I need someone to help! A taxonomy of helper-finding activities in the enterprise

Abstract

Finding the right person to ask for help is a difficult task within a large enterprise. While there are a few studies detailing practices for finding an expert often in the context of an expertise locator system, there are fewer studies on workplace practices and challenges for finding a person who can help, especially independent of any particular technology. We conducted a two-part study of helper finding activities with 36 enterprise workers, representing different job roles and levels of experience. First, we present a taxonomy of workplace helper-finding needs that involves tasks, topics, and helper selection criteria, developed by analyzing two weeks of participant diaries describing helper-finding problems. Second, we present the results of follow-up interviews with each participant, focusing on helper-finding challenges in the workplace. Finally, we present design implications for systems aimed at supporting helper-finding in the workplace. Copyright 2013 ACM.