Summary

Office Information Systems are playing an ever-increasing role in business, government and scientific applications. They take advantage of many R&D activities in data base management, information systems, communication techniques, artificial intelligence, organizational theory and behavioral psychology. Advances are being made through the innovative application of theories, methods and techniques from these various fields. In addition, the office is being explored under different aspects: procedural, information-flow, behavioral, decision-making, and so forth. The IFIP Office Systems Working Conference Series provides an international forum of specialists to promote research, to exchange experiences gained in advanced design, implementation and use, and to encourage the discussion of new ideas in this growing and interdisciplinary area. The Pisa Conference is a logical successor of the previous IFIP Working Conference on Office Systems that was held in Helsinki, Finland in 1985. Observations at this second Conference showed the continued progress in application and system methods and technologies, the trend towards knowledge engineering, distributed services and system integration, and the consolidated maturity in understanding the basic issues in Office Systems. This book deals mainly with issues relevant to Office Information Systems. It should also prove to be a valuable resource for the computer community at large.