This article asserts that system designers need to be aware of (1) the situation(s) from which the components of the model have been elicited (the source situations); (2) the situations to be assisted by the system (the target situations); and (3) the compatibility between the source situations and the target situations in order to assess how applicable a mode of collective memory is for system design. An approach allowing this kind of awareness, the Underlying Situation Awareness Approach, is presented. The use of this approach is illustrated by contrasting the D. Edwards and D. Middleton's (1986) model of conversational remembering with the practices of analysts teams in the Department of Accident Mechanism Analysis of the French National Institute for Transport and Safety Research. (A)
Abstract