Cognitive Artifacts in Complex Work - Ambient Intelligence for Scientific Discovery - page 181

Research Guides Development. Computing systems that are developed
without an understanding of the cognition that is to be supported will impede,
not improve, work. Methods that have been described in this chapter will lead
the researcher toward that understanding. Artifacts embody what matters in a
work setting. Artifact analysis leads us to understand work settings by pointing
to what matters in that domain. This makes research ecient, allowing the re-
searcher to dismiss the inconsequential for the consequential and to avoid wasting
valuable resources, time, and effort.
Systems Design for Distributed Cognition. Computing systems have regu-
larly been developed to exploit a technology opportunity. This technology-driven
approach has often been pursued at the expense of understanding the nature of
human involvement. Developers of AmI systems have the opportunity to break
with the traditional optimism that accompanies new technology and, instead,
ground it in the reality of actual cognitive requirements.
Acknowledgements
Dr. Nemeth's work was supported by a grant (RO3LM07947) from the National
Library of Medicine, NIH. Dr. Jones' research was supported by Elsevier, as part
of a field research program investigating information behavior in experimental
life sciences.
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