An experimental study of computer mediated collaborative design

Recent developments in network technology and multi user software allow computer mediated collaborative design (CMCD), where the computer enables two designers to communicate and work together while in different places. Research in integrated and collaborative design identify the need to capture design semantics as well as decisions about the final physical product. We describe an experimental study of computer mediated collaborative design that considers how designers communicate design semantics and whether there is more or less design semantics captured in a collaborative session. The development of the experiment required the definition of an hypothesis, aim, methodology, and data coding schemes. This methodology can be used to develop formal studies of CMCD. Although the statistical results of our experiment are inconclusive, the observations indicate there is less information recorded during a CMCD session than when working alone.