Field to file: A tool for activity documentation work in remote mobility environments

Abstract

Previous studies have identified that activity documentation of mobile workers is carried out during three different documentation stages: before (pre-), during (at-) and after (post-) fieldwork activities. The first stage includes fieldwork planning and equipment preparation for the job, the second includes both an informative meeting about the activities that will take place during fieldwork and the fieldwork activities themselves, while the third and final stage includes the preparation and delivery of a report generated with the information collected during fieldwork. Based on this understanding, these studies have proposed a number of features to include in a tool that seeks to support the documentation of this type of work, including support for fixed and mobile modes of work and seamless access to information across stages and modes of work. In this paper we present the design and evaluation of a prototype tool named Field to File, which seeks to support activity documentation of workers in remote mobile environments that have not been augmented with technology. © 2011 Springer-Verlag.