Information, artefacts and management strategies: the personal perspective

A study was undertaken to explore the artefacts and strategies used by mobile workers to manage their information. Using over 40 semi-structured interviews, a number of common features were found to hold across the sample group both in terms of the information that was maintained and the reasons why it was carried. These results suggest that there is a rich diversity of strategies for managing personal information, which may be embodied in common artefacts such as diaries and address books. Consequently, these results have a significant impact for the design of electronic devices for personal information management.