Software developers, as well as other office workers, experience a high number of interruptions each day. While some of these interruptions can be beneficial, they can also incur a high cost, especially if they happen at inopportune moments. In this talk, I will present research on the use of personal data to reduce interruptions and increase productivity. In a joint project with ABB, we developed the FlowLight, an approach that combines a desk traffic light with an automatic interruptibility measure based on computer interaction data. In a large-scale field study with 449 participants from 12 countries, we found that the FlowLight reduced the interruptions of participants by 46%, increased their awareness on the potential disruptiveness of interruptions and most participants continue to use the FlowLight to this day.
Thu 26 OctDisplayed time zone: Tijuana, Baja California change
13:30 - 15:00 | Software Engineering & EducationSPLASH-I at Regency D Chair(s): Vadim Zaytsev Raincode Labs, Belgium | ||
13:30 30mTalk | One if by Lambda, Two if by C: How PL Can Attack Computing Education SPLASH-I Kathi Fisler Brown University | ||
14:00 30mTalk | Reducing Interruptions at Work with the FlowLight SPLASH-I Thomas Fritz University of British Columbia, University of Zurich | ||
14:30 30mTalk | Smart Condo: IoT for Social Good SPLASH-I Eleni Stroulia University of Alberta |