Modul 32291

Every day, the life of individuals is influenced by technology – both directly and indirectly. Whether we talk to our friends on messengers, clock into work using a time and attendance system, hold virtual meetings, do online shopping or order food using an online delivery service, information technology plays a central role in our everyday life. Even the fridges in our grocery stores wouldn’t be running without digital cooling systems. This central role is exacerbated through repeated, reinforcing interaction, constituting an ongoing relationship between humans and technology – between the social and the technical. It is about the joint optimization of these two sub-systems, providing the most effective way to achieve a goal while keeping in mind technical and social costs – the quality of life of the human actors in this interaction. Due to the social and the technical aspects being inextricably intertwined in to achieve a common goal, it is not sufficient to study these aspects in isolation.

A solely technical focus is not sufficient in achieving effectiveness in information systems in which humans and technology need to work together. These systems are also called socio-technical information systems, putting emphasis on the intertwining of both aspects, the social and the technical, creating an interplay of (1) individual human actors, (2) structures they are embedded in (e.g., organizations), (3) technology and (4) tasks that need to be done.