CS 4001c Homework 2

Computing Implications Interview

• Deadline:11:59 PM (midnight), Friday March 16th
• Grade:15%
• Turn-in requirement: Send as an attachment to an e-mail message to liam@cc.gatech.edu with subject line "4001 Homework 2". Please include your last name in the title of your document

TASK:

Identify one person whose work is affected by computing technology. You will interview this person. The person should be willing to be interviewed and quoted anonymously. Ideally they should be a person not involved in computing as a profession, although if you want to interview a programmer whose work has been affected by non-programming (e.g. administrative support) tools, that would be acceptable. Do NOT use a student as your interviewee unless the person has a work role such as a student assistant in a campus administrative unit (e.g. is responsible for housing or parking information). You don't need to know this person. You could, for example, interview the manager of a local store or one of the clerks (be sure to clear this with their boss first). The choice is yours.

REPORT::

1. 15% - The nature of the person's job responsibilities and how computer use is part of the job.


2. 25% -
   1. How does the use of computing now compare with how the job was done previously (or done perhaps at other comparable employer with more or less use of computing in a similar job)?
   2. What where the problems that the computing technology was introduced to fix?
   3. Did it successfully fix the problems? Why or why not?
   
   
3. 40% - What other effects has computing technology had on the work environment? (These might include how work is paced or shared, pride in work, uniformity or quality, social relationships at work with colleagues, customers, etc.) Are there unintended consequences that seem undesirable? Any that are positive? Don't restrict yourself to these questions if there are other issues that seem worthwhile pursuing.
   
   
4. 20% - Now that the reader can empathize with the person, identify a course of technological change that would improve the persons job experience. This may be the introduction of a new technology (one that exists but has not been integrated into the workplace yet), or fixing an undesirable consequence of an old technology. You must support your arguments by using the first hand experience of the person you interviewed. This section will be graded entirely on how well you use the previous three sections to support arguments for change.