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Sensemaking in Practical Design
FIGURE 8.1 To the left, the crashed water scooter on the accident scene in 2018. To the
right, the crashed open speed boat on the island where it ended up in 2019. (I mages courtesy
of VG, 2018 and NRK, 2020.)
The accident commission noted that there had been Snapchat activity on the driver’s
mobile phone in the seconds leading up to the crash ( Statens Haverikommisjon for
Transport, 2020). A few seconds of inattentiveness could very well be the crucial
factor leading to the accident ( Figure 8.1).
BACKGROUND
finDing your Way at Sea
Navigation is a Greek word stemming from navis ( a ship) and agere ( to drive).
Navigation is about knowing where you are and knowing what way to take to reach
your goal. In olden and even modern days, pilots are used to navigate the ship.
Maritime pilots are people with local knowledge about underwater dangers and how
to get from one place to another. Geographical data were collected and recorded first
in itineraries and sailing directions and then as nautical charts, paper and nowadays
electronic. Today also mariners unfamiliar with an area can find their way. Finding
your own position by referencing landmarks on islands and coastlines has today been
replaced by a position plotted by global navigation satellite systems. However, navigation in unfamiliar waters is difficult even with the help of nautical charts and automatic position fixing. Even if you know the way you need to go in the chart you still
have to deduce steering marks in the terrain leading to your goal. To do that you need
to pay attention to visual as well as other cues, focus on the task, use implicit, explicit
and prospective memory resources. In short you need to pay attention and make
sense of many cues in order to perform safe navigation. It costs cognitive resources.
This is something humans can do very well – but also very badly as inattentiveness
is part of the human condition.
human factorS
The ability to focus and sustain attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of
one’s goals. Although attention span is a complex concept and measures depend on a
lot of different things, a common agreement among researchers is that the time span
Sensemaking in Practical Design
FIGURE 8.1 To the left, the crashed water scooter on the accident scene in 2018. To the
right, the crashed open speed boat on the island where it ended up in 2019. (I mages courtesy
of VG, 2018 and NRK, 2020.)
The accident commission noted that there had been Snapchat activity on the driver’s
mobile phone in the seconds leading up to the crash ( Statens Haverikommisjon for
Transport, 2020). A few seconds of inattentiveness could very well be the crucial
factor leading to the accident ( Figure 8.1).
BACKGROUND
finDing your Way at Sea
Navigation is a Greek word stemming from navis ( a ship) and agere ( to drive).
Navigation is about knowing where you are and knowing what way to take to reach
your goal. In olden and even modern days, pilots are used to navigate the ship.
Maritime pilots are people with local knowledge about underwater dangers and how
to get from one place to another. Geographical data were collected and recorded first
in itineraries and sailing directions and then as nautical charts, paper and nowadays
electronic. Today also mariners unfamiliar with an area can find their way. Finding
your own position by referencing landmarks on islands and coastlines has today been
replaced by a position plotted by global navigation satellite systems. However, navigation in unfamiliar waters is difficult even with the help of nautical charts and automatic position fixing. Even if you know the way you need to go in the chart you still
have to deduce steering marks in the terrain leading to your goal. To do that you need
to pay attention to visual as well as other cues, focus on the task, use implicit, explicit
and prospective memory resources. In short you need to pay attention and make
sense of many cues in order to perform safe navigation. It costs cognitive resources.
This is something humans can do very well – but also very badly as inattentiveness
is part of the human condition.
human factorS
The ability to focus and sustain attention on a task is crucial for the achievement of
one’s goals. Although attention span is a complex concept and measures depend on a
lot of different things, a common agreement among researchers is that the time span