The Last Research Mile Dr. Jay F. Nunamaker Director, National Center for Border Security and...

The Last Research MileDr. Jay F. Nunamaker

Director, National Center for Border Security and Immigration (BORDERS)

Regents and Soldwedel Professor of MIS, Computer Science, and

Communication

If you build it, they will use it… IF you are willing to go…

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LDV THERMAL BLINK

PUPILLOMETRY

EYE-TRACKING

Tools for Rapid Screening


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Tools for Rapid Screening


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Lessons Learned

• To be successful, go “the last research mile”• It’s all about the quality of the data– Avoid data that is:• Incomplete• Inconsistent• Inaccurate• Inconceivable


– Handle data that is:• Complete• Consistent• Accurate• Realistic/Relevant

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Topics

• Why bother going the Last Research Mile?• Ideas are a dime-a-dozen• The value of going the last research mile• The last research mile in three stages• Payoffs for going the last mile


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The Last Research Mile

• Using your academic insights to solve real problems for real people


http://www.unicefusa.org/alert/emergency/kosovo_alert/credit1.html

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A Common (Faulty) Approach

• I’ve come up with a really interesting idea• I’ve written my idea down• I’m done…

… because implementation is just details… and that’s easy!

• This approach rarely finds the “gold”


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Facts of Life

You will not guess correctly from your office chair


You will only see it in the lab and in the field

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Facts of Life

• The “gold” is in the details– Your “interesting idea” is naive until someone

takes it through the last mile– Your understanding is rudimentary until you go

through the last mile– The work you’ve done is trivial until it has been

worked through the last mile


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Facts of Life

• Ideas are a dime-a-dozen– No points for thinking of it– Study it in depth and make it happen– People can “steal” ideas, but they can’t steal your

insights from going the last research mile– The Conference Barnacle• “I thought of your idea 20 years ago.”

– Too bad he/she didn’t make it happen.


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Why Go the Last Mile?

• Until your system is in the hands of users without a vested interest, you won’t get to the “gold”– Academics are paid to find the gems and nuggets– Gems and nuggets are in the details– The details are in the field


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Solving a Real Problem

• Find a painful problem • Propose a new solution• Listen carefully to the reactions• Devise an approach to ease their pain• Design and build a prototype• Test in the lab• Test in the field


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A MultimethodologicalApproach to IS Research


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“Last Mile” Research Road Map

• Proof-of-Concept prototype (POC)• Proof-of-Value (POV)• Proof of self-sustaining Use (POU)

Real Problem POC POV

POU


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“Last Mile” Research Road Hazard

• The temptation is to only complete the POC– GO THE LAST MILE!


Real Problem POC POV

POU

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WHAT IF THE 1969 MOON-DESTINED ASTRONAUTS HAD STOPPED ONE MILEBEFORE LANDING?


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Photographs of the footprints were actually part of a planned experiment by Aldrin to study the nature of the lunar dust and the effects of pressure on the surface.

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Neil Armstrong Explained

“Experts had, prior to the flight, predicted… difficulty might be encountered attempting to work on the surface of the Moon due to the variety of strange atmospheric and gravitational characteristics that would be encountered. This didn't prove to be the case. After landing we felt very comfortable in the lunar gravity. It was, in fact, preferable both to weightlessness and to the Earth's gravity.”


Neil Armstong, 1969, NASA website,http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/ap11ann/FirstLunarLanding/ch-3.html

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STEP ONE:PROOF OF CONCEPT


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Proof-of-Concept Prototype

• Find out if the proposed solution works• Discover any limitations of the system


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Such Was the Case in the Shipyard


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Formatted Problem Statement

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POC Example:Group Support System

• 1984 – Early Collaborative Electronic Brainstorming Tool

• Built System in VAX Job Control Language• Demonstrated the Concept• Not Scalable or Full-Featured


