The Socio-Technical Analysis Project in Outline

The table below contains information about the various products your team will be required to complete during the term. You will note that the individual product grades only add to 90%. The final 10% of the project grade will come from the rating that your client gives you for your professionalism in interaction and the quality of your report. Individual team member grades will be adjusted plus or minus one latter grade of the total according to my judgment of your contribution to the team, and based on the ratings team members give to each other at the end of the term.

1. Informational Interview Plan

This product is the plan you construct for your first, extensive, informational interview with a principle informant in the STS. You will need to describe the STS from the perspective of your team, and describe the ethical issues you think most likely to be important. The center of your product is the protocol for the interview: what specific questions will you ask (exact wording), in what order, under what conditions. For your presentation, you will need to have a handout of the interview protocol. Design your handout so the sections of the interview are clear and you do not have to read every item on the handout.

2. Data Collection Plan

This product is due just before midterm time, so you will need to plan ahead to have time to construct it. It should provide the workgroup with a complete enough understanding of your data collection plan that they could replicate it for themselves. All your data collection instruments (questionnaires, focus group plans, coding sheets, etc.) should be in close to final form for this report. Your presentation should be accompanied by handouts showing how each of your methods will be implemented, including the actual instruments. The handout should be in a format that, with minimal revision, can serve as an appendix in the final report, including a justification of the methods chosen, and copies of all the instruments.

3. Initial Results Report

This product is due one month after we return from Spring Break. In that time you must have collected the data, analysed it, and written up the results. It should present your framing of the issues you wanted to investigate, a short summary of the methods you used, reasonable detail of the actual results from those methods, and some initial conclusions about their implications for your final report. The presentation should be accompanied by whatever handouts will help listeners quickly grasp the results you present. The handout should take the form of a report that, with minimal revision, could be included in your final report, along with the relevant appendixes.

4. Solutions Report

This is due three weeks before the end of term. This will be your initial presentation of the action items you propose for your client. You should include the data that support your recommendations, and your evaluation of the values and value tradeoffs your recommendation supports.

5. Final Oral Report

This is your presentation of your conclusions to your client. Representatives from Northfield.org will be present, and they will have their own grading rubric to fill out in evaluation of your work.

6. Final Written Report

This is the final report whose format is presented in detail in the text. It should consist of:

1. an executive summary. A one page summary of your report, including the recommendations.
2. a description of the system. A description of the STS in non-academic jargon.
3. the analysis of the results. A report of what data you collected and what it means.
4. recommendations. Specific recommendations in the form of action items
5. a reader’s guide. A guide to additional reading in the area that your client might do.
6. a methodological appendix. Relevant appendices.

Your presentation should be built around your description of the system and your recommendations. Use your results to support your recommendations.

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