Message capturing as a paradigm for asynchronous digital whiteboard interaction

Abstract

Remote Collaboration in synchronous and in asynchronous communication settings demands for highly specialized solutions. The requirements are set even higher when teams are working creatively with methodologies such as Design Thinking where challenging and unusual problems are addressed. Based on our first Tele-Board1 prototype which supports real-time Design Thinking for teams distributed over different locations we implemented extended functionalities for asynchronous interaction support. The "Tele-Board history browser" is a web-based user interface offering functionality to go back and forth in the timeline of a whiteboard. Additionally it is possible to view the whiteboard's usage statistics to gain insights how Design Thinkers work. In this paper we describe the system's architecture and the role of message capturing as an efficient way for saving and displaying a whiteboard history as well as for profound research data collection. With our tool we can support designers in fulfilling their common tasks more efficiently in dispersed teams and we can also assist design researchers to understand how designers work in an all-digital setting.