Information Technology Reference
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simplifying work). To understand the change
in work as a result of the new technology, we
must use a conceptual framework that provides
a comprehensive set of analytic categories and
explanatory terms for bridging technology and
organization. For this purpose, we have chosen
activity theory.
towards more stable systems (Kuutti, 1996). All
activity systems are mediated by artifacts and
objects, which provide the focal points of the ac-
tivities. Together with subject, rules, community,
and division of labor
,
these are the basic concepts
of AT (e.g., Engeström, 1987). The objects define
what the activities are aiming at and when mul-
tiple activity systems are interacting the objects
are often referred to as “boundary objects.” The
boundary object concept originated with Star and
Griesemer (1989). It is characterized as something
that is common to more than one activity system
and holds them together as well as separates them.
Furthermore, a boundary object can be either a
physical thing (the conventional meaning of the
term object) or a pre-understanding of the thing,
such as a plan or an objective (e.g., adapt VB to
meet the needs of the accountants). It is both a
given in the situation and something towards
which the activity is directed, that is, something
anticipated, projected, transformed, and achieved
(Engeström, 1987; Kuutti, 1996)
.
The subject in
this context is the participant in the community
at the workplace. The relationship between the
subject and the object in an activity is mediated
by the artifact or tool. A tool can be anything used
in the process of transforming the object, whether
material or conceptual. In our case, VB is the
central tool, as well as its tailoring or metalevel
features. We used concepts from AT to analyze
the activities of super users and a local developer
in the Company.
In addition to subject, object, and tool, the
framework contains a fourth component, com-
munity. Community consists of all those who
share or interact with the same object during
a given activity. Furthermore, the relationship
between subject and community is mediated by
rules (e.g., tax rules, business logic), and the re-
lationship between the community and the object
is mediated by the division of labor. Division of
labor is useful in analyzing how super users and
the local developer share and divide tasks and how
this relationship evolves. The division of labor is
aCtivity theory
Activity theory (AT) provides a conceptual
framework for understanding human and work-
oriented developmental processes (Engeström,
1987; Kuutti, 1996). It is a powerful, descriptive
tool rather than a predictive theory (Nardi, 1996).
Whereas in many psychological theories human
actions are used as the unit of analysis, AT takes
action a step further by claiming that it is difficult
to analyze real-life situations outside a laboratory
without considering the context in which actions
are taken. In AT, the unit of analysis is human
action within its minimal meaningful context
(Kuutti, 1996), which is encapsulated in the term
“activity.” Activity unites action and context into
a conceptual whole (Engeström, 1987). We will
not go into depth concerning the structure of the
framework of activity theory here. Interested
readers are encouraged to consult the sources
(e.g., Engeström, 1987; Kaptelinin, 1996; Kuutti,
1996; Nardi, 1996). We give a brief overview of
the relevant concepts we used in our analysis.
Studying human activity means understanding
the artifact-mediated and object-oriented actions
of humans as they interact and collaborate within a
system, and examining how these actions relate to
the transformation of the activity system over time
(Engeström, 2001; Kaptelinin, 1996; Vygotsky,
1978). activity theory studies both individual
activity systems and the interaction of multiple
systems. According to the theory, individual sys-
tems are internally unstable. Interaction becomes
important because it can lead to transformations
of a system over time and further development
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