Abstract

Each round of techonological development promises to aid the people engaged in various fields of practice. After these promises result in the development of prototypes and fielded systems, those researchers who examine the reverberations of technology change have observed a mixed bag of effects, most quite different from the expectations of the technology advocates. Often the message practictioners send with their performance, their errors, and their adaptations is one of technology-induced complexity. In these cases, technological possibilities are used clumsily so that systems intended to serve the user turn out to add new burdens which congregate at the busiest times or during the critical phases of the task.

Citations