ABSTRACT
SUMMARY To most ergonomists working in the French banking sector it appears that the implementation of new information technology is mainly led by technical designers. Such a situation has direct influence on the evaluation of projects and especially on the kind of data collected during the experimental use of new office communication systems. This chapter presents empirical data on some tests of an electronic mail system in a banking company. The results show that the use of a memo file function (to enter, send and receive short messages) was a success, while the electronic diary was rejected by users. This case-study serves as a starting-point for a methodological discussion that focuses on the possible contribution of francophone ergonomics to the implementation of Telematics. It is suggested that more field studies centering on a detailed analysis of users' work activities are necessary in order to assess the effects of computer-mediated communication.
