Sociotechnical view of systems

A socio-technical system (STS) is one that considers requirements spanning hardware, software,
personal, and community aspects. It applies an understanding of the social structures, roles and
rights (the social sciences) to inform the design of systems that involve communities of people
and technology. Examples of STSs include emails, blogs, and social media sites such as
Facebook and Twitter.
The basis of STSs is general systems theory, which describes what the disciplines of science
have in common—i.e., that they all refer to systems: sociologists see social systems,
psychologists cognitive systems, computer scientists information systems, and engineers
hardware systems. In general systems theory, no discipline has a monopoly on science—all are
valid.
These disciplinary perspectives on computing allow us to view computing through distinct levels
and trace its evolution. Computing began at the mechanical level (hardware devices), evolved an
information level (devices + software), then acquired a human level (IT + human-computer
interaction), and finally a community level (STSs). A community works through people using
technology, as people work through software using hardware. Consequently, social requirements
are now an important part of computing design.
While sociologists study the social level alone as if it were apart from physicality, and
technologists study technology as if it were not part of society, socio-technology is a distinct
field of inquiry on how personal and social requirements can be met by IT system design. As
such, STSs seek to merge people and technology, viewing the integration of computers into
societal systems as the next evolutionary step of humanity. An STS approach to design raises the
cost of development but results in complex systems, like social networks, that have far more
performance potential. Exploring a design problem by rising to an STS mindset can reveal
further dimensions of a design’s use potential and inspire development.
Inside a sociotechnical system (STS), you’ll find people, software, hardware, the organization,
and any number of other systems functioning together as a whole. Understanding how a
sociotechnical system works takes a lot more than just looking at the information systems,
human resources, or organizational theory by itself.
Let’s use email providers as examples of STSs. Consider how Gmail, Hotmail, Outlook, and
other email systems could be described and analyzed. Each of these systems is distinct, but they
also interact with other systems in an STS to form a functional email program:
 Development team and the organization: Developers, in creating and maintaining email
software, must interact with technology systems as well as other human systems.
 Hardware: Used along with software by developers and ultimately by end-users.
 Software: Uses hardware and is created by and maintained by developers and other teams
within the company. End-users of the software also interact with it.
 Users: Interacting with and influencing the other systems through their behaviors as
customers and consumers, users are another critical part of an email STS.
When you elevate the entire sociotechnical system over managing your business in disparate
parts, it’s easier to grow and respond to change. Sociotechnical systems are an effective way to
bring technology and people together while managing risks and improving the human experience
of today’s technologies.
 The sociotechnical theory
Essentially, sociotechnical systems theory sees the holistic, interconnected contribution of
technology and the human systems that operate and interact with it. As people and tech function
together, they form a system, one that adds complexity and is more than the “sum of its parts.”
The principles of sociotechnical systems
The sociotechnical theory is highly interested in fixing some of the most significant problems
that traditional organization structures encounter. In response to increasingly complex business
environments, many organizations became so complex themselves that this added complexity
started interfering with productivity and effectiveness.
Early on in the history of sociotechnical systems, the technical nature of these systems was
initially emphasized more, leading to frequent labor disputes. Companies soon realized that the
social side of sociotechnical systems makes a significant contribution to their success. After all,
without a happy and highly skilled workforce, an organization isn’t much more than its
technology.
By designing and managing your organization to operate with adaptable, a socially savvy
principle, your business is preparing to work more effectively through uncertainty and change.
These sociotechnical principles were developed to respond to and manage complexity:
 Adaptability and system resilience: Sociotechnical systems prioritize adaptability. The
organizational structure favored by sociotechnical theory is one that’s highly adaptable to
change and flexible even in managing uncertainty.
 Responsible autonomy: Instead of placing responsibility solely with the individual
contributor, sociotechnical theory focuses on the group or team level. Small, closely
operating groups of team members who share responsibility and are able to collaborate
together benefit from fewer silos and are often able to communicate more effectively.
 Whole tasks for entire lifecycles: Instead of moving one project through multiple teams
throughout the project lifecycle, sociotechnical systems allow a single team to shepherd
the project from start to finish. The group is able to be more flexible about resolving the
task. Projects don’t become “someone else’s problem” but are champion-led by a team
empowered with decision-making responsibilities.
 Meaningful tasks: Because teams have ownership of tasks and start-to-finish
responsibilities, these tasks retain their meaning and provide closure for everyone
involved.
Sociotechnical system layers
Multiple layers making up the STS stack. These layers may themselves be distinct systems, but
they function as part of the whole STS and influence and impact both other layers and systems
outside of the STS.
When equipment fails, for instance, that’s the equipment layer causing downtime that potentially
has an adverse impact on the entire organization and therefore the entire STS. Redundancy and
resilience are built into the STS to try and mitigate the risk. In fact, the design of the STS
anticipates change and incorporates strong risk management best practices.
These layers are often part of an STS:
 Organizational layer: Strategy, management, and internal regulations and processes
 Social layer: The broader culture, regulatory environment, and laws outside of the
organization as well as the people who are end-users and customers
