Information- and Technology Management Creativity and the design of socio- technical processes Thomas Herrmann Information and Technology Management (IMTM)

Information- and Technology Management

Creativity and the design of socio-technical processes

Thomas Herrmann

Information and Technology Management (IMTM)Institute of Applied Work Science (IAW)University of Bochumwww.imtm-iaw.rub.de

2Information- and Technology Management

Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Overview

• Introduction: Background• Semi-structured Modelling • case studies • The socio-technical Walkthrough• Socio-technical Walkthrough and

Creativity Support


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Problem, we try to solve …

• How can IT-systems be introduced which include features of collaboration support and require the change of collaborative work processes

Integrating the design of work processes and the development and introduction of IT-Support

Helping to develop organizational rules / conventions to coordinate the activities of a collaborative work process and the usage of the IT-system


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Aspects of the Design ofsocio-technical Processes

Features of the technical component

Communication, information flow,

cooperation, awareness

Human-computer interaction

Work procedures and processes

Competences, learning memories

Roles and actors

Resources, objects

Conditions, events, exceptions

Interplay between technical components

Needed: a type of documentation which takes all these aspects systematically into account and

Commitments, conventions, rhythm

Interests, conflicts, histories

Spatial arrangements; dependencies between actions, objects and roles

Conceptof

solution


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Basic Elements of the Notation(SeeMe – semi-structured, socio-technical modelling Method)

Activity

Entity

Role

Behaviour which leads to change

Ressources which support activities (technology, …)

modifies

Mainly duties and rights of persons, teams, organizations social aspects

carries out

Is used by

Further information: SeeMe in a Nutshell


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Specific structuresEmbedding, incompleteness

Documenting knowledge

structuringeliciting

updating

database


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Freedom of decision

Checking the order

xWriting a purchase

order Value > 5K

ordering x

Writing a purchase

order

Checking the order

x

ordering

x

assistant


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Empirical investigation of the STWT – explorative case studies

Where we were taking part

• Documenting a print workflow

• Development of several knowledge management solutions

• Developing of an organizational solution for using a new library software

• The introduction of mobile communication devices for logistics services of steel delivery (Spiw-Com)

• The development of a system to manage the selection of literature from scientific periodicals – and mutual awareness about the topics of interest.

• Preparing CSCL-courses

Where our method was applied by others

• A medical practice conducting radiography for diagnosis and treatment: introduction of a new patient information system to support the communication between the administrative personnel and the doctors and in between these groups.

• Introducing knowledge management in small or midsized enterprises


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

STWT in practice : Case Study

Supporting the delivery of steel-products

with mobile devices to improve

communication, awareness and

the coordination between

drivers and dispatchers


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Mobile Application…

Communication between drivers and dispatchers happens Early in the morning /in the evening. In irregular cases using cell phones.

Paperwork as coordinating artifacts

A mobile application should deliver useful information about the state of work to both groups.


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Typical phases of our projects

Phase 1: Ethnography

Phase 2: Requirements Elicitation: Workshops using prepared and completing diagrams as models of the current work-processes

Development of Prototypes

Phase 3: Evaluation of the prototypes in relation to organizational structure of the future work processes

Phase 4: Training (the process and the system)

Co

nti

nu

ou

s D

ocu

men

tati

on

Participants: 2 drivers, 2 dispatchers, manager,

software-engineer, facilitator


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Integration of material


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

How to get the models of the solutions? – intervention through communication in participatory settingsIntervention through:structured focused facilitated

continuous sustainable

… communication and documentationto integrate social

and technical aspects

Socio-technical Walkthrough (STWT)


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Task of the facilitator and supporters

Socio-technical Walkthrough – Core elements

Preparing workshops

Work-shop 1

Work-shop 2

Work-shop n

Developing or

discussing models by considering its elements

step-by-step

Askingselected

questions

Collecting comments, proposals

Refocus on the

diagram

modifying diagrams,

adding material

Aesthetical improvement of diagrams


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Critical success factors (Spiw):

• Finding appropriate questions for the walkthrough– relating new work design and current work practice– stimulates imagination:

Thinking about concrete work situations in the process.

• Strategies to refocus the contributions (“Can you relate this story to the diagram”)

• Starting with an appropriate overview• Choosing the appropriate level of granularity• Aesthetic improvement of modified diagrams without

changing their content, the content should still be recallable

Sociotechnical Walkthrough: Designing Technology along Work Processes, PDC 2004

Workshops with SeeMe perform superiorly CSCL 2005


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Condition With graphical process models

Condition Without graphical process models

Controlled experiment: Two types of groups


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Condition With graphical process models

Condition Without graphical process models

Controlled experiment: Two types of groupscont’d

• More commitments with respect to the usage of the knowledge management system

• Higher degree of shared knowledge

• More intensive use of the systems functions

• More contributions at all

Improving the Coordination of Collaborative Learning with Process Models. CSCL 2005


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Critical success factors cont‘d - Knowledge Management Cases

• The history of the development of a diagram should be comprehensible and therefore be documented or recorded

• Development and documentation should be intertwined challenge: people have differing rhythms: some want to

rapidly continue with design, others use the time of documenting to catch up

• An extra person (draftsman) is needed to support the facilitator with drawing the diagrams +smooth non-verbal coordination between facilitators and modeler


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Core elements of the STWT

1. Usage of a semi-structured representation schemea. Only few types of elementsb. Multiple relationsc. Nestingd. Incompleteness indicators: what has to be specified later

2. Step-by-step consideration and intertwining of documentation and discourse

3. Integrating several perspectives into one type of representation providing a large picture

4. Facilitator helps to transform contributions into documentation


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

STWT and creativity?

