Understanding Virtual Design Studios (Computer Supported Cooperative Work)

The idea of a Virtual Design Studio (VDS) has been around for many years. In the early days, establishing a way of transferring documents by file transfer was enough to establish a virtual design studio. Our expectations are greater now. Along with document transfer, we expect to be able to work with others at a distance as if they were in the same physical room. We have seen how email, video conferences, and shared whiteboards can provide environments in which we can do many of the things we are used to doing face to face. The internet has changed the way we communicate at a personal level and now affects the way we work professionally. Along with the new technology and the initial excitement, we have also experienced frustration when our expectations are beyond the capability for the technology to deliver. This frustration is due to the relative immaturity of software solutions to collaboration, and also due to the lack of software support for designing. We cannot just take a set of tools off the shelf and create a virtual design studio. We first need to understand what is possible in a virtual design studio, and then understand what the technology can provide. At a more fundamental level, we need to understand the differences between working in the physical presence of our collaborators and using technology to allow us to communicate at a distance.