An In e disciplina y Jou nal on Humans in ICT En i onmen s
ISSN: 1795-6889
www.human echnology.jyu. i Volume 5 (1), May 2009, 1–4
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F om he Edi o in Chie
DESIGNS, SYSTEMS, SCAPEGOATS, AND
BUSINESS CULTURES
In No embe 2007, an e en happened in Nokia ha h ea ened he heal h o housands o
people. Now he Nokia in his s o y is no he wo ld-known elecommunica ions co po a ion,
bu a he he li le ci y ha sha es i s name: a ci y in sou hwes e n Finland om which a
la ge ubbe company ope a ing he e named i sel . A cen u y la e , ha company made a
s a egic shi in i s p oduc ocus, and expanded i s ope a ions beyond he li le ci y and e en
ou side o Finland. To my knowledge, he Nokia company no longe has ac o ies o o ices
in he ci y o Nokia, bu his s o y abou he ci y o Nokia emains an impo an lesson in
human- echnology in e ac ion.
The municipal wa e sys em in he ci y o Nokia is designed in such a way ha a al e
sepa a es he was e wa e lines om he pu e d inking wa e lines. The pu pose o he al e is
o allow occasional lushing o he was e wa e lines (Wikipedia, 2008). The wa e
depa men employees do no ha e much use o his al e, which emains undis u bed o
yea s on end. Ne e heless, in No embe 2007, he un hinkable happened when an employee
opened he al e o lush he lines bu , because o some gli ch, allowed semi- ea ed was e
e luen in o he d inking wa e supply (“Nokia Wa e C isis Eases,” 2007). Pe haps a
housand esiden s we e sickened by he bac e ia- and i us-con amina ed wa e (“A housand
Nokia esiden s sickened,” 2007) and a hand ul o dea hs we e in es iga ed (“In es iga ion
unde way,” 2007; YLE News, 2008).
Wha is s ange abou his wa e sys em is ha he al e was no clea ly ma ked, no was
i locked. When he wa e sys em was designed, he wo ld knew conside ably less abou
human- echnology in e ac ion. Bu he e en s o ha No embe day, and all he p oblems
ha ollowed, o e se e al pe spec i es on he human and echnology designs and sys ems.
The ques ion is, hen, wha caused he inciden : he employee, he s uc u e and/o usage o
he al e, he designe o he wa e sys em, o he builde o he wa e sys em?
I will acknowledge ha I canno d aw conclusions on he e en because he o icial
in es iga ion is no ye comple e (YLE News, 2008). Howe e , a basic unde s anding o he
e en s p o ides a good oppo uni y o look a he usabili y o he sys em om a philosophical
poin o iew. Jus as when a compe en su geon may lea e a needle wi hin he pa ien because
© 2009 Pe i Saa iluoma and he Ago a Cen e , Uni e si y o Jy äskylä
URN:NBN: i:jyu-20094141406
Pe i Saa iluoma
Cogni i e Science, Depa men o Compu e Science and In o ma ion Sys ems
Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, Finland
Saa iluoma
2
he/she is ushed, a igued om a long su ge y, o did no sleep well he nigh be o e, he
Nokia wa e c isis comes down o he ques ion abou usabili y in c i ical wo k: Whe e do you
place he blame o a ailu e in he usabili y o a sa e y-c i ical wo k sys em?
Le ’s s a he philosophical scapegoa ing wi h he agen , he use who opened he al e.
One could hold ha he wo ke should be able o pe o m he ask assigned, and hus is
esponsible o comple ing ha ask well and wi hou a poo ou come. Ye , wha i he
hypo he ical wo k had se e al ace s, and one o hem was o dance on a igh ope once a
yea , bu he o he equi emen s o he job p ecluded he wo ke om being able o p ac ice
his ask? Now he assump ion ha he wo ke is ully esponsible o his/he asks is no
longe so clea . O cou se, one could say ha he indi idual should no ha e aken he job i
he/she did no know how o dance o o manage on a igh ope. Some imes wo ke s a e no
ully awa e o o compe en in e e y single elemen o a job, al hough he/she can manage
mos o he asks qui e well, pa icula ly he ones pe o med egula ly. In he case o he
municipal wa e company employee, he was esponsible o a ask ha had no been
pe o med by any o he wa e employee wi hin he p e ious decade: The al e had no been
opened and, when i was in ha p e ious ime, i was unde di e en condi ions. So, one
could blame he employee, bu ha does no necessa ily mean he disco e y o he eal eason
o he disas ous ou come.
So, le us u n ou a en ion o he al e and i s sa e y s uc u e. The al e was no
secu ed agains un o ced e o s. Jus as in he Che nobyl nuclea acciden in 1986 (Wo ld
Nuclea O ganiza ion, 2008), whe e he echnology i sel was deemed subs anda d, he Nokia
wa e sys em was c ea ed as a sys em ha could easily acili a e a dange ous ou come i
wo ke s did no p ope ly use i unde ideal condi ions. Jus one sudden change in he ideal
condi ions could jeopa dize he en i e p ocess. Bu is he echnology i sel o blame?
Wha we e he design in en ions? The designe en isioned he al e o pe o m an
impo an ole in he ope a ion o he sys em: o lush ou he was e sys em on a pe iodic
basis. Bu did he designe hink h ough he condi ions in which he in ended use could be
o e come by poo condi ions du ing use, such as low wa e p essu e in he clean wa e lines?
Did he designe assume ha he use o he al e, bo h echnically and in p ac ice, would
always be pe o med unde he bes condi ions, and hus neglec ed a backup sys em in he
e en o less- han-ideal condi ions? Is he culp i he designe ?