1. semi-structured representation scheme2. Step-by-step discourse + documentation 3. Integrating ideas in a large picture 4. Facilitator helps to transform contributions into documentation

Do the core elements of STWT support social creativity?… help to evolve new ideas of how to introduce and use new technologies

Barriers have to be overcome on the Individual level Group level


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Creativity

• Emergence of new, appropriate ideas• No anticipatable sequence of activities which

guarantees them• “new” in relation to a particular context (group,

organization, domain)• “appropriate” in relation to a particular context: needs,

challenges, …

Divergence

convergence

Data collection

Data combination, variation of combinations

Synthesizing of ideas

Prioritizing of ideas with respect to their appropriateness

Phases:


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Individual and group barriers

Individual level:• Well established paths of

associations• Cognitive overload Group level:• „hidden profile problem“ – you

prefer what you already know• Motivational aspects

(getting to an end, following a role model, …)

• Divergence as a trigger for fragmentation: others are blamed for the wickedness of the problem


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

1. semi-structured scheme

Disadvantage

• Too indirect compared with• Sketching• natural language• touchable object

• translation work is needed• too abstract Increases cognitive load

• Level of abstraction allows more flexibility to include different perspectives

• New “vocabulary” forces participants to leave habitualized paths of thinking (force-fit)

• A magnitude of varying combinations are possible

Advantage


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

1. semi-structured scheme

Disadvantage

• Too indirect compared with• Sketching• natural language• touchable object

• translation work is needed• too abstract Increases cognitive load

• Level of abstraction allows more flexibility to include different perspectives

• New “vocabulary” forces participants to leave habitualized paths of thinking (force-fit)

• A magnitude of varying combinations are possible

Advantage

Nesting on different levels+ Hide and show of sub-elements as well as super-elements+ Flexible combination of sequenced and non-sequenced activities


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Infusion of uncertainty and incompleteness

SeeMe allows the participants• Pars-pro-toto expressions• Leaving gaps which are filled in later• Rough indication of relationships

• Meandering between different parts of a concept• jumping from one idea to the next without being

hindered by requirements of complete specification

Problem: Incompleteness is feasible for communication but not as basis for control and commitments


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

2. Intertwining documentation and discourse

Disadvantage

• Documentation requires additional cognitive load

• Slows the process of idea finding down

Slower people can catch up Different rhythms of idea

flows can be re-synchro-nized during the phases of documentation

Ideas do not get lost and are continuously present

Visible contributions can be a basis for further contributions

Advantage

Support of explicit incompleteness as a compromise


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

3. Integrating ideas into a large picture

Disadvantage

• Reduced scope of varying representations and represented apects

(e.g. dependency diagrams, use cases, requirements listings, …)

Less support of divergence

• Different perspectives and ideas are related to each other, more comparable

Support of convergence

Advantage


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

4. Intermediation by facilitation

Disadvantage

• Facilitator’s perspective is a filter

• Reduced directness

Ideas can be prompted “Step-by step” is supported Translation work is

supported Documentation is enforced Refocussing, integration of

perspectives

Advantage


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Design in use

• Incompleteness indicators leave a lot of space for design in use and appropriation

• Needed: sufficient reliability and stability so that

commitments can become conventions“… the discontinuity of cooperation and feedback, plus the flexibility of actions allowed by the system, made it difficult for the users to learn relationships between behaviors, and consequently to form conventions.[Gloria Mark]”

An appropriate rhythm has to be foundfor the alternation between adoption and adaptation of new systems and conventions


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Creativity barriers

Individual level:• Well established paths of

associations• Cognitive overload Group level:• „hidden profile problem“ – you

prefer what you already know• Motivational aspects

(getting to an end, following a role model, …)

• Divergence as a trigger for fragmentation: others are blamed for the wickedness of the problem

New vocabulary or methods of representation

visualization

Facilitation:“Dialogue mapping”(Conklin, 2006)


Thomas Herrmann

IMTM

Conclusion

• STWT and semi-structured modelling have the potential to support creative design of socio-technical processes

What has to be improved:• Strategies / rhythms to intertwine flow of thoughts,

communication and documentation• Strategies to foster a higher degree of variations and

to produce more choices• Modifying the modelling method and the editor to

allow more directness of expression• Still unsolved: How to adjust representation methods

to an appropriate balance between directness and adoption of new frames/vocabulary

Information- and Technology Management Creativity and the design of socio- technical processes Thomas Herrmann Information and Technology Management (IMTM)

Documents

information flow

activities technology

system slide

creativity support slide

new patient information

database slide

nutshell slide

design of work processes