Investigating User Needs and Innovating Hybrid Meeting Technologies (Article)

Context

  • Hybrid meetings became widespread after COVID-19, blending in-person and remote participants.

  • Communication gaps and power imbalances emerged as frequent challenges, often leaving remote participants disengaged.

  • Current technologies were initially designed for fully remote or fully in-person settings, failing to address hybrid-specific challenges.

  • The goal of this research was to explore these challenges and propose actionable improvements to foster more effective communication.

Data Collection and Analysis

Observations

  • Large colloquiums with an average of 50 attendees (19 hrs);

  • Small-group, task-oriented project meetings (11 hrs).

In-Depth Interviews

  • Explored underlying motivations and mental models for behaviors (n=25).

Data Analysis

  • I open-coded the data in ATLAS.ti to create 45 initial codes from the observations and 46 from the interviews. I then invited two colleagues to discuss the codes as a group before formulating the final themes.

Impact

What Did I Do?

  • Designed the Study: Proposed research questions and developed a mixed-methods research plan to investigate hybrid meeting dynamics.

  • Conducted the Study: Designed and carried out 30 observations and 25 in-depth interviews to investigate user experiences and design opportunities.

  • Analyzed Data: Used thematic analysis with ATLAS.ti to uncover patterns related to conversational power, identity, and cross-space communication.

  • Proposed Solutions: Identified opportunities to innovate the design of future technologies through rigorous and creative data analysis. 

  • Enhanced Understanding of Hybrid Meetings: Provided critical insights into the challenges and behaviors unique to the new context.

  • Practical Design Recommendations: Proposed actionable solutions such as automated or AI agents, randomized or factor-based sub-grouping to bridge gaps between remote and in-person participants.

  • Informed Future Design Directions: Proposed new insights for organizations and designers to innovate future tools and empower attendees, such as those around conversational power and human agency (research article).