Towards an Appropriable CSCW Tool Ecology

If you could accomplish a complex, collaborative work task with one tool or many tools working together, which would you choose? In this paper, we present a case study of GISHWHES (the "Greatest International Scavenger Hunt the World Has Ever Seen"), an annual event in which teams spend one week completing complex, creative tasks. Building on the literature of IT ecosystems, we show how teams used different collections of tools to meet their communication needs. We interviewed team members, finding that most teams used multiple tools during GISHWHES. By analyzing which tools they chose over others for each function, we gain insight into the strengths and weaknesses of these tools, and the complexity surrounding work processes. In light of this complexity, this research highlights the importance of designing appropriable tools that can work with unanticipated workflows and mesh well with other tools in a communicative ecology.