Introduction to Socio-technical Systems

Brian Whitworth

Institute of Information and Mathematical Sciences, Massey University, Albany, New Zealand

Definition

• A socio-technical system (STS) is a social system that operates upon a technical base– Email is social communication by technology means.

• The term was introduced by the Tavistock Institute in the 1950’s as manufacturing needs of industry confronted the social needs of local communities, e.g. in English coalmines

• See http://www.strategosinc.com/socio-technical.htm

Facebook – Now 30 Million

Jeremy Zawodny

Systems Theory

• Socio-technical theory traces back to general systems theory (Bertalanffy, 1968)– Systems composed of autonomous yet

interdependent parts, that mutually interact to create an equally autonomous self-directing whole.

– System is the parts plus their interactions– It emerges from its components by feed-back and

feed-forward dynamics – Holistic systems can self-organize, self-reference

and self-maintain

Example: Pilot-Plane

• Mechanical (plane) system beside a human (pilot) – Different systems with different needs

• Human Computer Interaction (HCI) => the pilot must understand the plane which must fit the pilot

• In STS, plane plus pilot is a single system, with human and mechanical levels. – The pilot's body is just as physical as the plane. – Pilot adds a human thought level that sits above the plane’s

mechanical level, allowing "pilot + plane" system to strategize and analyze.

– Modern planes have computer information processing systems apart from HCI human and mechanical frame

– Many planes together allow a social group level

Socio-technical levelsLevel Discipline System Combination Examples

Community Sociology, Politics, Business

Social Socio-technical Systems (STS)

Culture, roles, laws sanctions

Individual Psychology, Biology

Cognitive Human Computer Interaction (HCI)

Attitudes, beliefs, ideas, opinions

Informational Computer Science, Information Science

Software (S/W) Technology

(H/W & S/W)

Programs, data, bandwidth, memory

Physical Engineering, Physics, Chemistry

Physical

Hardware (H/W)

Computer, mouse, wires, printer, keyboard

Table 1. Socio-technical levels

Web of System Performance Functionality

Extendibility Reliability

Privacy

Security

Usability

Flexibility

Connectivity

WOSP LEVELSPower

Permeability

Armor

Consumption

Mobility

Receptivity

Ruggedness

Stealth

a. Hardware Requirements

Functionality

Interoperability

Impenetrability

Latency

Autonomy

Connectivity

Inheritance

Modularity

b. Software Requirements

Capability

Extendibility

Security

Ease of Use

Flexibility

Richness

Reliability

Confidentiality

c. Human Requirements

Synergy

Openness

Identity

Morale

Freedom

Transparency

Order

Privacy

d. Communal Requirements

TECHNICAL REQUIREMENTS

SOCIAL REQUIREMENTS

System Requirements

STS System

Increasing Requirements

Group

Socio-Technical

Requirements

HCI System

Physical Requirements

Software System

Hardware System

Information Requirements

Personal Requirements

Communal Requirements

Society

Dependence

Emergence

. . . .Better

PerformanceHigher

Contexts

Organization

Community

Three Process Model

Process 1. Represent the Group

Who are we?(maintain group identity)

Process 2. Relate to others Who are you?

(maintain our relation)

Process 3. Resolve the taskWhat must I do?

(maintain the world)

Given my group, our relations must

be this way ...

Given our relations the task must be done this way ...

HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

1. Normative influence: Actions based on

group requirements

2. Relational influence: Actions based on

relational requirements

3. Task influence: Actions based on task

requirements

Human behavior arises from the interaction of

all three processes

Given my group, the task must be done

this way ....

causes

causes

causes

Communication Linkage

a. One-to-one

S R

b. One-to-one, two-way

S R

c. One-to-many

S R2

R1

R3

S2

S1

S3

R

d. many-to-one

S/R2

S/R1

S/R3

merged signal

Many-to-many, two-way

Communication Forms Linkage

Broadcast Interpersonal Communal

Express iveness

Streaming Recorded Streaming Recorded Streaming Recorded

Position

Flares Footprint, Track

Body posture, Gesture

Acknowledge Show of hands, Applause,

Web counter, Karma system, Tag clouds Online voting, Reputation system, Social bookmarks,

