Motivation -This research deals with the identification of collective production of a safe radiotherapy treatment and its potential assistance through computer-supported environments. It takes place at the beginning of a four years design project involving software companies and and scientific and clinical institutions. Research approach -This work presents an exploratory analysis of cooperation between the four professionals involved in the production of radiotherapy treatment. Our general research objective is to investigate how to support managed safety in the design of a computer-supported cooperative environment. Uses and functions of cooperative tools have been outlined through observations and the "think aloud" technique. Findings/Design -We identify three types of cooperation tools (computer-based tools, including an existing workflow, unformal verbal exchanges, and the patient body) involved in the production of a safe treatment. Their main functions are: to produce shareable data between professionals, to share the progress in the construction of a treatment and to share procedures and work practices. Research limitations/Implications -This paper aims at contributing to the articulation of two research approaches: CSCW and safety in healthcare. Originality/Value -Our study reveals informal strategies that participate to a "managed" healthcare safety performed by professionals. Take away message -Our work may contribute to transform the initial technocentric approach of the design project into a more anthropocentric design project and flexible CSCW tool.

This communication deals with the involvement of ergonomists in a research-action design process of a software platform in radiotherapy. The goal of the design project is to enhance patient safety by designing a workflow software that supports cooperation between professionals producing treatment in radiotherapy. The general framework of our approach is the ergonomics management of a design process, which is based in activity analysis and grounded in participatory design. Two fields are concerned by the present action: a design environment which is a participatory design process that involves software designers, caregivers as future users and ergonomists; and a reference real work setting in radiotherapy. Observations, semi-structured interviews and participatory workshops allow the characterization of activity in radiotherapy dealing with uses of cooperative tools, sources of variability and non-ruled strategies to manage the variability of the situations. This production of knowledge about work searches to enhance the articulation between technocentric and anthropocentric approaches, and helps in clarifying design requirements. An issue of this research-action is to develop a framework to define the parameters of the workflow tool, and the conditions of its deployment.

L’objectif de ce travail est de caractériser les pratiques de coopération asynchrone de manipulateurs en radiothérapie afin de garantir la qualité de ce traitement. Il s’inscrit dans le cadre d’un projet industriel visant à concevoir un outil informatisé d’assistance au travail coopératif (outil de workflow) en radiothérapie. La méthodologie utilisée est composée d’observations de l’ensemble du processus de traitement et d’entretiens auprès des manipulateurs en radiothérapie, présents dans les phases aval et amont du traitement. Les résultats décrivent la nature et la fonction des coopérations asynchrones entre manipulateurs. Ces coopérations ont pour but de gérer la variabilité liée au patient et l’organisation des séances de traitement afin de garantir une prise en charge de qualité. Ils ouvrent des perspectives portant sur la prise en compte de ces pratiques de coopération asynchrone dans la conception des outils d’aide au travail coopératif en milieu médical.