Table Of ContentINFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND PEOPLE:
DESIGNING FOR THE FUTURE
EDITED BY
FRANK BLACKLER & DAVID OBORNE
DESIGNING FORTHE FUTURE
EDlTEDBY
Frank Bladder and David Oborne
~BRITISH PSYCHOLOGICAL SOCIETY
(Q Tht' British r~ychlilogic~1I s.ocwty, 1981
F~ ~ition publish~ in 196'7 by The Briti5h Psycfwlosic.ll SocWIy, 51 And~
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PREFACE
For the foreseeable future, information technology is likely to be one
ofthe mostpotent growth areas inadvanced industrialized countries.
Indeed it is now widely recognized that long-term economic pros
perity will crucially depend upon people's success in developing,
mastering, exploiting and marketing information systems.
Although the argument for the rapid development and introduc
(In
tion of information technology into the many aspects of our
everyday existence is extremely strong, unfortunately it remains the
case that at present the technology is being used cffcctively by only a
small proportion of the people who could benefit from it. As the
chapters in this book illustrate, examples of wasted resources, time
and effort as a 'result of poor IT application or implementation are
legion. Many countries and institutions are now asking why the
mismatch between predicted benefits and actual performance has
occured. This book suggests an approach to answering such ques
tions.
The message of the volume is clear. It is that previous attempts to
apply and implement IT into many different types of setting have
been doomed from the beginning because, typically, one crucial
component has been mismanaged: people. No matter how well
engineered ITsystems (hardware, firmware, software) may be, they
remain totallyinanimate untilpeopleareintroduced. Unless thenew
technologiesaredesigned and introduced with anappreciationofthe
needs and reactions of those who will use and be affected by them,
the chances that they will operate effectively are slight.
It is people who have to operate systems built around the new
technologies, and who have to interact with them to make them
function. It is people who have to accept the systems and their
intrusion into workand home. It is people who areoftencalled on to
adapttheir habits to thedictates ofthesystem, and whooftencannot
do so. The simple answer to the questions that are currently being
posed about the effectiveness of IT systems is that if people do not,
v
viIPreface
will not or cannot do these things then the systems will not function
adequately; indeed, they may not function at all.
In short, the application of knowledge about human behaviour,
actions, thoughts, feelings, education, etc., has often been insuf
ficient or missing. This is both unfortunate and unnecessary, for
sophisticated behavioural models and methods are nowavailable. As
the chapters in this volume indicate, psychological approaches have
much to offer both in predicting and understanding users' potential
needs and problems, and in developing new approaches to the
crucial issues of technological design and management.
Frank Blackler
David J. Oborne
CONTENTS
Preface v
The Editors
1 Psychology and Information Technology 1
Jail Howarth, University of Nottingham
Part One
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND
ORGANIZATIONS
2 Management, Organizations and the New
Technologies 23
Frank Blackler and ColinBreton, Ullh'Crsity of Lancaster
3 Managing Factory Automation 45
Christopher Clegg and TobyD. Wall, MRC/ESRC Social and
AppliedPsychologyUnit, Ulliversity of Sheffield
4 Ergonomics and the New Technologies 65
DavidJ. Oborne, University Collegeof Suansca
5 Office Systems 85
BruceChristie, City of London Polvtcchnicand Margaret M.
Gardiner, Communicon Ltd.
Part Two
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN HEALTH
AND EDUCATION
6 The Development and Use of Information Technology
in Health Care 105
Michaelf. Fitter, MRC/ESRCSocialandApplied Psychology
Unit, Ullh'Crsity ofSheffield
7 Expert Systems in the Health Field 129
RussellThomas, Ullil'ersityof Warwick
8 The Disabled 149
Gerald W. Hales, Instituteof Educational Techllology,
TheOpen Uniuersits;
9 The Computer in the Classroom: A Force for
Chance? 167
Ceoffre!/ Underwoodand [can O.M. Undencood, Ullit'crsity of
Nottillgham
vii
viii
Part Three
SOCIElY AND THE NEW TECHNOLOGIES
10 Attitudes to Information Technology 193
Nigel Kemp, Thonr EM/, Detxlopmcnt CentreSIGMA
11 Information Technology and Home-Based Services:
Improving the Usability of Teleshopping 211
JohnLong, Ergonomics Unit, Uniocrsitv College London
12 Information Technology in fhe Home: Promises
as yet Unrealized 231
NeilPrude, Ulliversity CollegeCardiff
Postscript 251
Frank Blacklerand Davidf. Oborne
Index 259
PSYCHOLOGY AND INFORMATION
TECHNOLOGY
Ian Howarth
BACKGROUND: THE ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF
THE HUMAN FACTOR
There is no doubt that the economic performance of developed
countries will be critically affected by their success in mastering,
exploiting and marketing new developments in information technol
ogy. Our principal competitors may be advancing more rapidly than
the UKin theeconomicexploitationof information technology.There
isunfortunately very clear evidence, overthe past five years, that UK
manufacturers are taking a declining proportion of both home and
overseas marketsin ITproducts.This relativedecline appears to have
many causes, including short - sighted investment policies and too
few resources habitually devoted to technical research and develop
ment by both government and industry in the UK. These problems
are well known and efforts are being made to solve them. There is,
however, considerably less appreciation of the greater efforts which
ourcompetitors devote to humanfactors researchin the development
of new products, and ofthe greatercare which they take over human
aspects of the exploitation of new technology. As a result their
products tend to be more 'user friendly' in the sense that individuals
feel more comfortable with them and organizations can integrate
them more easily into their continuing activities.
