Presence & Placement: Exploring the Benefits of Multiple Shared Displays on an Intellective Sensemaking Task

Abstract

Relatively little is known about how the presence and location of multiple shared displays changes the performance and dynamics of teams collaborating. We conducted a case study evaluating several shared display configurations with groups collaborating on a data-intensive, sense-making task. Teams completed the same task using either a single display, side-by-side dual, or opposing dual shared displays. The location of the second shared display significantly impacted the ability for teams to make logical connections amongst the data. Users were also significantly more satisfied with the collaboration process using the side-by-side dual display condition than those using a single display.