And wha abou he builde ? Pe haps he builde iewed his/he ole as simply ul illing
he design speci ica ions, i espec i e o he need o sa e y in applica ion. Should he builde
ha e ques ioned he echnology o he design, e en i i was ai ly ypical o he e a? Should
he builde ha e seen a need o some locking de ice o clea signage o sa e y easons? As
an example, is he manu ac u e o a ship esponsible o he e ec s o a ious u u e
p essu es and e ec s on he keel o he boa when he me al keel is being o med in he
ac o y? Is he builde o any angible i em esponsible o hinking h ough he pa icula
ma e ials and uses o a p oduc being c ea ed, when i was designed and commissioned by
someone else? Could he blame all he e?
As his sho philosophical look a a human- echnology ailu e clea ly indica es, no
simple answe s a e possible. While one could logically place he blame on any o hese ou
a eas, i would be mo e o scapegoa ing han uly unde s anding he causes and he
ou comes. Placing blame su ely closes he case, and mos people a e happy wi h a
Designs, Sys ems, Scapegoa s, and Business Cul u es
3
esolu ion—any esolu ion—e en i i does no esol e he ue na u e o he ailu e, simply
because i allows he abili y o mo e on.
The eali y is ha poo ou comes in human- echnology in e ac ion ake place o a
a ie y o easons. And e en hough he usabili y design communi y has add essed many o
he po en ial and ac ual p oblems o e he yea s, mo e s ill exis in c i ical wo k p ocesses. In
some ways, i is a ma e o looking a he usabili y design p ocess in a di e en way.
Technologies, and pa icula ly echnological sys ems, a e ne e gua an eed o be bug ee,
pa icula ly a he beginning, and use s a e always an unp edic able elemen o any sys em.
Designe s and manu ac u e s o echnologies, pa icula ly sa e y-c i ical wo k echnologies,
need o conside no jus he cu en need being me and he success ul applica ion o he
echnology, bu also po en ial u u e ailu es and he use o he echnology in less- han-ideal
si ua ions by less- han-pe ec use s. Such an ou look on he design o usable sys ems
dec eases he likelihood o unde de eloped usabili y design o he echnology side o he
human- echnology in e ac ion, and imp o es he a o able ou come o usabili y by he human
side o he equa ion.
Finally, while es ablishing blame o any one o combina ion o ac o s in a echnological
sys em is how business and legal p ac ices adi ionally add ess he allou o a poo sys em
ou come, ha blaming does no hing o p oac i ely add ess o he cu en and u u e disas e s o
simila ype. Newswo hy e en s such as he Nokia wa e c isis, Che nobyl, ai plane c ashes,
equipmen mal unc ions, s uc u al ailu es, and a hos o o he pas , p esen , and u u e c ises
esul ing om he misma ch o humans and echnologies call a en ion o wha cu en
s anda ds ha e o say abou isks, no ms, ideals, and good p ac ices. Sadly, hey say oo li le,
and o en say i oo la e. This eali y mus change, and soon. The e o e, human echnology
s anda ds and c i e ia o c i ical in e ac ion p ocesses a e de ini ely equi ed, and quickly.
REFERENCES
A housand Nokia esiden s belie ed o ha e had symp oms a e consuming con amina ed d inking wa e .
(2007, Decembe 3). Helsingin Sanoma , In e na ional Edi ion [online]. Re ie ed on Ap il 14, 2009, om
h p://www.hs. i/english/a icle/A+ housand+Nokia+ esiden s+belie ed+ o+ha e+had+symp oms+a e +c
onsuming+con amina ed+d inking+wa e /1135232307520
In es iga ion unde way in o dea hs possibly linked o ain ed Nokia ci y wa e . (2007, Decembe 19). Helsingin
Sanoma , In e na ional Edi ion [online]. Re ie ed on Ap il 14, 2009, om
h p://www.hs. i/english/a icle/In es iga ion+unde way+in o+dea hs+possibly+linked+ o+ ain ed+Nokia+
ci y+wa e /1135232706082
Nokia wa e c isis eases. (2007, Decembe 10). Helsingin Sanoma , In e na ional Edi ion [online]. Re ie ed on
Ap il 14, 2009, om h p://www.hs. i/english/a icle/Nokia+wa e +c isis+eases/1135232483252
Wikipedia.com (2008). Nokia wa e supply con amina ion. Re ie ed Ap il 14, 2009, om
h p://en.wikipedia.o g/wiki/Nokia_wa e _supply_con amina ion
Wo ld Nuclea Associa ion. (2008). Che nobyl acciden . Re ie ed on Ap il 14, 2009, om h p://www.wo ld-
nuclea .o g/in o/che nobyl/in 07.h m
YLE News [online]. (2008, Feb ua y 29). C iminal cha ges o e Nokia wa e c isis. Re ie ed Ap il 14, 2009,
om h p://yle. i/uu ise /news/2008/02/c iminal_cha ges_o e _nokia_wa e _c isis_281531.h ml
Saa iluoma
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All co espondence should be add essed o:
Pe i Saa iluoma
Uni e si y o Jy äskylä
Cogni i e Science, Depa men o Compu e Science and In o ma ion Sys ems
P.O. Box 35
FIN-40014 Uni e si y o Jy äskylä, FINLAND
pe i.saa iluoma@jyu. i
Human Technology: An In e disciplina y Jou nal on Humans in
ICT
En i onmen s
ISSN
1795-6889
www.human echnology.jyu. i