Authors

Espen Skorve

Abstract

Does the quest for ‘the right information in the right place at the right time’ create a blind spot in development and implementation of ICT support for complex work practices by spurring wild-goose-chases for ‘the one, right representation’? Could resources be spent more fruitfully by shifting focus towards the multiplicities of information practices in such settings, and how to support rather than attempting to obliterate them? Based on the study of a hospital ICT implementation, this paper challenges the notion of a singular and linear precision. Illustrated by the measuring and (re)presentation of blood pressure, precision emerges as a multiplicity, enacted in different socio-material practices; blood pressure is not only a function of how it is produced, but also of the diverse purposes it serves. It is argued that this should have implications for how we think about information and its representations in all phases of the system lifecycle.

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