Here, the researchers sought to clearly document and identify each actor in the document, noting who they were, what their function/purpose was in the scheme of things, and what in particular they did that was of note. As a later exercise, we also mapped the number of times they were quoted/cited/mentioned in the document.

This second reading really focused on people and institutions. During this reading we highlighted individuals and organisations, then transcribed this data into a table. In this table we identified dates, who the actors were, and what, if anything, they did on their first appearance. Obviously some entries appear regularly throughout the paper so only their first appearance and what they did was noted. An example appears in Table 6.1, “Actors (extract)”.

What is notable in this second cycle is that the researchers decided to formally document all actors that could be identified and to note who they were and what they were involved in at first glance. This new text, a table of actors, is just our ‘apparatus’ as described by Gadamer (Kidder, 1997, p. 1196). It is an aid in the hermeneutic cycle. An interesting side effect of this process has been the disciplined examination of the original text from the viewpoint of documenting all identifiable actors.

The outcome of the development of the table of actors is a better understanding of the history of this project and how it came about, its political basis (the Mayoral elections), its economic basis (the importance of Denver as a hub), and a fair amount of negative references to BAE and the ‘work ethic’.

A number of issues became evident and remained unresolved at this phase. Why were United Airlines clearly committed to the new airport and their own baggage handling system, while Continental seemed an almost disinterested party? Were the authors of the document trying to create an impression that the US airline industry was in disarray? If, as is implied in the document, it is a tradition in the USA that each airline looks after its own baggage handling system, why did DIA push for a single integrated automated baggage handling system?

The understanding developed after this cycle has deepened considerably. It is evident that project controls and coordination were simply not in place, externally imposed deadlines and political imperatives were running roughshod over the management team, and interpersonal conflict was surfacing. The overall impression is one of chaos.

During the creation of this first derivative text document, the researchers became aware of deeper factors at work. It was clear that these extra things would reveal themselves further during the next few cycles. It was like a growing suspicion that there was definitely more to come.