THE COURSE OF ACTION AND THE DESIGN OF CO MPUTER-ASSISTED COORDINATION - THE CASE OF THE REGULATION OF RER

How is a current incident in traffic regulation on a parisian subway m anaged? Conducted by two ergonomists, this empirical analysis of colle ctive actions is grounded in a constructivist model, the concept of co urse of action, and a methodology combining observations, recordings a nd selfconfrontations. Concrete recommendations are made for orienting the design of traffic-control installations with computer assistance in coordinating actors - an alternative to the ''cognitive crutches'' now being proposed.