Collaboration in web design: Sharing knowledge, pursuing usability

This article analyzes how and why collaboration is useful in web design. Through an analysis of interactions in an Italian Internet company, the article shows that collaboration is the system used by designers to improve organizational functioning and the quality of products. In particular, it shows that collaboration supports certain crucial work activities, such as the planning of new products and the pursuit of interface usability. To perform these activities, designers draw on specific interactive resources, such as a repertoire of skills shared by groups of different professionals and their overlapping identities as designers and users. These resources are made visible by the article's epistemological and methodological approach to the study of web design as a collaborative activity.