Applying the Locales Framework to understanding and designing

The paper presents another iteration in the ongoing CSCW dialogue between the understanding of work and the design of systems to support work. We overview the Locales Framework (and its five aspects of locale foundations, individual views, civic structures, interaction trajectory, and mutuality) as a shared abstraction for both understanding and designing. We describe the use of the framework in a telehealth case study and discuss the implications of the framework for the design of generic toolkit environments, as interpreted in the prototype system called Orbit. We conclude with a critique of the framework and suggestions for further iterations in the dialogue.