Socio Technical Systems Engineering Handbook

Socio Technical Systems Engineering Handbook

.....here is a summary on 3 first chapters of this book......

>CHAPTER 1. SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS<
well this chapter is about the change of view in system development. many now agree that reductionist approach to development, which divides the system into a social system and a technical system is not a good representation.

in system development there are three aspect to consider:
-organisational-social-technical

STS methods promise to provide one way of at least ensuring that the organisational, social and technical aspects are appropriately dealt with.

0. these methods encompass socio-technical ideas :

0. 
   
   • Soft Systems Methodology.
   • ETHICS (Effective Technical and Human Implementation of Computer-based Systems) 
   • Cognitive Work Analysis.
   • Ethnographic workplace analysis.
   • Cognitive systems engineering.
   • Human centred design 

problems with existing STSD methods:

• A lack of consistent terminology
• Determining the appropriate levels of abstraction to use.
• Conflicting value systems, with humanistic values on the one hand, being regarded by some as incompatible with managerial values. 
• A lack of agreed  evaluation criteria
• focus on analysis rather than synthesis 
• A lack of multidisciplinary, with some disciplines failing to understand what other disciplines can contribute to system development. 

>CHAPTER 2. SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT AND DEPLOYMENT<

how and why software development shifts towards STS design methods:


what helped this shift in view:

• A shift in focus from programs to systems
• A shift from development to procurement, configuration, and reuse 
  
• A shift from small to large development teams 
• Changing user-provider relations 
• Development increasingly becoming a professional activity  

what shapes the development work:
Many of the problems of software development are organisational; they are the problems of coordination, scheduling, decision-making, awareness, and so on. A key difference between systems engineering and socio-technical systems engineering is that the latter takes these into account.

Managing the ordering devices in software engineering is crucial to the successful development of any non-trivial system.it is important to notice and analyse the repertoire of ordering devices used in any particular systems engineering project, the interdependencies between these, and their strengths and fallibilities.
how organisation affects the process of work: an organisation is structured can significantly impact on the way a project is practiced and, indeed, the architecture of the system itself.

The priorities of an organisation also significantly affect the ways in which systems engineering is practiced.

Systems specifications:specifications provide a framework within which, and in reference to which, design and testing, and user-designer relations, get worked out in practice.

The area of specification is one where socio-technical factors are, perhaps, most evident and so it has been a focus for research in using socio-technical analyses.Requirements engineering, particularly in user-centred design methods, often seeks to improve the quality of user-relevant information available during the design process.

work specification:-contract:contract between a supplier and customer stipulating the work that will be done over a period of years.
-card:methods produce short-term requirements written on small cards throughout a project.



>CHAPTER 3. REQUIREMENTS AND DESIGN<

how fieldwork can be used to gather date that informs the requirements engineering process.many practical problems comes not directly from tool or technology but from they way people work.
needed a better understanding of work, the actual rather than the formal business processes and the relationships between these processes and organisational factors that influenced the ways in which work was done.


where ethnography comes in:-softwares made based on theoretical business modes, but actual process is different(more appropriate requirements to be proposed.)
-People cannot articulate their requirements if you ask people they might not even know what they do, but if you observe them you will see important details.
how fieldwork inform prototype development




questions for ethnographer to have in mind while conducting field work:
-what are current unimportant characteristics-what are current important characteristics and features that should be supported in future design
-what should be replicated as before

how to direct the ethnographic field work(sanity checking for requirements):
rather than building a general picture of the work being done, the fieldworker can focus on the activities that are reflected in the requirements and can identify requirements which could cause problems in practice.


short period of fieldwork (quick and dirty field work)
-The work setting, which describes the environment where the work takes place and the interactions with this environment.
-The work flow, which describes the sequences of work activities, information flows etc.
-Social and organisational perspectives, which show how the work of individuals in the process relates to other peoples work and to broader organisational issues.

-Documentation : designers notepad


-problems: An accepted problem with fieldwork is that it tells you about work as it is done and doesn't really give you any clues about ways of doing things differently.

authors conclude : "we now think that fieldwork is not an activity that should precede the development of system requirements but should not be started until an outline set of requirements is available."