Proceedings of the 28th Annual Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences - I995 Computer Support for Distributed Asynchronous Software Design Teams: Experimental Results on Creativity and Quality Rosalie Ocker S. RoxanneHiltz Murray Turoff Jerry Fjermestad Rutgers University New JerseyInstitute of Technology Newark, NJ Newark, NJ Abstract Previous research has indicated that the creative task of deciding upon the initial specijcations for a sojtware SySfem can benefit from a structured process to guide group interaction in Face-to-Face meetings, and can benejlt from computer support. This 2x2 experiment is the Jrst to look at the joint effects of a distributed asynchronous computer conferencing mode of communication (CC, as compared to Face to Face), and a structured process, on sojtware design outcomes. Subjects were teams of graduate students in computer science and business, who designed an automated post of&e as a course assignment. Though the quality of solution produced by the CC groups was judged to be higher, it was not significantly so. However, the CC groups were considerably more creative. There were no main effects for the structured/unstructured factor, nor an-vsigni$cant interactions. One approach is to provide support for design through the use of group support systems[16,33,10]. In this paper, we report on an experiment which investigated the usefulness of computer-conferencing to support design groups working (1) on the early stagesof design (2) in a distributed asynchronous environment. Asynchronous refers to the dimension of time -- at different times -- while distributed refers to the dimension of space -- at different maces. Thus, members of distributed asynchronous groups “meet” or communicate with one anotherat different times, from different places. 1: Introduction As the business world increases in complexity, so does the nature of problems which information systems must support. Basic systems dealing with structuredand routine problemsare a wave of the past. Today’s problems are unstructured, nonroutine, and even wicked [61, 591. Within systems development, it is recognized that the stages of requirements definition and high-level design are important, and even crucial to the development of effective software [7]. Collaborative designersand users work to achieve some consensus on the general characteristics of the new system in question [51]. Decisions made during these initial stages drive the decisions made throughout the remainder of the development process. To provide effective support, it has been increasingly suggested that the development of information systems in general,and the definition of high- level requirementsand design, specifically, could benefit from the infusion of creative and innovative solutions [e.g., 6,18,65]. The distributed asynchronous form of group interaction has obvious benefits. Group membersdo not have to physically be in the sameplace to meet, nor must they communicate with one another at the same time. These two characteristics of distributed asynchronous communication greatly extend the definition of what constitutes a meeting. Theseloosened constraintscan add value to the organization by increasing the means with which groups can accomplish work. However, there are also disadvantages. Points of reference for indexing communication by time, place, and talk sequence are all missing [26]. As communication occurs over time, days can elapse between communication events, resulting in communicationthat can seem disjointed. Another coordination problem is finding workable substitutes for temporal sequence as an ordering mechanism. In an asynchronous discussion, the norm is for many topics and subtopics to be active at once, and sometimes more than one person makes entries simultaneously, perhaps on different topics. How doesthe group order and coordinatewhat can seem chaotic? One approachfor dealing with theseproblems of coordination is to (1) provide structuring mechanisms for groups to use to organize their communication and (2) sequencethe problem solving process followed by groups to accomplish work. Where creative solutions to difficult problemsare the desired outcome, some degree of structure can be a stimulus to triggering ideas [ e.g., brainstorming]. However, too much structure, or the wrong structure, can 4 1060-3425/95$4.00@1995IEEE Proceedings of the 28th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences (HICSS '95) 1060-3425/95 $10.00 © 1995 IEEE