Computer Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW) began as a community of scholars focusing on work might change due to the introduction and employment of automated systems. According to Grudin & Poltrock (2014), the field initially focused on email which at the time was unreliable and not interoperable across computer systems. But as the power of information technologies became realized, scholars began examining how new capabilities for communication, information sharing, and coordination / cooperation could change how work is accomplished.
Enter Susan Leigh Star, who went even further on this idea and began investigating how CSCW would potentially change the very meaning of work. In this episode, we look at one of her better-known works, “Layers of Silence, Arenas of Voice: The Ecology of Visible and Invisible Work,” published in CSCW’s flagship journal, Computer-Supported Cooperative Work, in 1999. The article actually deals very little directly with CSCW and focuses instead on the challenges and risks of automating work processes without due consideration of all the invisible work done in an organization that systems designers might overlook.
Star begins with a powerful point – “What counts as work is a matter of definition” – and proceeds to offer examples of “work” that may not count as work in the minds of some managers because of its intangible or taken-for-granted aspects. This could potentially lead to its omission when designing a collaborative work system, thereby causing the system to fail to achieve the expectations of those using it. Her particular concern was how corporate managers, in the drive for efficiencies, would overemphasize visible work – activities that could be observed, measured, and controlled – at the risk of willfully ignoring the background processes and informal relationships necessary to get work done. The problem is that the shift to the use of technology means that a larger portion of the work done is not through traditional physical activities, making it difficult to tell which of the people sitting at desks on computers are more productive than others.
The bulk of the article addresses several forms of negotiations that occur over what is visible and invisible through the shift to using CSCW systems. One is how the product of work is visible but the employee is not. The second is when the product is invisible but the worker is visible. The third is when both are invisible. Each are presented with relevant examples and their implications for software development.The impact of this article is tremendous. With almost 2000 citations, it has been referenced in many journals, books, and conferences regarding the connections among people, work, and technology.
You may also download the audio files here: Part 1 | Part 2 | Supplement
Read with us:
Star, S. L., & Strauss, A. (1999). Layers of silence, arenas of voice: The ecology of visible and invisible work. Computer supported cooperative work (CSCW) 8, 9-30.
To Learn More:
Grudin, J. and Poltrock, S. (2014, January 1). Computer Supported Cooperative Work. Interaction Design Foundation – IxDF. https://www.interaction-design.org/literature/book/the-encyclopedia-of-human-computer-interaction-2nd-ed/computer-supported-cooperative-work
Related episodes from the Talking About Organizations Network:
Episode 108. Presentation of Self in Everyday Life — Goffman
Episode 22. Human-Machine Reconfiguration — Lucy Suchman
