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Contribution Details

Type Book Chapter
Scope Discipline-based scholarship
Title Reducing Interruptions at Work with FlowLight
Organization Unit
Authors
  • Manuela Züger
  • André Meyer
  • Thomas Fritz
  • David Shepherd
Editors
  • Caitlin Sadowski
  • Thomas Zimmermann
Item Subtype Original Work
Refereed Yes
Status Published in final form
Language
  • English
Booktitle Rethinking Productivity in Software Engineering
ISBN 978-1-4842-4221-6
Place of Publication Berkeley
Publisher Springer
Page Range 271 - 279
Date 2019
Abstract Text Interruptions at the workplace can consume a lot of time and cause frustration, especially if they happen at moments of high focus. To reduce costly interruptions, we developed the FlowLight, a small LED Lamp mounted at a worker's desk that computes a worker's availability for interruptions based on computer interaction and indicates it to her coworkers with colors, similar to a traffic light. In a large study with 449 participants, we found that the FlowLight reduced interruptions by 46%. We also observed an increased awareness of the potential harm of interruptions and an increased feeling of productivity. In this chapter, we present our insights from developing and evaluating FlowLight, and reflect on the key factors that contributed to its success.
Free access at Official URL
Official URL https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007%2F978-1-4842-4221-6
Digital Object Identifier 10.1007/978-1-4842-4221-6
Other Identification Number merlin-id:17818
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