CoffeeTable logo

Project Summary

A working vision for the future of collaborative IDEs. It uses the physical desk space between people to create a simple, playful, and collaborative software development environment.

Funding

EPSRC (HighWire CDT)

Collaborators

  • John Hardy
  • Gerald Kotonya
  • Jon Whittle

CoffeeTable example usage

Software Engineering is a team activity, but the developers’ primary tool, the Integrated Development Environment (IDE), is largely that of a soloist. CoffeeTable [1] is a functional IDE prototype that exchanges the traditional IDE for one built around a shared interactive desk.

CoffeeTable example usage

This vision of collaborative software development encourages smooth transitions between agile and traditional modes of working, easily allowing developers to switch between the shared interactive desk and their desktop/laptop spaces. This IDE aims to create a shared vision and common reference frame between the developers—key to sustaining a good design.

References

  1. John Hardy et al. Digitally Annexing Desk Space for Software Development. In: Proceedings of the 33rd International Conference on Software Engineering (ICSE ‘11). New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2011, pp. 812–815. | DOI