Abstract
An important distinction was drawn by Zuboff (1988) between technology which automates (i.e. provides a means of performing physical tasks), and technology which ‘infomates’ (i.e. provides a means of performing information-processing tasks). It is particularly relevant in this book, where we take a number of different perspectives on design. However, our concern here is primarily with technology which infomates. Humans use information in their interaction with technology and the nature and quality of the information that passes between the human and the systems, and between the humans operating the technology, is critical to system design. In some respects, human factors could be viewed as the science of effective information communication (Oborne, 1995). In the description of systems in Chapter 1, information is exchanged between components in the system during operation. In order to maximise system efficiency, it is important to ensure that the appropriate information is passed to the appropriate components at the right time. Taking the system description used in this book (physical, operational, environmental and social), we can ask what information will be used at these levels of description, and how to ensure appropriate communication.
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© 1999 Springer-Verlag London
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Noyes, J., Baber, C. (1999). What Will the System Be Used For?. In: User-Centred Design of Systems. Applied Computing. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0537-4_3
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-0537-4_3
Publisher Name: Springer, London
Print ISBN: 978-3-540-76007-8
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