ABSTRACT
Work-as-Imagined (WAI) and Work-as-Done (WAD) are two concepts borrowed from ergonomics. WAI represents how we think work should be done in order to achieve the intended outcomes. WAI covers our ideas about how others do, or should do, their work and also how we prepare our own work. In contrast, WAD represents the direct experience of those who actually do the work. Their understanding is detailed and precise, and their priorities are directly related to the work at hand, first and foremost to meet the goals of the activities for which they are responsible. The concepts of WAI and WAD make it possible to consider the difference between what people are expected to do and what they actually do without insisting that one is right and the other is wrong. The recognition of this difference is essential both for how work is managed and for how changes are planned and implemented. Managing work and changes to work must be grounded in a solid understanding of what actually goes on. When considering the gap between WAI and WAD, the solution should never be to make WAD comply with WAI. It is important, rather, to acknowledge the gap and to find ways to overcome it.
