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focus in particular on the use of ActAD as a method
for IS development.
ActAD provides a framework for IS developers
to examine sociocultural features that can inform
development of an IS. The first step guides
developers to analyse the components of the activity
that is to be supported by the system, and provides
checklists of guiding questions with which to elicit
these components. The surrounding activities are
analysed in the second step. The activity system and
the activity network diagrams are derived from those
of Engeström (1987), and have been modified to
become more graphical.
Step 3 in the method focuses on analysing the
development of the central activity, which is broken
down into ‘History’, ‘Problems, and ‘Potential’. A
brief checklist of questions is provided with which
to elicit each factor.
In the fourth step, the required new tools are to
be developed, and processes are to be improved,
based on the information elicited previously. The
final step in ActAD involves disseminating the
results, evaluating the process, and starting again,
looping back to the problem analysis in Step 3.
A limitation of ActAD is the lack of a notation
with which to document the third, fourth and fifth
steps in the method. The sparseness of guidelines
provided in these steps also calls for future
development.
3.2 The Activity Checklist
The Activity Checklist was developed by Kaptelinin
et al. (1999), and aims to enable researchers and
designers to identify the contextual factors that can
influence the use of computer technology in a real
life setting, and to spot potential trouble areas that
designers can address.
The checklist has two foci – design and
evaluation, and subsequently there are two slightly
different versions. Both versions of the checklist
consist of four columns, based on four of the
principles of AT. The column headings are:
Means/ends (which relates to the hierarchical
structure), Environment (related to object
orientedness), Learning / cognition / articulation
(related to internalisation / externalisation), and
Development (named after the corresponding AT
principle). The principle of mediation is said to
permeate all four columns. Within each column,
between 5 and 13 items are listed to guide the
analysis. The developer is advised to generate their
own questions based on the items listed, and a table
of sample questions is provided.
The main weakness perceived with the checklist
is the repeated usage of activity theoretical jargon.
The checklist is also purely textual, and described at
a high level of abstraction.
3.3 The AODM Method
The Activity-Oriented Design Method (AODM) was
first detailed in Mwanza (2001) and is based on the
models of Engeström (1987). AODM was developed
further in Mwanza (2002), and is intended to
contribute to the early phases of systems
development, with an aim to support requirements
capture, analysis, and design, focusing on human-
computer interaction. The method consists of 6
stages, and 4 tools.
Stage 1 analyses the situation involved. For this
stage, the first tool is provided - the ‘eight-step-
model’. This is a list of 8 questions that guide the
analysis of the activity and its components. Stage 2
involves modelling the situation, using the
information obtained in Stage 1 with the activity
system model (Engeström, 1987). Following that,
stage 3 decomposes the activity to reduce
complexity. The ‘activity notation’ tool is provided
to assist in this stage. This tool details 6 ‘sub-
triangles’ that can be analysed in order to
decompose the activity.
Stage 4 is aided by a third tool, consisting of 6
general questions, which can be used to generate a
wide range of research questions to analyse the
interaction and relationships within and between the
components of each subtriangle. This tool also
elicits the presence of conflict within and between
the components. In Stage 5, the research questions
generated are used in data gathering, e.g. in
interviews, questionnaires, or observation. Finally,
Stage 6 involves interpreting and communicating the
findings. For this a fourth tool is provided - the
diagram for mapping operational processes. This
tool presents the results of Stage 4 in illustration
form, with clear visual indications of the research
questions generated, as well as the areas of conflict
that have become apparent, facilitating
understanding of the process as well as the results.
A unique contribution of AODM is its
development of subtriangles as further units of
analysis. However, the application of AT in AODM
appears to be in differing degrees, for example, the
principle of mediation seems to be given more
prominence than development.
3.4 The Jonassen & Rohrer-Murphy
Framework
The framework of Jonassen & Rohrer-Murphy
(1999) is a method for the design of constructive
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