ABSTRACT
Human working conditions in computer-assisted work systems are primarily determined by software design. Since software design invariably also means work design, extensive preliminary analyses are necessary. In the past, software development has focused primarily on isolated technical and functional aspects, with little or no attention to impacts on work organization and the individual. A knowledge of company objectives and competitive constraints in the environment also make it easier to assess the economic efficiency of software or work design measures correctly, since a cost-effectiveness calculation oriented solely on costs has often proved inadequate or inaccurate. In companies where computer-assisted systems are already in existence, it is useful to carry out software-ergonomic work analyses. The work designer, who should be trained in software ergonomics, then has to examine whether and possibly why the performance conditions of the computer-assisted work flow established by the existing design attributes obstructs the attainment of objectives, that is whether obstacles to regulation occur.
