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The Computer Journal 1988 31(5):386-390; doi:10.1093/comjnl/31.5.386
© 1988 by British Computer Society
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Are ‘Human factors’ Human?

N. Bjørn-Andersen *

Institute for Informatics and Management Accounting, Copenhagen School of Economics and Business Administration, Howitzvej 60, DK-2000, Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark

Does the research and development discipline called ‘human factors in computer systems’ really contribute to what could be called ‘human endeavour’? The majority of research and development effort seems to fall down with respect to this question because it takes technology as its starting point. At the moment all we are doing is to adapt the technology to the known ‘so-called’ ‘human weaknesses’ in order to reduce the resistance to using the technology, rather than providing a technology which will help to liberate the intellectual capabilities of human beings.

The following paper addresses the question by discussing first what we should understand by human objectives, then appraising the limits of our present theories, methods, outlines and applications (which give an understanding of the limits of technology in its present form) and proposes a research/development project based on a ‘Scandinavian Model’ which takes us at least one step in developing technology towards attaining true human values.

Received May 1988.

* Institute for Informatics and Management Accounting, Copenhagen School of Economics and Business Administration, Howitzvej 60, DK-2000 Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark


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