Office Automation: An Overview

Government of India Ministry of Communication & Information Technology Department of Information Technology National Informatics Centre Training Division, New Delhi

Lecture Plan
Classification of Office Activities Trends in Technology Aim of using IT Tools in Offices Concept of Office Automation Present Scenario Need for re-engineering of processes Concept of Work flow Groupware Technology Tools: An Overview

Classification of Office Activities

Documents preparation Data Management ( Structured / Unstructured) Scheduling / Planning of activities Presentation Dissemination of Information Communication / Correspondence

Trends in Technology
Hardware
Reduced Size, Less cost, More capabilities

Software
More capable, User friendly, More towards real world environment

Networking
Faster Communication Media, Concept for LAN/WAN/MAN / Web Technology cont.

Trends in Technology
Linking of conventional tools Telephone, Fax, Photocopier can be easily linked with Information Technology tools ( Computers & Communication) to automate office functions.

What we would like to achieve by using IT Tools

Improvement in quality of output Improved Productivity / efficiency Optimal Utilization of Resources Reduction in time taken in execution of activities Better Information sharing / Transparency Better way of delivery of information to user at a place convenient to him / her Reduction in the dependency on human beings Look for simplification of procedures Better customer support etc.

Desktops

Mainframes

Cost

Investments

Increase in Productivity

Time

Why is it so?
Lack of understanding of concept of Office Automation Lack of knowledge about Technology Lack of Coordination Resistance to Change Lack of willingness to adopt new tools

How to go about to deal with mid-life crisis?

We should understand that : Information management is a business process, as todays user expects quality product and satisfaction Organisations need to change way of working to take full advantage of technology Work culture needs to change to shift focus on process instead of a task

What is Office Automation ( Todays concept)?

Adoption of IT Tools for enhancing productivity and reduction of manual labour It is associated with paperless

office

Is it enough ?

Technology Vs. Business

Question arises Should Technology change business or Business needs should change technology? By providing IT tools at desk tops, should we not redistribute responsibilities by providing more powers of decision making down the line?

Need for re-engineering of processes

To take full advantage of technology, there is a need for re-engineering of processes Key to successful re-engineering process is integration of people, processes, data, strategy, and technology Objective of re-engineering should be to reach Total Quality Management IT Tools are so powerful, that dream of TQM can be definitely fulfilled, if timely actions are taken

Re-engineering Process
To take full advantage of Technology, processes need to be re-engineered Key to successful re-engineering is integration of people, processes, data, strategy and technology Objective of re-engineering should be to reach TQM ( Simplification of procedures, minimize process delays, improve quality of output, minimize cost of operations)

Objective of Office Automation: ( Redefined)

To improve customer relation by bringing transparency in systems To achieve better management control To simplify operations and minimise computational errors To improve quality of output in terms of presentation and reduction in processing time

Workgroup

A workgroup is a group of people working towards the same goal.

Concept of Workflow in Office Automation

Information management / Business processes can be divided into sets of inter related tasks, which need to be done in prescribed order incorporating information from various resources. So one has to look for work flow automation using IT tools

Workgroup

contd.

The members of the workgroup may be locally placed, e.g., people working in a section/ department or they may be placed at different far off locations.

WorkFlow
A Workflow is anything that makes knowledge or information sharing / dissemination more efficiently ansl it also helps in coordination of various activities to achieve a predefined goal .
Intermediary Information Data Flow Output

Input from some other source

Input from Data Bank

The 3 Cs in a Work flow

Collaboration
Sharing the information

Communication
Exchange of ideas Consultancy

Coordination
Monitoring the workflow Ensuring the Quality of Output

Whats the key to the solution?

Technology Drivers
Hardware Devices
Communication Devices Processors

New Groupware S/W Web Technology

Thank You.

For further information and suggestions please contact Training Division National Informatics Centre A-block, CGO Complex Lodhi Road, New Delhi-110003 E-mail:trghqt@alpha.nic.in Website: http://training.nic.in