Information gain in sociotechnical systems

Communication issues persist in sociotechnical systems with functioning communication equipment, prompting researchers and practitioners alike to bemoan the absence of information sharing. Computer scientists envision a broadly accessible virtual display, but lack the principles for selecting, formatting and organizing content to make it useful. We argue that what is needed is information rather than data, and that situating data in context is key to the provision of information. Documentation of information exchange issues in real crisis management is quite superficial, generally pointing to conclusions without any supporting data. Using documentation of the Deepwater Horizon Accident in 2010, we suggest three requirements for the design of computationally supported information exchange: 1) computational support to distribute distilled information, not low-level data, 2) a computationally accessible, current plan to provide context to guide the routing of information to interested parties and 3) a means to detect and elevate newly relevant, but formerly suppressed detail.