File problems associated with the National Menu Study

The organization and structure of an information file cannot properly be discussed by itself. The design of a file only makes sense when it is considered as part of the entire problem of information retrieval and maintenance of the file. In any particular instance consideration must be given to the expected frequency of use of the file, and to the particular machine logic that will be employed both in retrieval and in maintenance. A properly designed information file will reflect an optimization of some sort, weighting among other things speed, accuracy, and cost. The filing and retrieval activity, of course, is usually only a part of a total information processing system. A balanced over-all design of the entire machine system must, in turn, be achieved which will include not only all aspects of the information processing at the electronic center but in addition, all available criteria by which one can discover the proper relationships between the electronic data-processing system and the basic objectives of the entire business enterprise.