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Same goes for office automation in general. Technology have augmented human-unassisted output (well, in case of office automation a lot of that has been wasted
by dasmoth 9y ago
Same goes for office automation in general. Technology have augmented human-unassisted output (well, in case of office automation a lot of that has been wasted on futzing around with fonts and so on, but still...).
That's one issue that crops up in office automation, but not necessarily the biggest one. General tools like word processors and speaadsheets remain just that: tools. But once office functions gain special purpose software, it often locks in strong assumptions about workflows that translate into more, rather than less, "sorry but I can't do that."
- paulryanrogers 9y agoOn the micro level that's my experience too. Though I suspect at the macro level competitors with more flexibleautomation will win more business. Assuming a competitive market.
- dasmoth 9y agoThe people buying the automation are generally not the users. Those with purchasing authority probably already have a somewhat stereotyped view of the workflow in question, so selling them a rigid version may be pretty easy. And taking autonomy away from the individual users might actually seem like a feature, not a bug.
- JoshTriplett 9y ago> But once office functions gain special purpose software, it often locks in strong assumptions about workflows that translate into more, rather than less, "sorry but I can't do that." Which just solidifies the demand for people to build more such software for other use cases.