With government support the Alvey research programme in infor
mation technology has stimulated new developments in design and
manufacturing techniques. It has also supported some research on
psychological aspects of the man-machine interfaceand of intelligent
2iianHowarth
knowledge-basedsystems. Surveysofthe workofthe Alvey Director
ate and plans.for a continuation of its work (for example Executive
Summary of After Alvey Workshops 6-8 January 1986)suggest that
relatively more effort should be devoted to research on the psycho
logical factors limiting the exploitation of information technology.
The prime purpose of this book is to survey what is already
understood about human factors in relation to information tech
nology. A secondary purpose is to consider how this understanding
can be translated into economically effective action.
In this chapter Idiscuss possible strategies for exploiting what we
already know and for seeking new knowledge about the human
factor. Among other things, I hope to convince non-psychologists
such as politicians, industrialists, civil servants and engineers that
psychologistshaveimportantroles to playin theproperdevelopment
and use of information technology.
Let us consider the phrase 'user friendly' more analytically. There
is no doubt it has been over-used and used rather carelessly. Some
would like to replaceitby the singleword 'usability'. Whichever term
is preferred, what matter are the ideas which it summarizes. Well
designed technology should be easily understood; easy to use, with a
low probabilityof error; easily mastered, with a minimum of training
by the peoplewho need to useit;easy tomaintainand to modify; and
with virtues which are so manifestly apparent that itwill be relatively
easy tosell. This will requirenotonly well-designed inputand output
devices such as keyboards, lightpens, visualdisplaysand robot arms,
but also an easily understandable 'logic' in the working of the total
system.
That is a formidable list of virtues to be summarized by the single
word 'usability' or the single phrase 'user friendly'. But all these
virtues are likely to follow if the 'human factor' has been taken into
account in the design and use of the technology. When our competi
tors' products are more attractive, easier to use, more adaptable, less
disruptive of other activities, easier to maintain, Of, in a word, more
marketable than our own, it will be because they have been more
successful thanourselves in theiruse ofpsychological knowledgeand
in evaluating the behavioural and organizational effects of their
designs.
The application of psychological techniques in the development
and use of information technologies is the subject matter of later
chapters. In thischapterIconsidervarious ways in which technology
maybe made more or less userfriendly. Theserangefrom learningby
experience, in a rather amateur fashion, to employing professionally
Psychologyand IIlfvrlllil/ioll TCc!lI/oloSY/3
trained psychologists. In this country we have tended to distrust
professionals, whether they be scientists, engineers or economists.
Fortunately the cult of the amateurislessbigoted than in the pastand
there is an increasing understanding of the need for adequately
trained scientists and engineers in technically innovative industrial
developments. However, a surprising number of people, including
many scientists, engineers and managers still adopt an amateurish
approach to human factors. As long as this attitude continues, our
competitors are likely to produce products which are more 'user
friendly' and hence more successful than our own.
How, then, should we approach the human factors problem posed
by information technology?
LEARN FROM EXPERIENCE
This isa very common strategy. Itis like theapproach to engineering
of the buildersofmedievalcathedrals. When acathedralfelldown,as
theyquite frequently did, the next cathedral was made slightly more
sturdy. When one stood fora hundred years, the builders attempted
something a little moreadventurous and delicatelysoaring.Thesame
approach to bridge building was adopted between Roman times and
the eighteenth century. Eventually, Newtonian mathematics was
applied to thedesign ofload-bearing structuresand itwas recognized
that professional civil engineers were the best people to do the
necessary calculations. As a result, the design of buildings and
bridges has changed rapidly and with relatively few disasters.
That comparison is not quite fair since we all learn much more by
experience about our own humanity and the humanity of other
people than we do about the load-bearing character of different
physical structures. We are allamateur psychologists during most of
our waking lives, but amateur engineers only rarely. However, no
matter how good we become at understanding people in their habit
ualenvironments, experience is notsogood a guide when we seek to
predict how people will behave in novel environments.
The speed of developments in information technology produces
new environments, particularly new working environments, more
rapidly than at any period in our history. The changes are so rapid
that experience is a fallible guide and like the medieval masons we
have had our disasters. We shallofcourse learn from them.
The Swansea Licensing Centre for motor vehicle driver licences
was intended to simplify the issuing of driver licences, since all
