Overview
The IBM Watson Research Center in Cambridge studies and develops technologies designed to support cooperative work. I spent last summer as an intern in the Collaborative User Experience Group, working with Eric Wilcox, a Design Researcher.

I studied contact management: the tools used and practices associated with how people stay in touch and maintain relationships. Our focus was on professionals and their social networks within and beyond the companies in which they worked.

I reviewed literature, conducted ethnographic interviews, analyzed findings, and produced a dozen design concepts to various levels of refinement. Some of these ideas were incorporated into projects currently in development within the group, while others will be published in an IBM Tech Report in the coming months.

Collaborative User Experience Group Website
IBM Research Summer 2004 I spent three months studying how professionals maintain their social networks and designing new products to support their needs.