HIGH DEGREES OF PERFECTION , FOR INSTANCE THOSE THAT ADAPT THE COMPUTER SYSTEMS TO THE DYNAMIC PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENTS IN PLANTS . UNDOUBTEDLY , THE TECHNIQUES DEVELOPED WILL SPIN OFF TO SUCH DOMAINS AS OFFICE SYSTEM SECURITY AND HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACES .
R AND D AREA 4.1 : OFFICE SYSTEMS SCIENCE AND HUMAN FACTORS
DESCRIPTION
THIS RESEARCH PROGRAMME HAS BEEN DEVISED TO GIVE A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT . OFFICES ARE THE " NERVOUS SYSTEM " OF ANY ENTERPRISE . THESE MUST BE ORGANIZED , STAFFED AND EQUIPPED FOR EFFECTIVE AND EFFICIENT OPERATION , AND INTERFACED WITH OTHER BRANCHES OF THE ENTERPRISE ( SUCH AS RESEARCH LABORATORIES AND MANUFACTURING ) AND THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT .
AT PRESENT THE UNDERSTANDING OF THIS FIELD IS PATCHY . THERE IS NO FORMAL SCIENCE OF OFFICE AUTOMATION AS THERE IS FOR PRODUCTION AUTOMATION . THIS PROGRAMME , HOWEVER , MAKES POSSIBLE COHERENT APPROACHES TO ON THE PROBLEMS , RANGING FROM EMPIRICAL STUDIES TO CONSISTENT OPERATIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS AND DEFINITION OF COMPUTER-BASED ANALYSIS AND DESIGN TOOLS .
CONSISTENT WITH THIS APPROACH , THE MAIN AREAS IDENTIFIED ARE ( A ) OFFICE SYSTEMS ANALYSIS , ( B ) OFFICE SYSTEMS DESIGN , ( C ) HUMAN FACTORS AND ( D ) THE POSSIBLE APPLICATION OF KNOWLEDGE BASED METHODS . THE ANALYSIS PART OF THE PROGRAMME DELIVERS USEFUL INPUT FOR THE DESIGN ORIENTED PHASES .
IT IS EVIDENT THAT THE INCORPORATION OF HUMAN FACTORS , ESPECIALLY INTO A TECHNOLOGY-ORIENTED PROGRAMME IS AN ESSENTIAL PREREQUISITE FOR EFFECTIVE USE AND A BROAD ACCEPTANCE OF THE ENVISAGED SYSTEMS AND THUS FOR THEIR FINAL ECONOMIC SUCCESS . THE RESEARCH PROGRAMME THEREFORE INCLUDES SPECIFIC RESEARCH PROJECTS ON HUMAN FACTORS RELATED TO THE OFFICE ENVIRONMENT AND THIS LEADS TO PROGRAMMES FOR COGNITIVE ASPECTS TOGETHER WITH WORK STRUCTURING , QUALIFICATION AND TRAINING . HUMAN FACTORS LABORATORIES ARE ALSO SEEN AS KEY COMPETENCE CENTERS AND KATALYSERS , OFFERING THE POSSIBILITY OF UNBIAISED JUDGMENT ABOUT EXPERIMENTAL SYSTEMS AND ON COMMERCIAL PRODUCTS .
R AND D AREA TOPICS
THE TOPICS TO BE STUDIED IN THIS AREA INCLUDE :
4.1.1 . OFFICE SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
- OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF OFFICE REQUIREMENTS
- BENEFITS ANALYSIS
- A GLOSSARY OF AGREED TERMINOLOGY
- ANALYSIS OF HUMAN TASKS WITHIN THE OFFICE
4.1.2 . OFFICE SYSTEMS DESIGN
- OFFICE SYSTEM DESIGN METHODOLOGY
- MODELLING AND SIMULATION OF OFFICE INFORMATION SYSTEMS
- TRANSACTION MONITOR
- DETERMINISTIC AND JUDGEMENTAL FUNCTIONS
- TECHNIQUES FOR USER INTERFACE DESIGN
4.1.3 . HUMAN FACTORS
- HUMAN FACTORS LABORATORIES ( TYPE A )
- HUMAN-MACHINE COGNITIVE COMPATIBILITY
- QUALIFICATION AND WORK
- USER AIDS AND LEARNING TOOLS
- HUMAN-MACHINE INTERFACE SPECIFICATION LANGUAGE
- NATURAL LANGUAGE INTERPRETATION AND PRODUCTION
TOPIC DESCRIPTIONS
4.1.1 . OFFICE SYSTEMS ANALYSIS
. OPERATIONAL AND FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF OFFICE REQUIREMENTS .
STANDARD FUNCTIONS IN AN OFFICE ARE IDENTIFIED TO REDUCE THE REQUIREMENTS FOR CUSTOMIZATION . A CLASSIFICATION OF FUNCTIONS AND THEIR INTERDEPENDENCIES IS TO PROVIDE CLUES FOR TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS .
.1 . " FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS OF OFFICE REQUIREMENTS " ( REF . 56 : B/83