{"id":746221,"date":"2021-05-18T09:40:28","date_gmt":"2021-05-18T16:40:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/?post_type=msr-blog-post&p=746221"},"modified":"2021-05-18T09:40:29","modified_gmt":"2021-05-18T16:40:29","slug":"tech-users-battle-to-stay-in-touch-too-many-channels-too-little-time","status":"publish","type":"msr-blog-post","link":"https:\/\/newed.any0.dpdns.org\/en-us\/research\/articles\/tech-users-battle-to-stay-in-touch-too-many-channels-too-little-time\/","title":{"rendered":"Tech users’ battle to stay in touch: Too many channels, too little time"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Hugh North (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a> and Carolyn Bufford-Funk, PhD (opens in new tab)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Happy<\/a><\/p>\n

Image credit: iStock\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

We recently completed a body of research to understand extreme usage among enterprise technology users. Using multiple techniques and studies, we wanted to delve into the experience of very heavy users, or high intensity users, to understand not just how humans experience the technology, but also to learn how specific or universal are the pain points they experience.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In a typical week, a high intensity enterprise technology user will send hundreds of emails and messages; open at least 16 documents, spreadsheets, and\/or presentations; and edit or create at least 5 documents, spreadsheets, and\/or presentations. High intensity certainly describes not just the volume of tools, documents, and applications they\u2019re working with on a daily basis. While their pain points and challenges\u00a0<\/span>mirror\u00a0those\u00a0of other\u00a0information workers<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0high intensity also\u00a0describes\u00a0the\u00a0impact felt as a result of\u00a0experiencing those pain points and challenges at a high volume.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A complex ecosystem<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We began by looking at email and instant messaging, but quickly realized that the network of tools used is much more diverse and complex: phone calls, video calls, and sometimes internal social media (such as Yammer) were part of the equation. And all these media apply to life outside work, further complicating the picture, as users switch between work and personal communications throughout the day.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Similar to what our colleagues saw with\u00a0<\/span>very small business owners<\/span><\/a>,\u00a0these users\u00a0typically have multiple devices:\u00a0a\u00a0laptop or desktop\u00a0computer,\u00a0one\u00a0or more mobile phones, and often\u00a0a tablet and\/or other devices such as gaming consoles and smart speakers.\u00a0They also\u00a0frequently have multiple work and personal accounts for email, messaging, video chat, and\/or social media.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

During\u00a0work,\u00a0most of this group\u00a0monitors\u00a0their communications with notifications, and they check their communications frequently.\u00a0They\u00a0also keep up with\u00a0work\u00a0communications outside of work\u00a0with notifications and by checking\u00a0frequently for updates. This contributes to a great deal of stress, as communications and notifications come through with equal\u00a0urgency, leading users to feel pressured to be \u201calways on\u201d and consistently on top of all communications regardless of their relative importance.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Compartmentalizing and migrating\u00a0communications<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Users\u00a0receive their many communications through\u00a0a variety\u00a0channels, including email,\u00a0messaging and phone calls and video chat\/meetings (consistent with information workers\u2019 channels).\u00a0To compensate for this, they\u00a0develop mental models of what kinds of communications they send and receive via each\u00a0channel.\u00a0For example:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n