Creativity and the design of socio-technical processes

1. Creativity and the design of socio-technical processes Thomas Herrmann Information and Technology Management (IMTM) Institute of Applied Work Science (IAW) University of Bochum www.imtm-iaw.rub.de

2. Overview • Introduction: Background • Semi-structured Modelling • case studies • The socio-technical Walkthrough • Socio-technical Walkthrough and Creativity Support

3. Problem, we try to solve … • Software has to be developed / configured and to be introduced in an organization; the main goal is to support collaborative work. • How can successful adoption and usage be supported? Integrating the organizational development of work processes and the development and introduction of IT-Support Helping to develop organizational rules / conventions - PATTERNS -to coordinate the activities and the usage of the IT-system Examples: Knowledge Management, Workflow, Library Software, Computer Supported Collaborative Work…

4. + => Systematically facilitated partici-patory workshops focusing on work activities Process diagrams based on semi-structured modeling notation Commitments on patterns of coordinated usage Idea for solution … Meta-question: How can the creativity of the design of socio-technical solutions be enhanced

5. Concept of solution Aspects of the Design of socio-technical Processes Work procedures and processes Features of the technical component Interplay between technical components Communication, information flow, cooperation, awareness Conditions, events, exceptions Human-computer interaction Resources, objects Competences, learning memories Roles and actors Commitments, conventions, rhythm Interests, conflicts, histories Spatial arrangements; dependencies between actions, objects and roles

6. Concept of solution Aspects of the Design of socio-technical Processes Work procedures and processes Features of the technical component Interplay between technical components Communication, information flow, cooperation, awareness Conditions, events, exceptions Human-computer interaction Resources, objects Competences, learning memories Roles and actors Commitments, conventions, rhythm Interests, conflicts, histories Spatial arrangements; dependencies between actions, objects and roles Documentation as Boundary object: • enough flexibility with respect to multiple perspectives, informal considerations, extent of details • as well as consistency (for the sustainability of decisions)

7. Role carries out Activity modifies Is used by Entity Basic Elements of the Notation(SeeMe – semi-structured, socio-technical modelling Method) Mainly duties and rights of persons, teams, organizations  social aspects Behaviour which leads to change Ressources which support activities (technology, …) Further information: SeeMe in a Nutshell Low threshold – high ceiling

8. Specific structuresEmbedding, incompleteness Documenting knowledge eliciting structuring updating database

9. Examples – complete model

10. Examples – starting with an rough overview

11. Examples – inserting more information …

12. … step by step

13. The SeeMe-Editor The examples above are produced with the SeeMe-Editor It is freely available: www.seeme-imtm.de

14. Writing a purchase order x x ordering Value > 5K Checking the order Checking the order Writing a purchase order x x ordering Freedom of decision assistant

15. Examples – integration of different perspectives

16. 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

17. 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

18. 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.

19. Typical phases of our projects Continuous Documentation 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) Participants: 2 drivers, 2 dispatchers, manager, software-engineer, facilitator

20. Integration of material

21. How to get the models of the solutions? – intervention through communication in participatory settings Intervention through: • structured  focused facilitated continuous  sustainable … communication and documentation to integrate social and technical aspects • Socio-technical Walkthrough (STWT)

22. Asking selected questions Collecting comments, proposals Developing or discussing models by considering its elements step-by-step Refocus on the diagram modifying diagrams, adding material Aesthetical improvement of diagrams Socio-technical Walkthrough – Core elements Task of the facilitator and supporters Preparing workshops Work- shop 1 Work- shop 2 Work- shop n

23. 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 The diagrams should be accepted as self-descriptions of the organization and of the expectations towards its roles (Kunau, 2006)

24. 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  Socio-technical Walkthrough (STWT): a means for Knowledge Integration.

25. Controlled experiment: Two types of groups Condition With graphical process models Condition Without graphical process models

26. Controlled experiment: Two types of groupscont’d Condition With graphical process models Condition Without graphical process models • 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

27. Core elements of the STWT • Usage of a semi-structured representation scheme • Only few types of elements • Multiple relations • Nesting • Incompleteness indicators: what has to be specified later • Step-by-step consideration and intertwining of documentation and discourse on work activities • Integrating several perspectives into one type of representation  providing a large picture • Facilitator helps to transform contributions into documentation

28. STWT and creativity? • semi-structured representation scheme • Step-by-step discourse + documentation of work activities • Integrating ideas in a large picture • Facilitator helps to transform contributions into documentation Do the core elements of STWT support social creativity? … help to evolve new ideas, breakthroughs, of how to introduce and use new technologies  Barriers have to be overcome on the Individual level Group level

29. 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, … Phases: Data collection Data combination, variation of combinations Synthesizing of ideas Prioritizing of ideas with respect to their appropriateness Divergence convergence

30. 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 of perspectives is related to tension, problems of understanding; convergence is harder to achieve

31. Advantage • 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 1. semi-structured scheme Disadvantage • Too indirect compared with • Sketching • natural language • touchable object • translation work is needed • too abstract • Increases cognitive load

32. Examples

33. Examples

34. Examples

35. Examples

36. Advantage • 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 1. semi-structured scheme Disadvantage • Too indirect compared with • Sketching • natural language • touchable object • translation work is needed • too abstract • Increases cognitive load Nesting on different levels + Hide and show of sub-elements as well as super-elements + Flexible combination of sequenced and non-sequenced activities

37. 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

38. 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 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 strong commitments

39. Advantage 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 2. Intertwining documentation and discourse Disadvantage • Documentation requires additional cognitive load • Slows the process of idea finding down Support of explicit incompleteness as a compromise

40. Individual and collective barriers New vocabulary or methods of representation 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 of perspectives is related to tension, problems of understanding; convergence is harder to achieve visualization Facilitation: Dialogue mapping Representation: Multiple way to display relations

41. Conclusion • Semi-structured modelling and STWT lead to successful patterns of collaborative usage andhave 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