The digital workplace

Jonas Söderström • IDA Arbejdsmiljø, København • 21 oktober 2015

Cognitive load & Bureaucracy 2.0

@jonas_blind_hen

#IDA#arbeidsmiljø#stupidsystem

Stockholm • Göteborg • Malmö

@inuse_swe

1994 –

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Enterprise software

is far behind

”One year of incorrect salaries”

sep 2011 – sep 2012

2 757 hours of overtime

”Salaries will be incorrect during

all of 2013 because finding the right new

routines will take time”HR Manager

The digital workplaceas a cause of stress

Angry, stressed, frustrated with IT

3400 2012

M T W T F

Angry, stressed, frustrated with IT

3400 2012

M T W T F

Biggest source of frustration in the office?

1. Slow web applications2. Computer3. Printer4. Boss5. Meetings

1000 2012

0

5

10

15

Insecure 24h work On alert Dangers

26 %Causing stress

IT Systems

3700 2013

from 145 to 313 clicks

New system

Renew weapons licence

mean 2 hr 52 mWrite 1 report, shoplifting

Typical causes

Too many systems

Treserva (social security system)WebbSotis (old social security system)

Giraff (internal invoicing)Horisonten (accounting)

Prognosprogram (economy)Winst (procurement portal)

Rappet (client reports)Personec (HR reports)

Time Care (work schedule)Winlas Webb (temps worked hours)

Time Care pool (assigning temps)Lisa (accident reporting)

Adato (rehabilitation process management)Offentliga jobb (recruiting)

Telephone self-service systemLotus Notes (mail)

Webbmail (mail at home)

Karolinska InstituteLibrary, Feb. 18

110 employees

117 systems

• Put in vacation plans - how often?

•Hard to learn

• ”...how did you handle this system, then?”

• Even if each system is used quite seldom …

•… some system is used each month or week.

Used seldom, but ...

Systems are different

11.11.1511-11-152015-11-1115.11.11

1959-03-21-1273

590321-1273

19590321-1273

195903211273

John reports hours worked in two systems: one uses comma, the other point

1,5 hrs 1.5 hrs

What happens if he uses a comma in the system that wants a point?

1,5 hrs 1,5 hrs

System ignores comma and records 15 hours, without any error message.

15 hrs

x-ray delta one/flickr under a cc-license

OUR PROJECT

The user’s experience

pchw

eat/!i

ckr u

nder

cc-li

cens

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Implementation:Quick

Uncoordinated

Major hospital

➡ IP telephony

➡ Pascal, pharmacy system

➡ TakeCare (EMR)

➡ ICF

➡ Smart card login, new functionality

M T O T F M T O T F ML S L S

Early summer 2013

Burden of vigilance

stupidsystem.org:The doctor that rocks the mouse

Photo: Henrik Ahlén

Inferior design

1 2 3 4

Next >>

Basket Shipping Con"rm Pay

How to pay the invoice?

Digital systems typically has

weak signigifiers (affordances)

This creates an unprecedented

level of cognitive load

cognitive load at an

unprecedented level

Consequences:

But people are also

ingenious

Photo: Richard Gatarski

Photo: Richard Gatarski

But it’s not just a design

issue

Chores, not work

IT command&

control+

NPM Excessive

documentationProcess managment

”... all the software designed to save us from

administrative responsibilities turned us

into part- or full-time administrators”

David Graeber

Electronic Health Records:

”created the need for another person”

Digital systems means new possibilities ...... for bureaucrats,

too.

Controls my work ”in an annoying

and unreasonable way”8000 Unionen, 2012

Digital taylorism

lack of trustcreating

conscience stress

Consequences:

””

Business impacts

Sand Hill 2012 Enterprise systems study

17% end user productivity loss

300

”The economic value of losses outweighs

100% of total IT spend.

Ouch.”

