Socio-tech: what is it (and why should we care)?

At a time when more and different people are using more and different computer systems, there is growing awareness that if technology is to give companies the “competitive edge” they are seeking, it must be used to support business goals. This means that systems must work within the existing organization to improve and extend its functioning. This also means that the design of these systems must enhance the organization, not disrupt it. Yet technology is, by its very nature, a stimulus for change. The question then becomes: How can this intrinsically de-stabilizing technology be designed and implemented in a way which supports the organization, without destroying it? It is the purpose of this panel to explore this basic question.

Sociotechnical systems theory is a method to deal with this dilemma. At its core is the assumption that to be successful, technology must be designed in tandem with the receiving organization. So-called socio-tech focuses on how the organization can use technology, in an attempt to establish a “best fit” between the technical and the social aspects of the workplace. This is in contrast both to “old style” systems design, which concentrates on technical aspects only and to the “traditional” Human Factors approach, which considers how to design for “typical” users and how they think and perceive. (Some people have dubbed this new approach “Macroergonomics” as a way of distinguishing it from this more traditional Human Factors approach.)