 Business process layer: Business activity-supported processes that define how technology
is used internally and how the business operates
 Equipment layer: Hardware the business relies upon for development and operations
 Operating system layer: Systems that bring hardware and other software together
 Data management and communications layer: Layer that bridges the operating system
and the application so information can be used and managed appropriately
 Application layer: Software that customers or end-users see and interact with. It provides
the user interface and is often the most visible layer of the STS
Typically, each of these layers is present inside of an STS, but layer composition and the degree
of importance associated with each one can vary depending on the organization and industry.
For a social media platform, the application layer may be a customer’s primary interaction within
the STS. A bank, in contrast, may also have physical branches, landing somewhere between the
equipment and business process layers in terms of functionality but often used alongside the
application layer to receive banking services.
Popular examples of sociotechnical systems
Since sociotechnical systems bring communities of humans together with technology, some of
the most well-known examples of STSs are large technology companies and platforms. Social
media companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are examples as well as other
technology companies such as Apple and Microsoft.
Companies that aren’t traditionally part of the tech sector could count as sociotechnical systems,
though. Technically speaking, a bank, a chemical manufacturer, or a government might be
considered to be STSs given the extent to which they rely on various technologies and complex
internal systems.
Benefits of sociotechnical systems
Bringing together the benefits of managing technical and social systems, sociotechnical systems
may provide you with the best of both worlds. STSs recognize the complexity created by having
humans work with technology, reducing your risk of missing complexity or taking a system layer
for granted.
STSs have multiple benefits for organizations:
 Easy management of sophisticated human challenges: Communities and individuals add
complexity to STSs, but the system’s ability to manage human relationships allows
organizations to respond more effectively. If, for instance, an STS is presented with
public relations problems, the company’s Agile structure and connection to the outside
community can help the organization respond.
 Self-regulation and error detection: With a flat hierarchy and responsive structure, teams
inside an STS can quickly recognize problems and deploy resources to resolve them.
 Trust and responsibility: Since groups are autonomous, they can take responsibility for
fixing problems and can supervise the process from start to finish. By design, teams are
trusted to do their work effectively.
Typical obstacles with sociotechnical systems
Since STSs use a distinct organizational structure and operate with unique risks and
opportunities, there are several potential problems that sociotechnical systems are vulnerable to:
 Limited systems understanding and blind spots: A poor understanding of how different
layers interact may increase your organization’s risk of accidents, result in a less effective
response to environmental changes, or other issues. The effectiveness of an STS relies on
your ability to interpret how the layers impact each other and prevent silos from emerging
that could separate teams and reduce their effectiveness.
 Wrong or inaccurate information: Good information is essential for business decision-
making inside an STS. If the information is not precise enough to be helpful or contains
inaccuracies, teams within the system are at risk of acting incorrectly based on the
information they have.
 Human-machine challenges: Given that the technical systems rely on human systems
working with them as operators and users, errors can show up without an easily
discovered cause or origin.
 Complexity that outgrows organizational design: Some technologies and new systems
created through STSs can themselves become too big or complex for their companies to
manage. In such a situation, the organizational structure may need to adapt and change
somewhat in response.
 Less control: Managers don’t always have direct control over every aspect of a
sociotechnical system. For example, a company can’t necessarily control how customers
 respond to a new rebranding or how an evolving regulatory environment will directly
impact the long-term viability of their brand.
For these obstacles, STSs can be prepared even if they can’t always solve the entire problem.
When people work with technology, a certain degree of error is nearly impossible to prevent.
Fortunately, your response to these risks can help your company navigate challenges more
effectively.
 How to address sociotechnical system challenges
Planning, communication, and ongoing improvement can help STSs. Consider how these general
approaches can strengthen your organization:
 See each layer as a unique strength: Although it may be tempting sometimes for you to
dread how complex your STS is with all of its different systems, each of these systems
presents unique strengths you can use to improve the health of your business. By
themselves, individual systems may be myopic in their focus. Ensure your products stay
relevant, for instance, by looping in the societal layer and getting feedback from
customers.
 Focus on reliability: Whenever signs of errors pop up, make sure your teams have the
right resources. Empower your teams so they know their own reliability in their own
domains and can act whenever a problem arises.
 Have good information: Keeping your organization’s data reliable and accessible may
prevent blind spots. When you know you can trust your information, your teams can be
empowered with greater autonomy to use that information. For instance, you should be
well-informed about the state of your technology systems.
 Embrace continuous improvement: STSs aren’t perfect, but they can improve every day
if teams and the organization at large are committed to becoming more effective.
Awareness of how STSs function together and how your organization’s layers impact your
business objectives can help you proactively address challenges in your environment.
Sociotechnical systems, technology, and society
Sociotechnical systems allow people to work with technology in ways that benefit society and
advance organizational goals. Taking a broader perspective of technology and incorporating a
human element can help us build more effective companies and improve the customer
experience.
Complementary Assets and their importance in IS

