Software by Design Shaping Technology and The Workplace

by Salzman, Harold; Rosenthal, Stephen R.

• ISBN13: 9780195083408
• ISBN10: 0195083407
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1994-01-06
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

As computers become more and more integral to business and other organizational operations around the world, software design must increasingly meet the social demands of the workplace. This book provides an informative, cogent examination of how various social factors--such as organizational structure, workplace relations, and market conditions--together shape software developers' technical design decisions. Through a survey of major software companies and in-depth case studies of the banking, hospital, and equipment field service industries, the authors identify factors that influence specific design strategies and examine the significant consequences that engineering decisions have on users' work, workplace quality of life, and opportunities for autonomy and skill development. The book concludes with a chapter devoted to exploring how a progressive design approach can improve both the performance and working conditions of an organization. By providing an important empirical study of the social construction of technology, the authors offer an insightful understanding of the challenges inherent in effective software design. The book will appeal to professionals and students in software design, information systems management, computer science, and the sociology of work and technology.

Author Biography

Harold Salzman is Director of the Technology, Work, and Organizations Program at the University of Louisville Center for Urban and Economic Research.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Structuring Technology and the Workplace

Social Shaping of Technology

Software in the Workplace

The Structure of Software Design

Case Studies of Software Design

Banking and a Tale of Two Systems

Field Service Systems

The Computer System and the Hospital

Software Design, Social Choices, and the Workplace

Implications for Management and for Further Research on Technology Design

Understanding and Managing Software

Social Dimensions of Software Design

Appendices

Outline of the Research Project

Teaching Cases on Software Design and Use

Branch Office Automation in Banking

Design Decisions for the New Banking Environment

Field Service and the Art of Automation

Systems Design and Medical Practice in a Hospital

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