Work in Motion: Interpretation of Defects along the Roads

This paper reports findings based on an ethnographic study of an occupational group, the road inspectors, at the Swedish National Road AdministrationProduction. We examine current work practice where the inspectors conduct a truly mobile work, since they are constantly on the move. It is not a fact of movement between different work places, seeing that the continuous movement could be understood as the work itself. The simultaneous tasks to perform create a complex environment to support with information technology. Our suggested design implications focus on the support of manual work, integrating loosely coupled methods of recalling, delegating, and informing about actual contingencies. The results will be used to inform a redesign of the current system, to integrate informal actions into the formal reporting tool. Except from contributing with design implications, we do also add relevant aspects regarding different modalities of mobile IT-use described in an existing theoretical model.