Crowdsourcing 'just in time' knowledge at workplace : aligned with the development of smart mobile devices

The use of technology across a number of domains and facets is widespread. It is predicted by Forrester that almost half (42%) of the entire world’s population, by the end of 2015, will own a smart phone. Furthermore, during the last ten years, there has been much development in the communication arena as a direct result of smart mobile technologies, including within the work setting, thus facilitating a greater degree of communication and information-sharing capacity in work communities. Nonetheless, it remains that not all the features and tools offered by this technology are utilised, which predominantly is owing to the lack of insight and understanding of users. Accordingly, we argue that people sharing knowledge in the workplace are sharing all the knowledge they are aware of in the most effective way, because it is shared in the situation where they naturally experience problems -at the workplace. Owing to the universal nature inherent in this technology, it is considered pivotal that smart phone technology goes hand-in-hand with intrinsic support. Importantly, however, if not altogether lacking, this is very often inadequate. However, adopting mobile technology within the workplace setting can give rise to challenges that impact user behaviour and performance. Four studies were conducted with the aim of examining how employees address and manage problems on a smart mobile device (SMD) and accordingly aim at overcoming the issue. The first three studies considered provides valuable input for the researcher that was recognised as required in the fourth research. The third study was carried out amongst 90 participants located in two countries, using internet connectivity, as a case study. Confidence and frustration have previously been connected with technology competence, but this was not applied to a workplace scenario during problem-solving, when users are assigned an unfamiliar smart mobile device. This research focuses on identifying the link between workplace users’ levels of confidence and frustration when seeking to independently solve problems whilst completing familiar tasks on new smart mobile devices. A detailed video analysis of users’ attitudes and behaviour during problem- solving was conducted, highlighting a correlation between attitudes and behaviour towards completing a task. When reviewing and considering the findings from the first researches, the criteria for a universal crowdsourcing solution were identified. In the final of the studies, users across different levels of technology experiences and from varying job roles in different departments in a firm were brought together to form a collaborative community referred to as YourSpace designed and implemented for this thesis. To this end, the subjects were grouped across three progressive levels of a knowledge management framework devised for this specific study, namely Pedagogy (engagement), Andragogy (cultivation) and Heutagogy (realisation) levels. The employees of Malta International Airport were permitted to utilise YourSpace for a one- week period, during which time there was an assessment of its adoption within the work setting. Methodology validation in this thesis was carried out through the considered design of a tablet-based research instrument that encompassed a characteristic facilitating knowledge-capture. This was achieved through taking YourSpace and accordingly utilising its peer-to-peer support communities. An innovative method is introduced through improving modern-day global technology in a number of ways: firstly, by further expanding works carried out in the social media domain, specifically by capturing Just in Time knowledge when seeking to overcome obstacles in the work environment; secondly, by providing a crowdsourcing instrument with the capacity to capture Just in Time knowledge in an organic work setting through gaining insight into individuals’ characteristics and their within-community interactions throughout the process; and thirdly, by examining the behaviours and perspectives of users when seeking to overcome common issues experienced when utilising an unfamiliar device. The results highlighted provide a crowdsourced Just in Time support solution, which could prove pivotal in overcoming problems through the provision of a collaborative framework that supports the gathering of knowledge that is not dependent on technology experience.