The Myth of the Paperless Office by Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper, The
MIT Press (19 November), $24.95/拢16.95, ISBN 0262194643
THE paperless office is on its way鈥攐r so we鈥檝e been told for the past
30 years. Desktop computers, distributed databases, e-mail and the Internet were
all expected to eliminate paper. All in vain: consumption is still rising. The
arrival of e-mail caused a 40 per cent increase. The paperless office is a
myth.
Abigail Sellen and Richard Harper explain why in The Myth of the Paperless
Office. They鈥檝e discovered that you can鈥檛 just wish paper away. A decision to
introduce electronic documentation should not be driven merely by a wish to
reduce paper consumption鈥攐rganisations should first look carefully at the
processes involved. Take, for example, the failure of the criminal-incident
recording system introduced by one police force in Britain. Officers soon
abandoned their new laptops and returned to paper-based note taking. Why? Using
the laptop seriously interfered with interviews. Paper, it seems, has distinct
advantages over digital devices, particularly during sensitive conversations
with victims.
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This is a book that all managers should read before they try to use
technology to improve their organisational processes, and the same goes for
designers of electronic document support systems. It explodes the paperless
myth, and highlights the strengths and weaknesses of electronic and paper-based
systems.
Anyone who prints out colour versions of electronic documents or who
surrounds their computer screen with Post-it notes will be pleased to learn that
they are not a Luddite after all. Sellen and Harper reassure us that we are
merely exploiting paper鈥檚 manifest 鈥渁ffordances鈥�. Paper will be around for some
time yet.