Informal Communication and Awareness in Virtual Teams Why We Need Smart Technologies to Support Distributed Teamwork

This paper illustrates the importance of awareness and informal communication in work environments and outlines the resulting implications for the design of future information and communication technologies. The paper starts by providing an introduction into intellectual teamwork, showing its benefits and explaining, why informal communication and awareness are decisive factors for successful teamwork. After a brief characterization of virtual teams, it is shown, how the lack of physical proximity effects distributed teamwork. The paper closes with an assessment of state-of-the-art communication media and illustrating why existing communication technologies are not adequate for supporting awareness and informal communication in future work environments. KeywordsCommunication, Awareness, Virtual Teams, Office Environments, Smart Technologies.