Supporting the Flow of Information Through Constellations of Interaction

In field studies designed to uncover opportunities for computationallyintensive business applications, we observed an interaction pattern we term "constellations" in which people depend on a variety of people and information sources to perform the duties of their employ. Constellations are significant for several reasons, constellations extensively cross organizational and corporate boundaries, the value of a constellation depends on the individual being appropriately in sync at any one time with the elements of the constellation, constellations are uniquely defined in terms of the individual who draws maximum benefit from that particular collection of people and information, and the value from a constellation derives from all of the elements existing in a particular work context to support the individual who is the hub of the constellation. From a design perspective, the implications are for CSCW technologies that do not assume well-defined organizational and corporate boundaries, but rather that support individual access to and management of personal connections and interactions.