SIGBDP 7 developing user-oriented business systems(Panel Discussion)

Abstract

Have we lost the “human touch?” Almost as a matter of course we grasp the latest technology and hurriedly search for places in our organizations where we may apply it. As our systems have grown larger and more complex they involve more and more people - to a greater extent then ever before. The recent SHARE SILT report says “The percentage of the U.S. labor force that depends on the availability of data processing services to accomplish its daily work will grow from 30% today to 70% by 1985. Ultimately, the mission of the data processing industry is to serve these end users; a substantial fraction of these end users will interact directly with data processing systems, specifying both the data and the functions to be performed on that data. Very major improvements are needed in the quality, reliability, availability, and adaptability of the systems they will use.”