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GENERATEIDEAS

ORGANIZEIDEAS

POLLCONSENSUS

EXPLOREIDEAS

PLANSESSION

ACCUMULATE AND REPRESENT KNOWLEDGE

OrganizationalMemory

Enterprise Model

CorporateDatabase Database WWW FTP

SHAREINFORMATION

SHARED INFORMATION ACCESS

25The Last Research Mile

Dr. Jay F. Nunamaker

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Academic Payoff fromProof-of-Concept Prototype

• Discover interesting phenomena that you can’t explain– People couldn’t understand distributed teamwork– Need for additional tools– Need for mapping interfaces to user perspective– People were fantastically productive


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• Stumble onto Nuggets– Value of anonymity– Value of participation


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• Gained insights• Gained credibility– The roughest demo is better than the best lecture

• Gained resources from NSF, NCR, IBM, ATT, ARL to move on to the “Proof of Value”

• Verify that it works


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STEP TWO:PROOF OF VALUE


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Proof-of-Value

• Sufficient robustness and functionality to solve ONE important, painful problem

• Take it into the field and shepherd the users– MEASURE whether they are more productive with

the system than without • Write down every compliment, and

complaint verbatim– Add dates, names, and contact info (if possible)

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Proof-of-Value

• Sufficient robustness and functionality to solve a painful problem for the users

• Experiment in the lab• Take it into the field– MEASURE whether they are more productive with

the system than without


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POV Example:GroupSystems for Windows

•Passed POC•Technically feasible

•Passed POV•Used by 2,500 organizations

•Failed POU•Need for:

•Facilitator •Dedicated rooms

•Lack of: •Repeatable processes


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The Light Airborne Multi Purpose System (LAMPS) Aircraft


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Academic Payoff fromProof-of-Value

• Explain the productivity phenomena– Process gains and losses– Process support, process structure, task support,

task structure– Explicitness for distributed teamwork


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Academic Payoff fromProof-of-Value

• Initial theoretical foundations– The IPO Model of Group Support Systems

Team/Task/Technology/Context– Theory of eTeam support

• High-profile publications


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Findings About Anonymity

EVALUATIVE TONE

Positive Only Positive AND Negative

ATTRIBUTION

Anonymous

Identified

References: Connolly, Jessup, & Valacich (1990); Nunamaker, Dennis, Valacich, & Vogel (1991)


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Findings About Anonymity

EVALUATIVE TONE

Positive Only Positive AND Negative

ATTRIBUTION

AnonymousMost ProductiveLeast Satisfied

IdentifiedLeast Productive

Most Satisfied

References: Connolly, Jessup, & Valacich (1990); Nunamaker, Dennis, Valacich, & Vogel (1991)


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Findings About Anonymity and Proximity

GROUP CONDITIONS

Distributed Co-Located

ATTRIBUTION

Anonymous

Identified


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Findings About Anonymity and Proximity

GROUP CONDITIONS

Distributed Co-Located

ATTRIBUTION

AnonymousLoss of Focus

Desire for AnonymityDesire for Identification

Identified Loss of Focus Higher Satisfaction


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What We Learned from Lab Studies

• Value of anonymity• Amount of participation• Measures of satisfaction• Electronically, group size is different– Homogenous vs. diverse groups

• Negative comments are POSITIVE results• Expectations – Affect (Raise the Bar)


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What We Learned from Field Studies

• 90% cycle time reduction• 50% fewer man-hours required• Proximity insights• Process structure is important• User interfaces make a difference• Complicated processes need facilitation• Key to Success: Identify repeatable processes

and sequences The Last Research MileDr. Jay F. Nunamaker

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Process Gains

Synergy

Learning

Stimulation

More Information

More PreciseCommunication

More ObjectiveEvaluation

Effects DependUpon SpecificTechnique Used

Process Support

• Group Memory

• Anonymity

• Parallel Communication

• Media Effects Media Speed Depersonalization Media Richness View Size

Process Losses•Attention Blocking•Failure to Remember•Conformance Pressure•Evaluation Apprehension•Free Riding•Air Time Fragmentation•Attenuation Blocking•Concentration Blocking•Socializing•Domination•Information Overload•Flaming•Slower Feedback•Fewer Information Cues•Incomplete Use of Info.•Incomplete Task Analysis•Coordination Problems•Effects Depend Upon Specific Technique Used

