To reply or not to reply: Predicting action on an email message

What characteristics of an email message predict a users action on that message? Participants in a survey of university faculty, staff, and students provided data on the characteristics of new email messages and their actions based on the messages. Statistical analyses of responses revealed several factors that were important in predicting the fate of a message. These were: importance of a message, number of recipients, sender characteristics, and the nature of the message content. Factors influencing user perception of message importance were also examined. Important messages were from high communication frequency work contacts requesting action, providing a status update, or scheduling a meeting.