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The AIT Center for Technology Experience has contributed its expertise in user experience (UX) and diversity in technology development to the FairCom project. The result: a speaking time app and concrete guidelines for fair, inclusive online meetings.
Not a day without an online meeting. Since the coronavirus crisis, online meetings have become the norm in everyday office life. Whether Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Webex or Google Meeting - we all use these tools almost as a matter of course. But how do online meetings work? How much speaking time does each participant get? And how can we ultimately ensure good, inclusive and efficient online meetings? The AIT Centre for Technology Experience, in collaboration with Joanneum Research (project coordinator), the Linz-based digital service provider Netural and the ICG Integrated Consulting Group, addressed these questions in the FairCom research project. The FairCom project was funded by the FFG as part of the FemTech programme.
The central aim of the project was to ensure that technologies for online meetings are equally accessible to everyone and can be used equally well by everyone. Online meetings should be designed inclusively - both in terms of software and in terms of moderation and participation of all participants. The holistic gender perspective was important in the project from the outset: in addition to gender, differences in age, language and educational background were also taken into account in the development of software design ideas and in the actual implementation of online meetings. "Online communication makes many people disappear behind their screens and often creates barriers and hurdles. This makes it all the more important to develop and provide tools that create an awareness of fair online communication among all participants, convey a positive feeling and, above all, empower people to take action," emphasises AIT researcher Anke Schneider. The benefits are obvious: good, inclusive and efficient online meetings increase team spirit and the well-being of employees, Schneider is convinced.
People-centred right from the start: From a concert of wishes to a solution
"In order to get very close to the needs, we first analysed the usage habits and experiences of users in online meetings. Together with ideas for solutions that were collected in a participatory process, this provided a sound basis for the development of a technical solution approach and the creation of guidelines for the design of online meetings," explains project manager Sybille Reidl from Joanneum Research.
Zoom was used as the online meeting tool, and the interaction concept and prototype of a speaking time app were developed: "FairCom" shows the speaking time of the participants based on their respective role in the meeting. Their own speaking time can be tracked using a bar chart. The moderator sees the bar charts of all participants. The aim is to create a balance in speaking time and meeting participation. If there is too much or too little participation, the respective person receives visual and textual indications that they are speaking too much or too little. In addition, all participants have the option of using other functions anonymously. For example, the visibility of particularly active people can be reduced by blurring or freezing their image. An alternative option is to organise a transparent group discussion time. The interaction concept and the technical solution were evaluated in a comprehensive user study.
"The feedback from the participants was very positive, a good third can imagine using the tool in their professional environment," says Anke Schneider, pleased with the results of the study. In addition, the study clearly showed a change in behaviour in online meetings on the part of the participants. However, the project was unable to determine how long this change in behaviour lasts. This would require a longer-term study.
The idea of "FairCoins", a currency as a positive evaluation system for inclusive communication in online meetings, which participants could collect for positive behaviour, quality contributions, adherence to speaking time and improvement of behaviour, was rejected as "too complicated" and "not so practical", as the AIT evaluation study showed. With the "FairCoins", online meeting participants were able to purchase new background images or individualised profile frames, for example.
The second aspect of the project was the development of guidelines for moderation. The six key factors for fair online communication and diversity-promoting design of virtual meetings were defined as 1. design & structure, 2. creating participation, 3. visualisation, 4. maintaining energy, 5. continuous improvement and 6. fairness. Based on these key factors, guidelines for the moderation of online meetings and a set of methods were created.
Conclusion and outlook
"With the results of FairCom, we are helping to raise awareness of inclusion in technology development and application," Anke Schneider is convinced.
"The FairCom project has shown once again that equal participation in online meetings is a challenge, especially for moderators. The prototype of a speaking time app developed in FairCom and the collection of inclusive moderation methods now support the participation of everyone," emphasises Sybille Reidl. The task now is to publicise the project results as widely as possible and make them accessible to as many people as possible. After all, online meetings occupy many people in everyday office life. "This makes it all the more important to enable fair and inclusive communication
possible. This is essential for the satisfaction and motivation of employees and therefore important for every company," says Reidl.
About the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
The AIT Austrian Institute of Technology is Austria's largest research and technology organisation with over 1,600 employees and an operating performance of almost 200 million euros. The AIT focuses on the key research areas of "sustainable and resilient infrastructures", particularly in the fields of energy, transport and health, as well as the "digital transformation of industry and society", working closely with universities, industry and public institutions.
About the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology
About the AIT Centre for Technology Experience
About JOAENNEUM RESEARCH (project coordinator)
JOANNEUM RESEARCH is an innovation and technology provider in the field of applied research. As a research company of the federal states and regions, we use our research expertise to shape the development of our modern society and economy in a sustainable and people-centred way. As a multidisciplinary team in flexible, innovation-friendly structures, we live up to the highest social and scientific standards.