Coordinating distributed work: Exploring situated coordination with gaming-simulation

Organizational work has become more and more distributed nowadays. Information and communication technologies (ICT) provide opportunities to improve coordination of distributed work, but in practice many organizations struggle with integrating new organizational structures, new work practices and ICT. In this dissertation we present a design approach for improving the coordination of distributed work. First we develop an integrated view on coordination, based on observations of current coordination practices at the Amsterdam Police Force and on a literature study of various theoretical perspectives from disciplines like organization science, information systems research, group dynamics and social psychology. In the coordination framework we distinguish 4 main coordination choices for employees at the group level (concerning composition, commitment, contact and content) and 4 related coordination choices for managers at the organizational level (concerning competence, cohesiveness, connection and context). These choices enable us to explain why ICT both enhance and complicate coordination of distributed work. Potentially, ICT has a positive impact on the dimensions of composition and contact and a negative impact on the dimensions of commitment and content. But the success or failure of ICT supported coordination largely depends on how employees and managers apply and use ICT. Consequently a neutral but critical attitude towards ICT support is needed. To improve coordination we apply paradoxical guidelines that take into account the dual impacts of ICT and a multitude of other influencing factors. In simulation games we enable organizational employees to explore future coordination alternatives and to gain experience in making situated coordination choices. The validity and usefulness of this design approach has been explored in two action research studies at the Amsterdam Police Force.