The psychology of personal information management

A requirement of 'The Office of the Future' is that it provides us with an effective way of storing and retrieving information. But existing IT products go nowhere near supporting the variety of activities which can be observed in paper-based offices, and it is not surprising that concepts of the 'paperless office' are as far off as they were when the idea was first mooted. This paper illustrates how many of the issues involved in the automation of information management are essentially psychological in nature. These principally devolve upon the processes of recall, recognition and categorisation. Examples of existing information management techniques show how there is a trend to automate with a view to simulating office practices, or to develop according to the availability of technological solutions. Both of these are inefficient with respect to the user's psychological needs. A framework for developing user-oriented information management systems is discussed and relevant research issues presented.