Supporting reuse: IT and the role of archival boundary objects in collaborative problem solving

Critical information artifacts are often the product of complex social and organizational processes. However, much of the context surrounding these processes is routinely lost in the archiving of these artifacts, significantly impacting later reuse. How then can organizational practice and IT be best configured to support knowledge management?; This dissertation examines knowledge work in a high-reliability organization. Specifically, it explores the collaborative problem solving behavior of service engineers and their analytic support teams for a world-class aircraft manufacturer. This ethnographic field study focuses on the organizational memories, information flows, and boundary objects which facilitate the routine handling of technical support requests from airlines. Special attention is given to the expertise required to successfully navigate the complexities of this information-intensive environment. High-level requirements are generated which inform the socio-technical design of appropriate knowledge management systems.; Primary contributions of this work to the fields of Computer-Supported Cooperative Work and Knowledge Management include a deeper understanding of the social factors which contribute to successful reuse in high-reliability, high-liability organizations, an advanced requirements analysis for improving IT support for reuse, and a critical assessment of the analytic concept of boundary objects.