"Stuff goes into the computer and doesn't come out": a cross-tool study of personal information management

This paper reports a study of Personal Information Management (PIM), which advances research in two ways: (1) rather than focusing on one tool, we collected cross-tool data relating to file, email and web bookmark usage for each participant, and (2) we collected longitudinal data for a subset of the participants. We found that individuals employ a rich variety of strategies both within and across PIM tools, and we present new strategy classifications that reflect this behaviour. We discuss synergies and differences between tools that may be useful in guiding the design of tool integration. Our longitudinal data provides insight into how PIM behaviour evolves over time, and suggests that the supporting nature of PIM discourages reflection by users on their strategies. We discuss how users may benefit if tools and organizations promote increased reflection on PIM. Categories & Subject Descriptors: H.5.2 User Interfaces

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2004
• Where: CHI
• Authors: Richard Boardman, Martina Angela Sasse
• Keywords: CHI 2004, Human Computer Interaction, PIM Behaviour, PIM Discourages Reflection, PIM Tools