Resourceful Sensemaking in Product Development Teams

In this paper we attempt to bridge the gap between theory and practice by developing the concept of `resourceful sensemaking'.1 Resourceful sensemaking is the ability to appreciate the perspectives of others and use this understanding to enact horizon-expanding discourse. Using a critical events technique, we assess the resourcefulness of the sensemaking activities of individuals in interdisciplinary product development teams. Data include researchers' and stakeholders' observations of teams in action, careful reviews of documents and questionnaires completed by team members and selected stakeholders, and interviews with team members and other stakeholders during, and six months after completion of, the projects. We focus attention on the articulation of the resourceful sensemaking concept rather than on the formulation of testable propositions. We end the paper with a discussion of the implications of our study for work organizations using interdisciplinary product development teams.