Psychological factors in information system design

Over the past few years, there has been a significant increase in online usage of computer systems as the result of sharp reductions in the cost of computer hardware, improved technology for data communications and mass storage, and the availability of sophisticated operating systems, program development tools, and interactive applications software. This increase in the quantity of interactive programs is producing a growing number of non-programming users who are using conversational computer systems. These users have information system needs which are quite different from those of programmers. The eventual acceptance of such an information system into routine usage is often dependent upon a number of psychological and related non-technical issues, rather than upon the mechanical aspects of the system. Failure to consider these essential psychological issues will often produce an information system which will be rejected by those for whom it was designed and developed. These factors which affect user attitudes include the general predisposition of the user toward the computer, the process by which the system development and introduction was undertaken, and the operational characteristics of the system. Within these broad categories, a number of more specific items may be listed, including: 1) Predisposition a) Nature of the organization--some groups of users are more willing to accept computer technology b) Perceived threat--computers can represent an ego threat by appearing to perform a job better than a human can or an economic threat by appearing to be intended to replace humans in their jobs c) Individual "mind set"--willingness to adapt to new computerized working environment with possible associated changes in job function 2) System development and introduction process a) User involvement in design process--users must be participants at all levels and stages of information system development or selection rather than having a system imposed upon them b) User training--users must be provided with adequate introductory and reference documentation, personal instruction, and possible online assistance c) First impression of running system--a first impression tends to be a lasting impression, so an information system should be usable and reliable from the beginning although changes are being made in response to user comments and experience 3) Operational characteristics a) Reliability--system must be available whenever needed, programs and operating environment must be error-free, and data must be secure b) Terminal characteristics--appropriate choice must be made for keyboard vs. non-keyboard devices, hard copy vs. soft copy, impact vs. non-impact terminal, the noise factor, and the rate of output c) General ease of use--users desire a minimum of dialogue with the system software, need a method for correcting errors before it affects previous work, and prefer systems which can be learned easily and quickly d) Nature and "personality" of interaction--conversational programs can be rigid or forgiving, employ technical or informal terminology, provide differing features for experienced and non-experienced users, and try to correct simple errors or merely produce diagnostic messages e) Response time--both speed and variability of response time are important issues in user psychology These factors vary widely among individuals and organizations, thereby making it difficult to provide definitive guidelines for handling these psychological issues. Furthermore, existing capabilities in operating systems and programming languages often make it difficult to incorporate all of the most desirable features for conversational system design without considerable added effort during system development and additional overhead during program execution. There is a great need to obtain better understanding of the psychological considerations of information system design and to create programming systems and languages which can accommodate these needs.