Controversies in the design of computer-mediated communication systems: A Delphi study.

Computer-mediated communication systems represent a fairly new development in interactive computer systems. This paper will summarize the procedures followed in the Delphi survey, and the results and will then turn to a more detailed treatment of the disagreements that were discovered, presenting the arguments which underlie the disagreements. We will conclude with a brief discussion of the extent to which Delphi approaches may be generally useful design tools for summarizing the “state of the art” and pinpointing research priorities for new types of systems. The purpose of the synthesis of design choices presented in this paper is to familiarize the reader with the range of capabilities and characteristics that currently exist, and to summarize the “collective wisdom” of designers so as to establish design guidelines and options for future systems.