Google

Wave
An Alternative to Face-to-Face
Project Collaboration

Chris Andrus | David Hoff | Chyne Holguin | Bryan Rahm

April 30, 2010

 Table of Contents

Page
Executive Summary 1
Introduction 2
Methodology 3-4
Results 5
Analysis and Conclusion 6
Cited Works 7
 Executive Summary
Google Wave is a new open-source online collaboration tool which is still in its preview stage.
Our research group decided to evaluate Google Wave to see if it could be an effective alter-
native to face-to-face project collaboration. Throughout this study, our research group has
become thoroughly familiar with the workings of Google Wave. Two of our team members
are experienced with Google Wave, and the other two are not. This difference in experience
gives us a unique opportunity to evaluate from the beginner’s and seasoned user’s aspects.

The methodology for this evaluation included researching printed and online sources, gather-
ing opinions, and comparing real life interaction versus using Google Wave. Our research
group also tested Google Wave firsthand.

Figure 1 below shows the Google Wave interface window. The inexperienced group members
were able to start using Google Wave very quickly and picked up on the interface with rela-
tively no problems.

Overall, Google Wave could be used as an alternative to face-to-face project collaboration.

The ease of use and multiple communication techniques that Google Wave offers makes it a
robust tool that anyone can pick up relatively easily.

Figure 1: Google Wave Interface

 Introduction
Purpose
The purpose of this analytical report is to determine if Google Wave can be an
effective alternative to face-to-face project collaboration. Most everyone that has
worked on a group project has experienced face-to-face collaboration. With the
unique features and possibility for growth,

Anyone who is involved with project collaboration could stand to benefit from this re-
port. College students or business professionals; this report explains how both can
benefit from using Google Wave.

Background and History

The basic idea behind Google Wave is that e-mail was invented over 40 years ago,
and is now outdated. The team developing it wanted to know what e-mail would be
like if it had been invented today. Drawing on inspiration from some of the most suc-
cessful modern communication tools and software, Goggle Wave was developed.
The idea was to eliminate the individual messages going back and forth between the
many parties often involved in a conversation. Instead, they are replaced with a single
document that all the involved parties have access to. Any participant can modify
the document from wherever they are, and changes show up for others to see in
real time. You can also reply or edit anywhere in the document so that related parts
of the conversation are all in the same place and easier to follow. If changes take
place while you are away, you will see them highlighted when you return, or even
rewind and replay the conversation to see how it developed. Since the entire system
is online, it also allows for the sharing of different types of media quickly and easily.
Photos, videos, and other types of files can be dragged and dropped straight into the
conversation so everyone has access to the most recent version. Google Wave is still
in an invitation only preview phase, but is expected to be widely accepted by the pub-
lic upon release as a modern collaboration and communication tool.
 Methodology
Approach
Most everyone has experienced some type of face-to-face project collaboration, but not
everyone is familiar with Google Wave. During this analysis, these two project collabo-
ration methods will be evaluated by a group of four people. The experiences and ben-
efits of each method will be recorded, and a recommendation will be given.

Over a two week period, both Google Wave and face-to-face project collaboration
methods were each evaluated 3 time a week. During these evaluation times, notable
limitations and benefits were recorded and are listed in the “Results” section of this re-
port.

The group also searched mainly through user blogs to get a feel for the general attitude
towards Google wave.

A “wave” is basically a shared space where you can collaborate with friends, colleagues,
or anyone using text, videos, audio, pictures, maps, The “extensions” or “gadgets”
available in Google Wave is the open source side of Google Wave. Anyone can create
a plug-in type application that can be used in the waves. Figures 2 and 3 below show
2 types of extensions that are available.

