# An Activity Theory-Based Approach for Context Analysis, Design and Evolution
## 2 Understanding Socio-Human Activities and the Context
### From Activity Systems to Networks of Activities  
Activity theory provides resources that can be leveraged in challenging situations like those described in the literature of software engineering. These situations have been studied by (i) [PERSON] et al., who postulate a shift in historical approaches to the development of \"_systems_\" ([PERSON] and [PERSON] who, through his sensemaking-coevolution-implementation (SCI) paradigm, has expressed ideas on how products and processes co-evolve, subject to continuous change ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2019).  
These analyses point out the novel dynamics that characterize situations that are unconventional and particularly difficult to explore from a traditional software engineering point of view. In this sense, an activity-centered formalism like activity theory may help to face these challenges due to the fact that \"_activities are not static or rigid entities; they are in continuous change and development_\" ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2019), among other things.  
The general principle is that, by organizing and analyzing the elements involved in an activity system, it is possible to get an idea of an evolutionary development process that includes the overall context of an activity. In other words, by using activity theory, the contexts related to evolving ecologies can be represented in a general and practical way. _But how is this achieved?_  
First, as explained, the primitive unit of analysis in activity theory is the activity system, as it links individual actions to a context (Figure 1). Actions without context (purpose) have no meaning ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2019). Thus, the value of activity theory derives from the analysis of the subject, in compliance with the activity and its object.  
Also, there is a consideration of other elements, such as the tools, and mediators, such as the rules and community. In any case, for real-world systems, there is a need to take the analysis beyond that of a single activity. There are also complex interactions between activities, which lead to their representation as different triangle elements. This constitutes a network of activities (NoA) ([PERSON] and [PERSON], 2019; [PERSON], 2019).  
To understand how the NoA concept works think, for example, of a car assembly line. In this assembly line, each worker contributes individually to assembly pieces that, when integrated as a whole, give final shape to the car (see Figure 2).  
Thus, some workers place doors, wheels, engines, etc. Each one carries out an activity with the aim of achieving a particular objective, has the tools to do it, follows some rules, and knows the details of the specific job. The joint and collaborative work of all workers leads to the collective materialization of a car.  
However simplistic this example looks, the NoA concept has been applied, as shown in the works of [PERSON]. [PERSON] [33], [PERSON] [31], and [PERSON] [25], to real-world complex situations, such as hospital management. In this way, the network of activities (NoA) provides a better model for unifying and organizing the actions, purposes, and objectives of designers, stakeholders and, generally speaking, users.  
This is because, through the NoA approach, it is possible to understand the activities of different groups and to carry out a multifaceted analysis of the information and the dynamics shared among activities.  
Another important point is that, by using an NoA, it is possible to evaluate contradictions, leading to some fluidity in the design of the requested artifact (software/hardware/social) within its context model.  
Thus, as networks are built, measures are established to mediate and drive the evolution of the different components (subjects, tools, rules, etc.) and their interconnections. Consequently, we propose to use NoA's to operationalize, from a practical standpoint, the design and development of tasks. The next subsection presents how activity theory and the use of NoA's provide methodological and practical value for dealing with socio-technical ecologies.