Paper short abstract:

‘Biographies of artefacts’ are the outcomes of multiple overlapping biographies of things, visions, alliances etc, and the people who try to carry forward innovation We explore issues & advantages of following the wandering careers of these individuals as they facilitate long haul innovation.

Paper long abstract:

When we study the biographies of artefacts through unfolding innovation and appropriation we are in fact studying multiple overlapping biographies - of things, of programmes, visions, models and representations, and importantly, the people, engineers especially, who carry forward research, development, networks, use cases and memory of success and failures. As significant new innovations develop, we find these people moving from failed project to new opportunity, one generation of system to the next, from supply side to user side, sometimes for decades. This paper explores some of the methodological issues and advantages of following the careers of these individuals and the role their play in facilitating long-haul innovation.