Document

Blackboard, PowerPoint

Web site, Blog, Poster, Photo Notice board, Book,

Sign language Texting, Email, Letter

Chat, Instant message

Social network Wikipedia, Emarket, Online community, Bulletin board, News feeds Online reviews Media sharing ListServ

Dynamic-audio

Radio, Loudspeaker, Soapbox

Podcast, Music down-load Record/ CD

Telephone, Skype

Answer-phone Radio talk-back, Conference call Choir,

Online talk-back? Online choirs/music groups?

Multi-media

Television, Movie, FTF speech, Show,

Online video, Videotape, DVD

FTF conversation

Video-phone FTF meeting, Cocktail party TV interviews

MMORPG Simulated worlds Video-conference

Killer App Main Human Role Main Computer Role

Email Create conversation Information transfer

Blogs Expression Information display

Wikipedia Create knowledge Version control and revert

E-bay Trade Calculate reputation ratings

Hypertext Make associations Connect links

Social Networks Make friends Open communication channels

Chat Group conversations Append to text stream

Browser Gather information Display and link URLs

Online games Play game Connect players to the game

Synergy/Defect Examples

Aim Examples Synergy Defection

Communicate Email, Chat, ListServ, IM

Shared communication: People send messages they otherwise would not

Spam: Spammers waste others time, giving spam filters.

Learn WebCT Moodle Blackboard,

Shared learning: Students help others learn, reduce teacher bottlenecks

Plagiarism: Students copy other student’s work, giving systems like Turnitin.com.

Knowledge Wikipedia, Tiddlywiki

Shared knowledge: Taps knowledge of the group, not just a few ”experts”

Trolls: Wikipedia’s monitors and rights fight “trolls” who damage knowledge.

Friends Facebook, Myspace

Relationships: People keep in touch with friends and family

Predation: Social network predators find victims, giving reporting and banishing

Keeping current

Digg, Del.icio.us

Shared bookmarks: Social bookmarks let people see what others look at.

Advocates: Who “digg” a site because of a vested interest, e.g. they own it.

Play Second Life, MMORPG, Sims

Shared play: An avatar experiences things impossible in reality.

Bullies/Thieves: “Newbies” robbed by veterans don’t return, so need “safe” areas.

Trade E-Bay, Craig’s List, Amazon

Item trading: People from anywhere exchange more goods.

Scams: Scammers are reduced by online reputation systems.

Work Monster Work trading: People find and offer work more easily.

Faking: Padded CVs and fake job offers need online reputation systems.

Down-load Webdonkey, Bit-Torrent Napster,

Shared down-loading: Groups share the processing load of file downloads.

Piracy: Napster was in conflict with society’s copyright laws, so closed down.

Media Sharing

Flickr, YouTube podcasting

Shared experiences: People share photos/videos with family/ friends.

Offensiveness: Editors remove offensive items—violence, porn, scatology…

Advice Tech help boards like, AnandTech

Shared technical advice: People who have solved problems can help others more easily.

Confusers: People who start new tracks rather than checking existing ones are relocated and scolded.

Express opinions

Slashdot, Boing-Boing, Blogs

Shared opinions: People express and read others opinions more easily

Caviling: People who “peck” new ideas to death—karma systems deselect them.

Socio-technical Design

Social Requirements

Technical Requirements

Socio-technical Design

Traditional Design

The Future• The future of software will be more about social than

technical design• If society believes in freedom, online personas should

belong to the person concerned• If society gives the right to not communicate so should

email• If society supports privacy, people should be able to

remove their personal data from online lists• If society gives people rights to the fruits of their labors

one should be able to sign and own one’s electronic work

• If society believes in democracy, online communities should elect their leaders

• Social principles should drive technical design.