This paper builds on the capability of EAs to define the organization’s systems development environment but places special emphasis on their power as communication tools. The concept of Organizational Self-Awareness (OSA) is offered as the contextual framework for the discussion. OSA is a process which involves, firstly, the efforts of the individual organizational member in getting to know his/her work environment, through sensemaking. Sensemaking is influenced by a number of factors, some related to the individual’s psychological makeup, others related to the individual’s work environment. EAs can play a relevant role in sensemaking. From activity theory the paper highlights the process of consciousness formation in human beings as well as the mediating artefacts that shape and constrain the acquisition, accumulation and development of knowledge and self-knowledge. Among the many mediating artefacts in the work environment EAs are a special type. EAs are also boundary objects due to their distinctive ability to influence perspective making and perspective taking in the process of organizational sensemaking. The paper concludes that the design and use of EAs can play a crucial role in the formation of a collective mind about the state of the organizational processes and therefore about the state of the organization.

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