Quality versus quantity: E-mail-centric task management and its relation with overload

被引:111
作者
Bellotti, V [1 ]
Ducheneaut, N
Howard, M
Smith, I
Grinter, RE
机构
[1] Palo Alto Res Ctr, Comp Sci Lab, Palo Alto, CA USA
[2] Intel Res Lab, Seattle, WA USA
[3] Georgia Inst Technol, Coll Comp, Atlanta, GA 30332 USA
来源
HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION | 2005年 / 20卷 / 1-2期
关键词
D O I
10.1207/s15327051hci2001&2_4
中图分类号
TP3 [计算技术、计算机技术];
学科分类号
0812 ;
摘要
It is widely acknowledged that many professionals suffer from "e-mail overload." This article presents findings from in-depth fieldwork that examined this phenomenon, uncovering six key challenges of task management in e-mail. Analysis of qualitative and quantitative data suggests that it is not simply the quantity but also the collaborative quality of e-mail task and project management that causes this overload. We describe how e-mail becomes especially overwhelming when people use it for tasks that involve participation of others; tasks cannot be completed until a response is obtained and so they are interleaved. Interleaving means that the e-mail user must somehow simultaneously keep track of multiple incomplete tasks, often with the only reminder for each one being an e-mail message somewhere in the inbox or a folder. This and other insights from our fieldwork led us to a new design philosophy for e-mail in which resources for task and project management are embedded directly within an e-mail client as opposed to being added on as separate components of the application. A client, TaskMaster, embodying these ideas, was developed and tested by users in managing their real e-mail over an extended period. The design of the client and results of its evaluation are also reported.
引用
收藏
页码:89 / 138
页数:50
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