EMS

Task Support

Task Structure

Process Structure• Global• Local

Increases: Decreases:

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STEP THREE:PROOF OF USE


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Academic Payoff fromProof-of-Use

• Deep understanding of technical, operational, and economic aspects of the problem domain

• Your nuggets will unify into a sophisticated understanding of the domain

• You can now create value intentionally• You can now find nuggets intentionally• Provide improved products to users in the

field, and leave them behind The Last Research MileDr. Jay F. Nunamaker

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POU Example:CommandNet

• Military intelligence analysis system aboard the USS CORONADO

• People from POU deployment rotated out to carriers, and demanded the capability

• Researchers installed CommandNet on carriers and left it behind

• Military users provide data and testimonialsThe Last Research Mile

Dr. Jay F. Nunamaker

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Sea-based Battle Lab:USS Coronado


JTF Complex – USS Coronado

Operations

Center CMOC

Admirals’

ClubSit

uation Room

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Civil-Military Operations Center

MILITARY

INTERNATIONALRESCUE COMMITTEE

OTHER RELIEF &BENEFIT ORGANIZATIONS

INTERACTION CARE

DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS

SAVE THE CHILDREN

WORLD FOODPROGRAMME

DEPT OFPEACEKEEPINGOPERATIONS

UN HIGHCOMMISSIONERFOR REFUGEES

UNICEF

OFDA / DART

COUNTRYTEAM

CMOCCMOCUNUN

NGOs&

PVOs

NGOs&

PVOs

U.S.GOVAGENCIESU.S.GOV

AGENCIESICRCICRC

AMERICANRED CROSSJP 3-57, IV-18

IFRC

Courtesy of LT Randy MyrickUSCINCPAC

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Joint Planning CenterJoint Operations Center (JOC)

Saran wrap needed due to dust

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Proof-of-UseA Solution For Virtual Teams

• A task-specific collaborative application• A sequence of steps• Present… – Just the right tools– Configured in just the right way– To just the right people– With just the right guidance

…To accomplish the step at hand The Last Research MileDr. Jay F. Nunamaker

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Payoffs from Going the Last Mile

• Understanding what is really going on• Unraveling of the complexities• Satisfaction of having made a difference• It’s where the value to society is created• It’s where you make a lasting difference


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“They Might Steal My Ideas”

• People can use your concepts, but if you have– The nuggets…– The resources…– The credibility, and…– The technology… YOU will win!

• The last research mile is uphill, so they won’t follow


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Rewards for Going the Last Mile

• The last mile is where the value to society is created

• The last mile is where you make a lasting difference


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The Document Camera Example

Our Innovation


The Commercial Product

1985 - The need for document camera

1985 - The value of screen-sharing

1986 - Teams are productive

1987 - The value of anonymity for electronic brainstorming

1991 - Model for process gains and losses

1994 - Exponential increase in explicitness for distributed teams

1997 - Experiments: satisfaction, participation, proximity, affect, social loafing

1998 - The technology transition model

1999 - Thinklets

2003 - Principles for distributed use (global teams)

2003 - The Cognito Studio (authoring language for processes)

2006 – GroupSystems’ Think Tank

Nuggets from “Last Mile” Research

POC

POV

POU

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“Last Mile” Research Road Map

• Proof-of-Concept prototype (POC)• Proof-of-Value (POV)• Proof of self-sustaining Use (POU)

• Go the last mile to get the gold!


The Last Research Mile Dr. Jay F. Nunamaker Director, National Center for Border Security and...

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