Firstdefinition of ”digital work environment”

Any part of the working environment where you

interact with or are

controlled by digital systems

Digital work enivironment

Technicalquality

Adapted to humans

and task

Impact on the way we work

Good

simple, intuitive

easy to "nd, hard to make

mistakes, good training

nocrashes,

fast network,

instant feedback

#exibility, simpli"ed administration, focus on core tasks, empowerment, freedom

Stability,speed

Adapted to humans

and task

Changing the way we work

Bad

too many clicks,

hard to "nd, easy to make

mistakes, poor or no

training

crashes,printer

trouble,slow

network

un#exibile, burdensome administration, layoffs, dis-empowerment, surveillance

Stability,speed

Adapted to humans

and task

Changing the way we work

Digital work environment

the whole picture

digital aspects of work environment

social & organizational

aspects of work

environment

physical aspects of work

environment

digital aspects of work environment

social & organizational

aspects of work

environment

physical aspects of work

environment

Mouse armiPad neck

SMS-thumb sight

command & control,

surveillance,distrust,

etc

Physical + digital:The control room

What to do?

Call to action

”ict stress”

digital work enivironment

See the whole picture

☜

”IT-rond”

Bild: Karin Båtelson, överläkare SU

• 6 åtgärdas direkt – install/inställningsfel

• 5 handhavandefel/bristande info till användare

• 37 st ligger på Meliorförv

• 4 st regional IT-avdelning

• 5 st Nät

• ... och så vidare

70 problem

Bild: Karin Båtelson, överläkare SU

VerksamhetschefIT-ansvarig på olika nivåerSystemleverantörLäkare(/ssk/sekr)

Competence in interaction

design, usability and IT

Are you really empowering users?

Fight stressFight bureacracy

Empower and delight users

We need to

EmpowermentTrust

Self-organizingFreedom

ControlDistrust

vs

Legislation

Technology, the organization and content of work shall be designed so that the employee is not subjected to physical or mental stress that can lead to illness or accidents.

Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 2, § 1.(Norwegian law is similar)

The employee shall be given the opportunity to participate in shaping their own work situation and in change and in development relating to his own work.

Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 2, § 1.(Norwegian law is similar)

Planer om indretning eller ændring af lokaler, tekniske anlæg og hjælpemidler m.v. skal forelægges Arbejdstilsynet til udtalelse eller godkendelse, før de bringes til udførelse.

Arbejdsmiljøloven, Kapitel 6, § 44

Planer om indretning eller ændring af lokaler, tekniske anlæg og hjælpemidler m.v. skal forelægges Arbejdstilsynet til udtalelse eller godkendelse, før de bringes til udførelse.

Arbejdsmiljøloven, Kapitel 6, § 44

USER-CENTERED

DESIGN:

IT’S THE LAW

Reality check

Not allowed their say in IT project

2008 2010 2014

44 %58 % 66 %

3 x ca 1000 Unionen

The work environment shall be satisfactory in view of the social and technological developments in society.

Swedish Work Environment Act, Chapter 2, § 1.(Norwegian law is similar)

© Jan Gulliksen, Bengt Göransson and Åsa Cajander

15 years

Demand ”consumer-grade usability”

Thank you!Mail:jonas.soderstrom@inuse.se

Twitter:@Jonas_Blind_Hen

Site:stupidsystem.orginuse.se

Speakerdeck:Jonas Söderström

Bild: Pelle Sten

Further reading 1

David Boyle:The Human

Element

Gary Hamel:What matters

now

John Seddon:Freedom from

Command & Control

Further reading 2

Gojko Adzic:Impactmapping

impactmapping.org

Henrik Kniberg:How we got rid of time reports – a story of waste elimination

http://bit.ly/1m7424d

Sources & links”A Busy Doctor’s Right Hand, Ever Ready to Type”NY Times, Jan. 12, 2014http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/14/health/a-busy-doctors-right-hand-ever-ready-to-type.html26% of "rst responders stressed by IT systemsArnetz, 2012: ”Det här är inte vilket yrke som helst!”Reviewed in Swedish here: http://javlaskitsystem.se/2014/08/it-system-stressar-blaljuspersonalen-mer-an-faror-och-obekvama-arbetstider/

17% end user productivity loss:2012 IT Adoption Insight Survey Reveals Disturbing Level of Enterprise Productivity Loss (March 5, 2012)http://sandhill.com/article/2012-it-adoption-insight-survey-reveals-disturbing-level-of-enterprise-productivity-loss/

David Graeber on administration”Of Flying Cars and the Declining Rate of Pro"t”The Baffler, March 2012 http://thebaffler.com/past/of_#ying_cars

Sources & links