Multidisciplinary design collaboration in the lenses of CSCW and current technology enablement

Abstract

This paper aims to better understand team dynamic aspects in multidisciplinary design collaboration in reference to the CSCW discourse. We present an exploratory literature review and co-occurrence analysis of emerged themes from the studies. Then, we juxtapose the findings with technology-enabled tools suggested for CSCW. Finally, we review the industry relevance of the proposed tools. To illustrate our recommendation for future research, we discuss and suggest a matrix evaluating existing collaborative systems based on the identified team dynamics aspects. We identified two critical aspects, that are vulnerable in the digital channels: shared understanding and trust. The results allow us to discuss future direction, how CSCW and digital tools can aim at improving trust and shared understanding and to define the gap in the design research in reference to the real-world context, future of work and technology enablement.