Selection of automated office systems: a case study

Abstract

Recent technological advances have made possible the automation of traditional office functions such as document preparation, storage, retrieval, inter-personal communication, etc. With the increased pervasiveness of office systems technology, selection of the appropriate technology components can be a complex and difficult task. There is a need for a methodology to aid in selecting office systems components based on the needs of the particular operating environment. In this paper, we propose to structure the selection problem in a hierarchical fashion, with the top level representing the single overall objective, the intermediate level(s) representing the users' needs, and the lowest level representing the viable candidate set of alternative office systems to be evaluated. A recently developed technique termed analytical hierarchies is employed, and a case study is presented to illustrate how the technique can be used in the selection of office systems components. © 1981.