Designing for nomadic work

ABSTRACT

Nomadic work, an extreme form of mobile work, is becoming increasingly prevalent in organizations. Yet so far there has not been enough research attention on the particular challenges that nomadic workers face in order to design support for their work practices. We employed ethnographic interviews and observations to understand nomadic work practices. Drawing from strategies for survival of pastoralist nomads to guide our design investigation, we focus on an integrated perspective of nomadic work involving challenges related to assembling actants, seeking resources, and integrating with others in the organization. We discovered that nomadic workers need to continually seek out and compete for resources to maintain their mobile offices. They also face challenges in integrating into the organization to maintain visibility and to synchronize with others for meeting. We discuss the design recommendations that emerged from our investigation.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Organizational design

Additional Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.5 INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
      H.5.3 Group and Organization Interfaces
          Subjects: Synchronous interaction; Computer-supported cooperative work; Asynchronous interaction

General Terms:
Design, Human Factors, Management

Keywords:
anthropology, ethnography, mobile work, nomadic work