Ebook: Design of Office Information Systems

The goal of this book is to present a framework within which the myriad of office technologies and office systems design techniques can be better understood. There are a number of office books which deal with the social/organizational aspects of office automation or with office equip­ ment introduction strategies. This book differs from those in that it is written by technical computer people for technical computer people. As such, it assumes a general computer literacy and contains a technical emphasis with a social fiber woven in. Besides the framework, we also present the current state of office primitives, office tools, and office tech­ nology. We cover relevant work on-going by international standards bod­ ies, and we discuss the concepts that are emerging (or which we feel will be emerging) from universities and industrial research laboratories. Office technologies and techniques are classified as personal environment aids versus communal environment aids. We now fully realize how difficult it is to write a coherent book within this fuzzy, interdisciplinary, rapidly changing field. Concepts have been stressed wherever possible; there are some sub-areas where the generaliz­ ing concepts have not yet emerged. We also realize the potential danger of obsolescense. We have tried to combate this somewhat by the presen­ tation of concepts, generic tool design, and emphasizing our framework. This book is not a substitute for reading of the current periodical litera­ ture - that is where the most timely information lies.

---

The goal of this book is to present a framework within which the myriad of office technologies and office systems design techniques can be better understood. There are a number of office books which deal with the social/organizational aspects of office automation or with office equipment introduction strategies. This book differs from those in that it is written by technical computer people for technical computer people. As such, it assumes a general computer literacy and contains a technical emphasis with a social fiber woven in. Besides the framework, it also presents the current state of office primitives, office tools, and office technology. Particularly at the applications layer, emphasis is placed on the user interface and its design. Some design areas (e.g. window package design) have not been generally treated in the previous literature. In these cases, amalgamation and distillation of useful research ideas of the authors and of others is presented. The book covers relevant work on-going by international standards bodies, and it discusses the concepts that are emerging (or which the authors feel will be emerging) from universities and industrial research laboratories. Office technologies and techniques are classified as personal environment aids versus communal environment aids. Thus there are large sections concerned with workstations and their peripherals, and concerned with communications networks and distributed applications. Clarence Ellis is past head of the Office Research Group at Xerox PARC, and author of the well known Computing Surveys article "Office Information Systems and Computer Science" (1980). Najah Naffah is past head of the KAYAK Office Research Project at the French government INRIA research laboratory, and editor of various international conference proceedings on office information systems.

---

The goal of this book is to present a framework within which the myriad of office technologies and office systems design techniques can be better understood. There are a number of office books which deal with the social/organizational aspects of office automation or with office equipment introduction strategies. This book differs from those in that it is written by technical computer people for technical computer people. As such, it assumes a general computer literacy and contains a technical emphasis with a social fiber woven in. Besides the framework, it also presents the current state of office primitives, office tools, and office technology. Particularly at the applications layer, emphasis is placed on the user interface and its design. Some design areas (e.g. window package design) have not been generally treated in the previous literature. In these cases, amalgamation and distillation of useful research ideas of the authors and of others is presented. The book covers relevant work on-going by international standards bodies, and it discusses the concepts that are emerging (or which the authors feel will be emerging) from universities and industrial research laboratories. Office technologies and techniques are classified as personal environment aids versus communal environment aids. Thus there are large sections concerned with workstations and their peripherals, and concerned with communications networks and distributed applications. Clarence Ellis is past head of the Office Research Group at Xerox PARC, and author of the well known Computing Surveys article "Office Information Systems and Computer Science" (1980). Najah Naffah is past head of the KAYAK Office Research Project at the French government INRIA research laboratory, and editor of various international conference proceedings on office information systems.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-VII
Office Prelude....Pages 1-19
Workstation Technology....Pages 20-50
Communication Technology....Pages 51-71
Networks....Pages 72-104
Office Systems Tools....Pages 105-133
User Interfaces....Pages 134-149
Office Documents....Pages 150-172
Office Application Systems....Pages 173-209
Office Postlude....Pages 210-220
Back Matter....Pages 221-248

---

The goal of this book is to present a framework within which the myriad of office technologies and office systems design techniques can be better understood. There are a number of office books which deal with the social/organizational aspects of office automation or with office equipment introduction strategies. This book differs from those in that it is written by technical computer people for technical computer people. As such, it assumes a general computer literacy and contains a technical emphasis with a social fiber woven in. Besides the framework, it also presents the current state of office primitives, office tools, and office technology. Particularly at the applications layer, emphasis is placed on the user interface and its design. Some design areas (e.g. window package design) have not been generally treated in the previous literature. In these cases, amalgamation and distillation of useful research ideas of the authors and of others is presented. The book covers relevant work on-going by international standards bodies, and it discusses the concepts that are emerging (or which the authors feel will be emerging) from universities and industrial research laboratories. Office technologies and techniques are classified as personal environment aids versus communal environment aids. Thus there are large sections concerned with workstations and their peripherals, and concerned with communications networks and distributed applications. Clarence Ellis is past head of the Office Research Group at Xerox PARC, and author of the well known Computing Surveys article "Office Information Systems and Computer Science" (1980). Najah Naffah is past head of the KAYAK Office Research Project at the French government INRIA research laboratory, and editor of various international conference proceedings on office information systems.
Content:
Front Matter....Pages I-VII
Office Prelude....Pages 1-19
Workstation Technology....Pages 20-50
Communication Technology....Pages 51-71
Networks....Pages 72-104
Office Systems Tools....Pages 105-133
User Interfaces....Pages 134-149
Office Documents....Pages 150-172
Office Application Systems....Pages 173-209
Office Postlude....Pages 210-220
Back Matter....Pages 221-248
....