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.
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.
Introduction
PART I: Structuring Technology and the Workplace
1: Social Shaping of Technology
2: Software in the Workplace
3: The Structure of Software Design
PART II: Case Studies of Software Design
4: Banking and a Tale of Two Systems
5: Field Service Systems
6: The Computer System and the Hospital
7: Software Design, Social Choices, and the Workplace
PART III: Implications for Management and for Further Research on
Technology Design
8: Understanding and Managing Software
9: Social Dimensions of Software Design
APPENDICES
Appendix A: Outline of the Research Project
Appendix B: Teaching Cases on Software Design and Use
Case 1: Branch Office Automation in Banking
Case 2: Design Decisions for the New Banking Environment
Case 3: Field Service and the Art of Automation
Case 4: Systems Design and Medical Practice in a Hospital
"I can praise the book on several dimensions. I liked their
conceptual framework, which is the most comprehensive that I have
seen in relating social and technological influences on design
choices. I also admired the thoroughness with which the authors'
drew from existing literature in developing their framework as well
as in analyzing the case studies from three industries. Readers who
are interested specifically in understanding organizational and
managerial issues related to software design and development will
find the book extremely useful. The authors' conceptual framework
is sufficiently comprehensive to appeal to scholars and
practitioners with
interests in other types of technology than software." --Gerald I.
Susman, Robert and Judith Klein Professor of Management, The
Pennsylvania State University
"Software by Design is a pathbreaking study of the dynamics of
software application development. Salzman and Rosenthal show how
professionals' values rather than technical necessities alone play
key roles in shaping software design. This book should be read by
every computer specialist who develops computer applications and by
every manager who acquires them." --Rob Kling, University of
California, Irvine
"Software by Design is an important addition to the literature on
human-computer interaction. By clearly presenting and carefully
analyzing actual cases, it gives students and practitioners
insights into larger issues of system design that all too often get
lost in the fascination over "interface" issues. It will be a
cornerstone document in the establishment of the emerging
profession of software design which brings to the software world
the
perspective of design as a situated human-centered endeavor."
"Self-contained, non-comprehensive treatment by people interested
in management and in the interactions of science with
technology....Neatly presents the considerations and balances most
prominent in software compared to other areas." --SCS Simulator
Quarterly
"Excellent reference. Recommended." --Choice
"Salzman and Rosenthal's contribution is in presenting an
integrated view of interactions between the forces of the
marketplace, where economics and marketing prevail, and the forces
of the workplace, where social and technical issues and user
desires prevail....Well worth a careful reading....Attention to the
issues in this book might even lead to better functioning of the
marketplace, to the benefit of all parties." --Computing
Reviews
"I can praise the book on several dimensions. I liked their
conceptual framework, which is the most comprehensive that I have
seen in relating social and technological influences on design
choices. I also admired the thoroughness with which the authors'
drew from existing literature in developing their framework as well
as in analyzing the case studies from three industries. Readers who
are interested specifically in understanding organizational and
managerial issues related to software design and development will
find the book extremely useful. The authors' conceptual framework
is sufficiently comprehensive to appeal to scholars and
practitioners with
interests in other types of technology than software." --Gerald I.
Susman, Robert and Judith Klein Professor of Management, The
Pennsylvania State University
"Software by Design is a pathbreaking study of the dynamics of
software application development. Salzman and Rosenthal show how
professionals' values rather than technical necessities alone play
key roles in shaping software design. This book should be read by
every computer specialist who develops computer applications and by
every manager who acquires them." --Rob Kling, University of
California, Irvine
"Software by Design is an important addition to the literature on
human-computer interaction. By clearly presenting and carefully
analyzing actual cases, it gives students and practitioners
insights into larger issues of system design that all too often get
lost in the fascination over "interface" issues. It will be a
cornerstone document in the establishment of the emerging
profession of software design which brings to the software world
the
perspective of design as a situated human-centered endeavor."
"Self-contained, non-comprehensive treatment by people interested
in management and in the interactions of science with
technology....Neatly presents the considerations and balances most
prominent in software compared to other areas." --SCS Simulator
Quarterly
"Excellent reference. Recommended." --Choice
"Salzman and Rosenthal's contribution is in presenting an
integrated view of interactions between the forces of the
marketplace, where economics and marketing prevail, and the forces
of the workplace, where social and technical issues and user
desires prevail....Well worth a careful reading....Attention to the
issues in this book might even lead to better functioning of the
marketplace, to the benefit of all parties." --Computing Reviews
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