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The existing relationship and interaction between individuals’ contexts and their personal dimensions give rise to information needs. When considering Leckie et al.’s (1996) findings, consulting engineers need and use a lot of information. As shown in Chapter 3 (section 3.5.), engineers’ information needs result from contextual elements, as well as from their personal dimensions. Literature in this regard will be discussed consequently.

4.6.1 Contextual factors

In his discussion on the context in which information needs arise, Savolainen (2012) identified three contextual factors that determine information needs. These include situation of action, tasks and dialogue.

4.6.1.1 Situation of action

Situation of action is the first contextual determinant of information needs that was identified by Savolainen (2012). As described in Chapter 3 (section 3.5), the concept “situation of action” refers to those circumstances from which an information need arises. From the discussion thus far in this chapter, it seems as if certain elements in a consulting industry and the work environment of consulting engineers determine the “situation of action” that gives rise to information needs. The following examples of elements in the consulting industry that seem to shape consulting engineers’ information needs were reported on:

• organisational factors, such as organisational values, beliefs, goals and processes (Zhang & Benjamin 2007); and organisational rules and resources (Allen & Wilson 2003; Rosenbaum 1993; Rosenbaum 1996; Solomon 1997) • industry-wide infrastructure (Lamb, King & Kling 2003)

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• the client organisation’s needs and expectations (Sturdy, Handley, Clark & Fincham 2009)

• legal knowledge for the preparation and dealing with contractual agreements (CESA, 2003a).

Similar to the information needs that are prompted by elements in the consulting

industry, certain elements in the consulting engineering context also seem to give rise to information needs. These include the engineering project, where the engineering project determines the “situation of action” in which the information needs arise. Each

engineering project also includes elements that can be derived from the consulting industry, such as contractual agreements and client needs. In addition to the aforementioned elements, Du Preez (2008) also determined that the geographic location of the project could determine needs for specific types of information and the need to communicate information to team members by using electronic media such as faxes and emails.

In addition to what was reported on engineers’ information needs in the discussion on situation of action, Gralewska-Vickery (1976: 266-267) also noted consulting engineers’ need for business information. She observed that consulting engineers need to sustain their relationships with their business contacts, as these engineers rely on their contacts with prospective users of their services. This implies that engineers need to find their contacts and sustain their relationships (i.e. both personal and business) with them to ensure the contacts’ continued use of their services through the renewal of work relations in new engineering projects. Savolainen (2009: 39) described the networks that develop in this manner as interpersonal networks of co-workers.

The reported findings on consulting engineers’ information needs are summarised by Ward’s (2001: 172) findings that pragmatic needs, rather than the intrinsic nature of information sources and services, determined engineers’ information seeking. These findings endorse Thomas Allen (1977) and Ellis and Haugan’s (1997) findings,

indicating that the context or situation in which an information need arises determines the information-seeking path and the information that is required by the engineer.

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4.6.1.2 Tasks

Tasks are the second contextual determinant of information needs identified by

Savolainen (2012). In the literature addressing consulting engineers’ information needs, Du Preez (2008: 315) identified some task-related factors that affect consulting

engineers’ information needs. The task-related factors she identified include the context of the task, task complexity and the importance of the information to the task. As shown in Chapter 3 (section 3.5.2.1), the context of engineering tasks and the complexity thereof determine the nature of the information that is required, as well as the courses of action that are taken to provide in the engineers’ information needs. Du Preez (2008: 320) also reported that tasks can become routine when consulting engineers are

involved in a number of similar projects. In repetitive tasks, consulting engineers seldom needed additional or new information but relied to a greater extent on their personal knowledge and experience. In her findings, Du Preez (2008: 320-321) linked the importance of information in complex tasks to factors such as the availability and

accessibility of information. The availability or accessibility of information therefore were also factors that prompted information needs.

4.6.1.3 Dialogue

Dialogue is the last contextual element of information needs identified by Savolainen (2012). The need for dialogue was discussed in Chapter 3 (section 3.5.1.3) in relation to engineering projects and engineers’ need to communicate project-related information with fellow team members. Allen (1970 in Veshoshky 1998: 59) noted that, due to the contextual nature of engineering, engineers find it difficult to communicate with external colleagues about a problem. He suggested that this is because they need to convey contextual information to enable the colleague to understand the problem.

Consulting engineers seem to have another reason for dialogue (or communication). This was highlighted by CESA (2003a: 2) and was not previously mentioned by the three studies focusing on consulting engineer’s information behaviour. That is a need for consulting engineers to understand what their clients want. This need for specific project information and an understanding of clients’ needs, can only be satisfied through

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dialogue, or communication between consulting engineer and client. In addition to acquiring project-specific information, Gralewska-Vickery (1976: 266) observed that consulting engineers have to represent the client on projects and communicate project information to a number or persons (stakeholders). These persons include contractors, manufacturers and suppliers. Du Preez (2008: 239, 299, 331) and Ward (2001: 170) reported similar findings on the need to communicate with stakeholders on an

engineering project.

4.6.2 Personal dimension

From the discussion on the consulting industry and consulting engineering, it is evident that consulting engineers need to ensure that their conceptual knowledge remains up to date with the latest developments in their field of engineering. As Glückler and

Armbrüster (2003) stated, consulting is a process of mutual learning. In addition to their need to remain updated on developments in their field, consulting engineers need to reduce the uncertainties that develop in their work environment. In order to deal with some of the uncertainties, consulting engineers need to build their clients’ trust in their abilities (Glückler & Armbrüster 2003) and sustain their relationships with their clients (Gralewska-Vickery 1976). When viewed as a means to reduce uncertainties, trust can be viewed as a factor that supports consulting engineers in reducing feelings of

uncertainty.

4.6.3 Reflection on information needs

In view of the discussion in Chapter 3, as well as the discussion on the consulting

industry and consulting engineering (sections 4.5 and 4.5), a profile (Table 4.1) could be compiled to graphically illustrate those factors in the engineering context in general, and in the consulting industry, which affect consulting engineers’ information needs.

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Table 4.1: A profile of consulting engineers’ information needs

A PROFILE OF CONSULTING ENGINEERS’ INFORMATION NEEDS

Contextual Factors

INFORMATION NEEDS

Context Personal Dimension

Situation

of action Tasks Dialogue Cognitive Affective

Engineering

environment Profession ● ● ●

Engineering

disciplines ● ● ●

Engineering

practice Engineering designs ● ●

Service delivery ● ● ● Team work ● ● Information flow ● ● Work roles ● Tasks Task complexity ● Task performance ● Projects ● ● ● Personal

dimension Cognitive phenomena ●

Conative phenomena Affective phenomena CONSULTING INDUSTRY Contextual Organisations ● ● ● ● Contracts ● ● ● Tasks ● ● Personal ● Consulting engineering Projects ● ● ● ● ● Work roles ● ● ● Tasks ● ● ● Personal Dimension Cognitive ● ● Conative ● ● Affective ● ●

As in Table 3.1, the suggested profile in Table 4.1 shows that elements in the consulting industry, as well as the work environment of the consulting engineer, affect the three different types of contextual information needs. In addition to the different types of contextual information needs, the consulting industry could also prompt affective information needs. Table 4.1 highlights some of the elements in the consulting

engineers’ context and their personal dimension (cognitive and conative phenomena) that give rise to their information needs. It seems evident that consulting engineers’ information needs are prompted by situations and situational and cognitive needs. Elements in the personal dimension, such as the need to remain updated and to build

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trusting relationships, are other important triggers to information needs, as suggested by Savolainen (2012).