Professional work and its impact on development of information and communication technology

ABSTRACT

Information and communication technology (ICT) plays a critical role in many organisations of today. In both well-tried systems development methods as well as in recently improved object-oriented methods it is important to support development of ICT so that ICT could be adapted to the actual organisation. The methods provide prescribed and formal ways to perform the systems development. An ethnographical study has been performed in the NU health care organisation in Sweden. Another study is performed as a case study carried out at the Wing of Satenas, an airbase within the Swedish Air Force. The aim of this paper is to describe and analyse the character of professional work and its impact on systems development. Professions consist of special competences and attitudes to the work they are performing. The study of the health care workers and the flight technicians can also point this out.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.1 MODELS AND PRINCIPLES
      H.1.1 Systems and Information Theory
          Subjects: Information theory

General Terms:
Human Factors, Management

Keywords:
knowledge-intensive, profession, professional work, systems development