Sharing serendipity in the workplace

Abstract

The Forum is a collaborative working environment that consists of two shared spaces: a space for informal interaction (Contact Space), and a workspace for synchronous meetings using audioconferencing support (Meeting Space). It is designed to enable people, who should meet each other to do so naturally, providing an environment for richer online interactions. This paper discusses three evaluations of the Forum Contact Space: a conceptual evaluation, a prototype evaluation, and an ethnographic evaluation. Each evaluation was undertaken to improve the Contact Space usability, examine whether it supports chance encounters, and learn from participant feedback, areas for improvement of future Forum versions.