Figure 2: Colcrop Figure 3: Sudoku

Walkthrough
In order to form first hand opinions about Google Wave as an alternative to face-to-
face collaboration, our group decided to use Google Wave instead of having a face-to-
face meeting. We made sure that we all used it several times in order to get familiar
with it and form valid opinions about it’s usefulness and convenience. Afterwards, we
each took a short survey to gather feedback on our experiences and impressions. Due
to the limited time spent using google wave during this project, we were unable to ex-
plore all the available features of this program. There were some features we would
like to have used, but did not have time to use, and there are undoubtedly numerous
features none of us even knew about. Overall, however, we think the amount of time
we spent using it was sufficient to at least make an educated assessment about google
wave as a collaboration tool.

Limitations
Even though Google Wave offers many ways to communicate, there are some limita-
tions. Without using any of the video or audio features, facial expressions and gestures
are missed.

The evaluating group for this project consisted of 4 people. This was a good sized
group for our purpose, but the interface may be confusing if too many people were
involved. If all 4 people were typing at the same time, the interface became somewhat
hard to work with because the screen would update as the person is typing. This would
adjust the screen position automatically and you would lose your place.

The main limitation to the group’s method of searching for this project was that there
was little verifiable fact in any of my sources. Due to the nature of blogging, most of the
sources write their own personal opinions without sticking to the facts. This is a very
dangerous form of research due to the personal bias, but we were looking for user per-
ception and not solid facts.
 Results
Major Findings
The most common first reaction to google wave was that it looked to have a lot of
potential. Most of our group found it a little difficult to work with at first, just because of
how much can be done with it. After a couple uses, though, they said that it was simple
to use. Google wave turned out to be very full featured. It contains numerous features
such as voice, text, and video capabilities, as well as file sharing, real time editing of
each other’s work, and a way to replay the conversation from start to end to see how
it developed, all in a single interface. While a bit intimidating at first, It quickly became
apparent how powerful and useful these features are. One of the favorite features is
that one can see what other people are writing in real time as they type. This can be a
real time saver, because one can often tell what somebody is going to say just partway
through a sentence and respond more quickly. One feature we agreed should be more
directly integrated into the interface was a calendar. While there are calendar gadgets
that can be added into a wave, we felt that it is an important enough feature to put
directly into the interface. In terms of convenience and productivity, everyone seemed
to agree that it was much more convenient to meet online rather than face to face out-
side of class time, but there was no clear winner in the area of productivity. It seemed
that we could accomplish about the same amount of work either way. One productivity
drawback of using google wave was the integrated games that you can play. It turns out
that the real time interaction is also great for playing games, which can be a detriment to
more productive activities.
 Analysis and Conclusions

Recommendations
The major findings of this research point towards an overwhelming favorable interest.
Google Wave is still a fledgling technology with a virtually unlimited scope of possibil-
ity. Wave has attracted the interest of amateur programmers, because it is open source
software that allows users to develop applications, much like the IPhone. While this
program is still in beta stage, most users are able to see the direction and potential
such a project holds.

According to the survey of our group members, google wave does look like a viable
alternative to face to face communication in at least some situations. While it obviously
can’t match an in person meeting in all areas, it is good enough for most. Our group
also agreed that google wave will probably become a popular collaboration tool in the
future, once it is more refined and fully released to the public. Furthermore, almost
all of the group members said that they would personally use google wave to work
on group projects in the future, which is perhaps the most meaningful testament to its
value. Based on these findings we would recommend google wave to be used as a
substitute for some in person collaboration, and in conjunction with other face to face
meetings.

Some may argue that electronic communications will never be a match for a face to
face meeting, but Wave has the potential to move past such nostalgic feelings. With its
powerful user interface and easy to use webcam software, Wave offers all the benefits
of a face to face meeting, without the bad breath.

Future Research
Being an open-source application, Google Wave is constantly evolving. Overall it is
a very power communication application. This analysis was performed over a 2 week
period, which was enough time to become familiar with a lot of Google Wave’s fea-
tures. Since Google Wave will constantly be evolving, there will always be the oppor-
tunity for growth and additional analysis.
 Cited Works

www.google.com/wave

You are free to share, copy, distribute, display, remix, make derivative
works, and perform this report in its entirety.