CSCW: Four Characters in Search of a Context*

The title of this paper was chosen to highlight the fact that the label CSCW, although widely adopted as the acronym for the field of Computer Supported Cooperative Work, has been applied to computer applications of very different ilk. It is not at all clear what are the unique identifying elements of this research area. This paper provides a framework for approaching the issue of cooperative work and its possible computer support. The core issues are identified and prospects for the field are outlined. What’s in a name? And does it really matter, after all? In some sense, in the great scheme of things, names don’t matter that much in many situations. As long as we all know what is designated by the name, the term itself is of minor importance. However, we should occasionally examine the assumptions that may be implicit in the name. For instance, in the song “A boy named Sue”, the name did matter! Likewise, the name ‘Artificial Intelligence’ (“the Very Idea!” as the philosopher John Haugeland notes in the title of one of his books), implies a certain view on the nature of “intelligence”, so also with the term “Expert Systems”. In the same vein, the name ‘Office Automation’ promised to automate office work, a project since deservedly denounced as ludicrous and ultimately abandoned as unattainable. Do we have similar problems with the name Computer Supported Cooperative Work?