CSCW: History and Focus

Abstract

This article describes the participation in CSCW research and groupware development. It ties the emergence of CSCW in the 1980s to the growing interest of product developers in supporting networked groups and the discovery of common interests with those working management information systems, as well as with researchers in the social sciences and other disciplines. Differences in emphasis in Europe and Japan are discussed. The picture that emerges is of CSCW as a forum bringing together researchers and developers who share some but not all interests and must overcome the difficulties of multidisciplinary interaction.