Deconstructing the Text: the human/ machine paradox in technical documentation

This paper is an empirical study that deconstructs a technical document to empirically extend an earlier theoretical proposition – that argued that an imbalance exists between the dichotomous presentation of human and machine language utilised when constructing technical documents in Information Systems development and implementation. By drawing on writings from critical and cultural theory this paper applies theories of post-structural analysis to the United Kingdom division of a multi-national firm’s user documentation for an Intranet system. The paper does this by presenting the background to the theory of post-structural analysis itself and then discussing why and how this particular deconstruction has been carried out. The paper draws on exemplars from the data obtained from the research site to deconstruct the text’s presentation of human to machine relations. Finally the paper provides an alternative representation of this particular technical text as the necessary application of the poststructuralist imperative. It is argued that to enact change in technical documentation practices the dominant presentation of the human to machine relationship in Information Systems practices must be challenged. This practical example attempts to disrupt and illustrate how existent dominant power relations in Information Systems development can be challenged.