I often wonder, like many other researchers, if papers, published much earlier in time, have anything to say to present researchers, given the radical changes in information technology, which have occurred in the meantime. One would like to think so. However, it is most likely that some serious updating of those papers would be required for that to be so.
Here is a case in question. The paper ‘Interacting with the Computer: a Framework’ by Morton, Barnard, Hammond and Long was published in 1979 – more than 35 years ago. It was one of the fist of its kind and was very ambitious. It attempted to combine the science of Psychology with the applied science of information technology design.
I contend that the paper indeed has something to say to present-day researchers and practitioners; but that considerable updating and extension would be in order. I make some suggestions in the form of comments, as to what these might be. The comments are generally based on the Discipline Framework of Long and Dowell ( 1989) and the Design Problem Framework of Dowell and Long (1989).
Interacting with the Computer: a Framework