1 SHARED SPACE AT A DISTANCE A Model of Integrated Shared Space for Supporting Informal Interaction at a Distance

Informal interaction among team members is an important factor in collaborative work. This paper discusses the issue of how the notion of shared space is used to support informal interaction at a distance. We reviewed existing shared space examples, examined how they support informal interaction and identified critical issues that emerged from the characteristics of shared space technologies which do not fully support the nature of informal interaction. We then propose a model of integrated shared space (ISS) whose main objective is to address these issues and support collaborative work at a distance through a shared space for natural informal interaction. 1