Workarounds: the benefits and the risks is by Martin White, Visiting Professor at the Information School at the University of Sheffield. The book is free to read online or download, and is published with a Creative Commons CC-BY-NC licence.
In this context, a workaround refers to makeshift methods of bypassing or overcoming problems in organisations, an example being the events that took place after an explosion on the Apollo 13 spacecraft in 1970. The book explores the use of workarounds in different settings, and the associated challenges, benefits and risks.
This is the third book that Martin has published on the Sheffield Pressbooks Network, and you can read Martin’s reflections on using Pressbooks in a blog post from October 2022 about his previous book, A history of enterprise search 1938-2022.
The Sheffield Pressbooks Network has been established to support the creation and adaptation of open textbooks and other open educational resources (OER) by members of the University of Sheffield. If you would be interested in using the platform, please email oer@sheffield.ac.uk. Further information about University Library support for OER is available on the Library website.