Complementary assets provide genuine value to organizations. IS should be supported by

complementary investments in organizations and management. These include new business
models and business processes, supportive organizational culture and management behavior,
appropriate technology standards, regulations and laws. Unless these investments are made, the
systems will not produce high returns.
Organizational assets:
• Supportive culture that values efficiency and effectiveness
• Appropriate business model
• Efficient business processes
• Decentralized authority

Managerial assets:
• Strong senior management support for technology investment and change
• Incentives for management innovation
• Teamwork and collaborative work environments

Social assets:
• The internet and telecommunications infrastructure
• It-enriched programs raising labor force computer literacy
• Standards (both government and private sector)

Environmental Information System

Environmental information system is an extended geographic information system that serves

as a tool to capture, save, and present spatial, time-related, and content-specific data and at the
same time to describe the condition of the environment in terms of negative impacts and risks.

An Environmental Information System (EIS) aims to respond to decision-makers’ needs for

information on the evolution of the environment, and its impact on people’s lives and the natural
resources on which they depend. An EIS can enable the use and dissemination of environmental
data in support of assessing climate and environmental impacts, monitoring emissions of
greenhouse gases and other environmental pollutants, measuring economic effects of changing
environmental conditions and developing policies and measures to regulate and improve the
environmental performance of businesses, sectors and administrative units. As the negative
impact of climate change intensifies and as investment in climate change increase, it is crucial
that rigorous systems are in place for monitoring the impacts of climate change. It is equally
crucial that systems are also in place for monitoring the effectiveness of investment made to
address these impacts. The extent and effectiveness of investments made for monitoring
changing climate will have a defining influence on how well countries are able achieve their
development objectives in the near and long term.

The user's specific environment

The User must get himself well acquainted with the department/unit of the individual user before
conducting any actual interview with the user for the identification of his/her information needs.
Some of the aspects to be covered in this study are: Background or history of the concerned unit/
department, its objectives and functions; Organizational structure; Details of products and/ or
processes of manufacture and/ or research; Details of plant, machinery, equipment, testing and
other facilities; Scope of each discernible activity/ function of the department/ unit; Information
flow (vertical and horizontal) in the functioning of the department/ unit; Present sources of
information (external and internal) and the channels and media used in the units;