1. An Activity Theory Analysis of Hewlett Packard's Customer Support Documentation Process Shilpa V. Shukla Doctorate student at UCI/ICS sshukla@ics.uci.edu www.ics.uci.edu/~sshukla

2. Purpose n To develop a detailed understanding of Hewlett Packard’s Customer Support Unit’s documentation process

3. How is documentation currently done? n Workflow process and tools ensure that certain classes of Hewlett Packard’s customers’ problem resolutions are documented by the support engineer responsible for resolving problems.

4. Why Activity Theory? n To understand how documentation is actually done in context n To understanding the distinction between the Rationalized View vs. the Actual View

5. Understanding work context through the Activity Theory Lens n According to Activity Theory, “human activity is socially-bound and not simply the sum of individual actions” (Engestrom, 1990) n The Activity System Model [Figure 1] offers the means to represent a work context in relation to a desired outcome

6. Activity System Model

7. Principles n Activity occurs within the context of an objective and a community n Rules and roles affect an individual’s behavior n The outcome can be another activity or artifact

8. Methodology n Ethnography as a method for collecting data u Semi-structured and open-ended informal interviews u Participant observations u Access to tools and documents n Activity Theory as a means to analyze data and provide results

9. Subjects Interviewed n Total: 33 subjects n Support Engineers: 22 u Tier 1: 8 u Tier 2: 14 n Domain Experts: 7 n Other relevant experts: 4

10. Real Life: Conflicting Activities and Roles in Relationship to the Outcome n Putting out the fire NOW! n Playing ambassador n Such activities in conflict with the objective of documentation.

11. Real Life: Conflicting Devices in Relationship to the Outcome n The Devices individually are successful n The Devices in context, of customer support may not always achieve the outcome (documentation).

12. Level One: Basic Devices of Work Contexts Characteristics: These are the Physical and more obvious devices Found in work contexts

13. What This Means: Documentation is Embedded in a Matrix of Human Activity n The activity of each individual components should not be viewed in isolation n Each component is tied to the larger cultural context n Customer Support documentation should be viewed in relationship to multiple individual components and activities

14. Next Steps: Designing Devices to Achieve the Outcome n Develop the work context’s mediating means model n Identify the four levels of mediating means (MM) u Basic MM, u How MM, u Why MM, u Where-to MM. n Push evolution of devices by understanding the “Where-to” MM

15. Characteristics: These are the tangible and intangible tools and artifacts that include procedures, rules norms and methods of achieving the “outcome” Level Two: The “How” MM

16. Level Three: The “Why” mm Characteristics: These are the the explanatory models of the mechanisms of and reasons for the phenomenon we are dealing with.

17. Level Four: The “Where to” MM Characteristics: Intangible mm that exist as “practices of the few”

18. Designing Devices that Work n Identify the stakeholders in the process n Ensure the technology is designed to benefit the user n Work toward alignment between the user’s rewards & the business needs n Work toward alignment between the rewards of the designers of the device & the business needs