A Research Perspective on Computer-Assisted Office Work

of the future that relies upon computerized applications for most routine work will have to be a friendly system that can be used by individuals with a minimum of training and no previous computing experience. A discussion of the computer-assisted aids to ofice work that have evolved at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center provides a preview of the possibilities for future ofice systems based on computers. We describe tasks that have been computerized, the environment in which automated ofice applications are used, and the reactions of people who use the computer for routine ofice work. Where interactive computing systems are available, there are often prototypical components of the office of the future. As a natural outgrowth of the availability of interactive systems and display terminals, a variety of office tasks have been " computerized " for the convenience of individuals at the IBM Thomas J. paper reviews the automated office procedures that exist at the research facility in Yorktown and offers observations regarding their acceptance by the user community. The applications discussed in this paper are used in real, working offices in a research laboratory. They do not exist in a test atmosphere ; rather they are important facilities that enhance productivity and enable deadlines to be met. As a matter of convenience, the office applications have been made available on the large computer systems installed at the site for scientific computing. Most of them could just as easily be offered on much smaller computers. In 1970 interactive computing services at Yorktown were used only by programmers and a few scientists. In eight years, the services provided by the Computing Center at the site have evolved into general facilities used routinely by hundreds of scientists and administrative personnel. As part of this evolution, Copying is permitted without payment of royalty provided that (1) each reproduction is done without alteration and (2) the Journal reference and IBM copyright notice are included on the first page. The title and abstract may be used without further permission in computer-based and other information-service systems. Permission to republish other excerpts should be obtained from the Editor.