Sociotechnical Ecologies in Data Work : An Ethnographic Case Study on Early-Stage Adoption of the Data Mesh

Sammanfattning

This ethnographic case study seeks to understand and analyse the data mesh, a socio-technical framework that has gained prominence in the field of data science. In doing so, it aims to contribute to ongoing research in HumanComputer Interaction (HCI) and Computer-Supported Cooperative Work (CSCW), which increasingly focus on interactions with data in industrial settings, as well as to the field of Human-Centred Artificial Intelligence (HCAI), which evaluates the conditions and technological readiness of systems navigating the rapid proliferation of AI and related tools. The study focuses on data workers working as part of teams responsible for analytics at Scania AB, examining how they operate within the mesh during its early stages of adoption. To achieve this, the research employs a rapid ethnography, a time-deepening approach that captures rich qualitative data, followed by thematic analysis. The findings offer directional perspectives on the role of the data mesh in shaping and disseminating data literacy, preventing data cascades, and supporting the inherently proximal nature of data work.