RESEARCH PERSPECTIVE ON COMPUTER-ASSISTED OFFICE WORK

The integrated office system 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 office work that have evolved at the IBM Thomas J. Watson Research Center provides a preview of the possibilities for future office systems based on computers. A description is given of tasks that have been computerized, the environment in which automated office applications are used, and the reactions of people who use the computer for routine office work.