SPA Conference session: Software Practice in a Virtual World | |||
| One-line description: | What tools would improve distributed software practictioners in a virtual world? | ||
| Session format: | Workshop (150 mins) [read about the different session types] | ||
| Abstract: | The topic of distributed software practice has been addressed by SPA (and OT) before: at OT98 I presented a think-tank on the "Requirements for Collaborative Development Environments" (/ot98/posters/horan.html), and at SPA2006 I ran a goldfish bowl titled "Distributed Workforces" (/spa2006/sessions/session15.html). In the ten years since that first think-tank, the technology landscape for synchronous distance collaboration has changed little: we still use IM, chat, email, shared applications. Yet all of these tools present an impoverished means of collaboration--they convey little social bandwidth. In the past couple of years a new tool has emerged that seems to offer a richer mechanism for collaborative software practice: an immersive virtual world. Platforms such as Second Life are becoming mainstream technologies and promise a greater sense of presence and social interaction than that offered by traditional tools; yet they fail to provide a true collaborative environment for software practice. Project Wonderland provides a platform for building a virtual world that provides true collaboration tools and high quality immersive audio. It is being used to create rich environments in which users can team together to be truly creative in software practice and elsewhere. This workshop provides software practitioners with the opportunity to explore the tools in Project Wonderland and to specify new tools that they would like to see developed to augment the existing platform. Session Objective: by the end of this session, participants will be familiar with Project Wonderland and will have specified extra functionality that they wish to see included in the platform to enable them to conduct distributed software practice successfully. (Advanced participants will have begun developing that functionality.) | ||
| Audience background: | All members of software practice: architects, developers, designers, etc. No required skills, other than imagination. Previous experience in using virtual worlds is a plus, but not necessary. Users will require access to a fairly high-spec laptop and internet connection. (I expect there to be enough of these, and I'll send out an email to potential participants before the session to check how many of them have adequate hardware--it's not a particularly high spec, just enough to run Second Life). | ||
| Benefits of participating: | Participants unfamiliar with virtual world technology will gain an understanding in its advantages. All participants will benefit from discovering the ways in which virtual worlds can improve distributed software practice. | ||
| Materials provided: | Introductory slides outlining the technology. Movies with examples, and a live demo of the platform. | ||
| Process: | The session begins with a short introduction and (technology permitting) users will be able to log on to a demo virtual world. There will be two sets of group exercises: 1) To configure the virtual world in a way that best suits the group's needs. 2) To specify informally a prioritised wish list of extra functionality | ||
| Detailed timetable: | 00:00 - 00:15 Introduction by presenter 00:15 - 00:30 Group exercise: familarisation with default virtual world 00:30 - 00:45 Instructions on how to install and configure a virtual world 00:45 - 01:15 Group exercise in configuring group's virtual world 01:15 - 01:35 Sharing--groups show each other their worlds 01:35 - 01:45 Presentation on architecture of Wonderland--how to extend functionality 01:45 - 02:05 Group exercise: produce wishlist of extra functionality (and begin coding if time) 02:05 - 02:20 Report back from groups 02:20 - 02:30 Creating outputs: videos and and wiki (There's be an informal soft break in one of the group sessions) | ||
| Outputs: | Videos of worlds that have been created, along with the specification for each group's world (that can be taken away and used with Project Wonderland at user's institution). Wiki pages of prioritised wish lists Summary of outcomes Screenshots of virtual worlds | ||
| History: | None, but earlier presentations have produced outcomes that have led to this work. | ||
| Presenters | |||
| 1. Bernard Horan Sun Microsystems |
2. Simon Ritter | 3. | |