users can create new regions and folders using toolbar or menu items. Users can copy or move folder roots from region to region using drag and drop. To the right of the tree structure is a list of the contents of the highlighted folder. This list can contain text and html document names, other folders, discussion lists, email, persistent searches, and subscriptions. If any one of these items has comments about it, an icon appears indicating comments. (Clicking the icon brings up the native application with a comments pane above it.) If any one of these items has subscribers, another icon appears indicating the number of subscribers. (Clicking on this number brings up a dialog listing the people (which are items) who are subscribed. These people are clickable.) Also, if an item is currently being edited, another icon appears to indicate this state. (Users will not be able to double click an item in this state.) Users can double click any item in this list, causing it to display in its native application. If users double click a persistent search or a subscription, the corresponding Intraspect window appears, displaying the item. Details about each item in the list pane appear in columns. Details include the type of an item, the date of collection and contributor of the item collected, the security "visibility" of the item, and the date and contributor of the latest update to the itemÕs link within Intraspect. Links can be edited using toolbar or menu items. For example, if an html documentÕs address is no longer valid, an Intraspect user might edit the item to update the url. To add items to this list, users simply drag the item from the native application and drop it over the right-hand list pane, or drop it on top of a folder in the left-hand or upper display panes. Users can alternatively indicate that they wish to "collect" an item from the window with the focus with a toolbar or menu item. The item will be collected into the list currently displayed in the right-hand pane. If the user desires, multiple Collection windows can be displayed at the same time, each "rooted" at a different folder structure. Transfer Besides using existing email applications to send someone an item, Intraspect users can also move collected items from folder to folder within the Collection window. The folders can represent peopleÕs in boxes, or they can represent different statuses for the items. Alternatively, users may manually subscribe a person to an item, in effect passing the item to that person. Update/Change Intraspect will not solve the problem of synchronous updating of documents. It will be able to display whether an item is currently being edited, with an icon in the List pane of the Collection window. See the Collect/Store section. Secure/Restrict To allow easy management of security issues, Intraspect will provide the ability in the Collection window to indicate the "visibility" of any item to groups of registered users within the Intraspect system. See the Collect/Store section. Comment Intraspect will attach a pane at the top of each native application for the display and creation of comments. Comments will appear in a nested form, two levels deep. Users will be either be able to add a new comment or respond to an existing comment. See the last paragraph of Read/Browse/Review and Create/Write/Say/Present for further description. Existing Applications (Viewing) Ask People Intraspect will leverage existing applications for directly contacting people to gather information. These existing applications include email and threaded discussions. Users will be able to subscribe to their email or posting, however, to be notified of any replies. See the Ask for Notification section. Public email sent to a registered user of Intraspect within the corporation will be automatically collected. Read/Browse/Review Reading, browsing, and reviewing will all be handled in native applications. These applications include browsers, word (and other document) processors, email readers, and discussion lists. The only exception to this rule are search results, which will be displayed in the Search window. The user will be able to double click a result in the Search window, however, and have that item be displayed in its native application. Intraspect must be able to display the comments about an item in a pane at the top of each native application, however. Intraspect must also add the ability to email applications for users to indicate if the email is public or private. Create/Write/Say/Present All original content will be created in native applications, including the collaborative use of such native applications. Intraspect must add a pane to each application for comments, and add toolbar and menu items for adding, editing, and deleting these comments. Template/Format Surprisingly, Intraspect may be better off incorporating database applications as yet another type of "native application." This addition will allow users the power of sorting, maintenance, and display in the native environment. Components á folder á discussion (existing applications) á comment á person (a type of folder) á database (existing applications) á html document (existing applications) á text document (existing applications)