To design SCOTTIE, a remote collaboration tool that can replace most business travel, we followed these steps.
1. Discover the relevant social communication cues, based on research, that affect rapport. These were put together in the Communication Objectives Model (COM).
2. Determine the relevant business travel scenarios that we want to support. These were listed in a Multi-Dimensional Communication Context (MCCF).
3. Design research testbeds for evaluating these scenarios. The CircuitWorld environment was created to model technical training. Another scenario focuses on collaborative design engineering.
4. Test the SCOTTIE software using these scenarios with robust statistical analysis.
5. Decide on Travel Replacement Thresholds and built a tool to help people make travel decisions.
6. Release SCOTTIE software for broader use.