Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
Nygaard (1984) refers to as “profession-oriented
language” or “user-oriented languages” and what,
in the context of AT, Engeström (2001) calls a
“shared repertoire.” To develop a shared repertoire
requires a reciprocal engagement regarding the
task of solving problems (Wenger, 1998). When
problems requiring EUD occur, an engagement
is created by the involved parties in such a way
that super users, the application coordinator, and
regular users can all learn something new. The
super user's motivation and learning potential is
in generalizing from the situation to solve related
problems in the future. The application coordina-
tor sees an opportunity to improve the application
with a new business solution that might apply
across all local offices. The regular user wishes
to solve a problem for a client (e.g., completing a
budget on time). Hence, they all have a wish to
understand the situation.
When a shared repertoire has been established,
one can then start to close the gap between the
multipurpose VB application and the specific
requirements of a client solution. Examining what
kind of knowledge is required to accomplish this
is the next stage in the process. The emphasis on
a shared object is maintained, and the additional
application system knowledge required is built
on this pre-understanding, gradually translating
the understanding of the domain (a profession-
oriented language) into an application system
language. The bottom-up direction of competence
development was stressed by all users interviewed.
It starts with a foundation of knowledge that the
IT support unit and the professional developers
do not hold.
have therefore been very careful. It's been good
to have a super user.
Security is important when providing a service
for a customer in the business the company is
competing in, especially when one has the full
responsibility for the clients' financial statements.
It becomes even more important when providing
a service while trying out a new accounting ap-
plication. The above excerpt shows how important
this security was as a reason for seeking assis-
tance from an expert. The professional integrity
required by an accountant in their interactions
with colleagues and clients is something the IT
staff and professional developers do not have the
background to fully understand. The trust that ex-
ists among those who already know the profession
is a very valuable resource when solving problems.
Although developers have competence in techni-
cal solutions, they do not see the possibilities and
constraints of various solutions from the user's
point of view the way a super user can.
It is through their professional competence
and ability to recommend solutions based on
this competence that super users and the local
developer have developed their skills as translators
(Mackay, 1990) and boundary spanners (Volkoff
et al., 2002). At the same time, it becomes impor-
tant that the “translation” from a domain-specific
problem to a technical solution be accomplished.
What is central in the above excerpt is the fact
that one has to take the client's perspective into
account when solving the problem and be able
to access other people's competence during the
process. With the super users' knowledge of
the new application, they can act as translators
(Mackay, 1990) and boundary spanners (Volkoff
et al., 2002) for the regular users, as, for example,
when a super user assists in the process of finding
the right functionality for a regular user based
on their clients' needs. Furthermore, some of
the super users make changes in VB to facilitate
certain accounting processes by creating new
menus and fields or renaming existing ones. This
I pay bills directly for a customer and it is a sensi-
tive operation, then the money goes directly out
from the bank, and in this process I have used the
super user a lot when I was insecure. The super
user does the same operation for his clients and
we have had a close collaboration in this part
of VB, and it has been under construction, and I
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