Use Ping Wisely: A Study of Team Communication and Performance under Lean Affordance

Abstract

Improving virtual team collaboration has been a centerpiece of many computer mediated communication research efforts. Team collaboration presents unique challenges which are further exacerbated when such collaboration occurs in high-tempo environments that require “lean” communication affordances because they are not suited to traditional methods of rich communication such as text-based chat. Competitive multiplayer games can provide unique insights into how virtual teams communicate with limited communication affordance and under stress. In this work, we employed a mixed-method analysis of specific communication tools in a popular MOBA game Heroes of the Storm . Our study focuses on how players of the game use a gesturing communication system, called “Pings”, an example of lean communication affordance, to communicate within a team and its impact on team performance. We found that players appropriate the pings in distinct ways and exhibit different communication styles and these styles have different effects on the overall team performance. Our findings have implications for the design of emerging communication tools for virtual teams and can serve as guidelines to optimize communication in virtual teams.