ABSTRACT
This book presents a study of sensemaking in emergency response. Sense is made through an iterative process of collecting, collating and sifting information through verbal, physical and electronic representations of situation-relevant information. Thus, sensemaking goes beyond interpretation of a situation (Weick 1995; Maitlis and Christianson 2014). This means that, contrary to the assumptions, which seem to inform many of the artefacts that are developed to support or enhance sensemaking, it is not simply a matter of labelling the salient features of a situation and communicating or recording these features. If we are to maximise the benefits to be gained from technology, we need to design them not to impose their own form of making sense but rather to support the sensemaking activity of the people who will use them. As noted in Chapter 2, sensemaking is underpinned by the relationship between data and the frameworks that are used to conceptualise the problem. From this perspective, other people and the dialogues used to develop and manage common
ground become critical to sensemaking. Equally important are the artefacts that people use to represent data and support collaboration between people.
