Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
system, for example). In this sense, software is an ideal illustration of
what the historians and sociologists of technology call a sociotechnical
system: that is to say, a system in which machines, people, and processes
are inextricably interconnected and interdependent. As the sociologist
John Law has suggested, the “heterogeneous engineering” required to
assemble such complex systems blurs the boundaries between the tech-
nological and organizational, and typically creates a process fraught
with confl ict, negotiation, disputes over professional authority, and the
confl ation of social, political, and technological agendas.
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Nowhere is
this more true than in the history of software.
Software is perhaps the ultimate heterogeneous technology. It exists
simultaneously as an idea, language, technology, and practice. Although
intimately associated with the computer, it also clearly transcends it. For
the most part software is invisible, ethereal, and ephemeral—and yet it
is also obviously constructed. Certain aspects of software, such as a
sorting algorithm, can be generalized and formalized as mathematical
abstractions, while others remain inescapably local and specifi c, subject
to the particular constraints imposed by corporate culture, informal
industry standards, or government regulations. In this sense, software
sits uncomfortably at the intersection of science, engineering, and busi-
ness. Software is where the technology of computing meets social rela-
tionships, organizational politics, and personal agendas. All technologies
are to a certain extent social constructions, but in the case of software,
the social dimensions of technology are particularly apparent.
Consider, for example, the aforementioned computerized accounting
system. Much of the process of computerizing the accounting department
happened without any reference to an actual computer. The vast major-
ity of the work involved documentation and analysis: the crucial step in
designing the new system was understanding the old one, and then
modifying it to fi t the requirements of the new computing mentality.
Existing processes needed to be studied, charted, and analyzed. Clerical
workers had to be interviewed, accounting experts consulted, and depart-
mental managers informed and placated. Reports needed to be written,
fl owcharts constructed, and product specifi cations developed. The trans-
lation of established work fl ow into terms that could be understood or
implemented by a computer generally required the modifi cation of related
systems and practices. Often entire departments would need to be restruc-
tured to accommodate the new procedures.
Only after all this study and analysis could the design of the software
even be considered. And since the development of new software fre-
