| This dissertation proposes, develops, and demonstrates a computational system that performs more office tasks than previously possible. This system is based on highly expressive formal languages and speech act theory. Because of the complexity of communication, this system divides office tasks into two types--those that involve communication (the saying tasks) and those that do not (the doing tasks). This general-purpose system performs, monitors, and coordinates tasks that are distributed over time, place, people, and applications. This system is based on observations about the nature of work and effective and efficient workers.;The architecture of the system involves four main parts: (1) a formal language for communication, (2) a system for managing messages in this formal language, (3) a formal language for describing tasks, and (4) a system that performs, coordinates, and monitors these tasks. The formal language for communication, previously defined by Kimbrough and associates, is described and slightly modified. A new theory of formal language communication is derived from an existing theory of natural language communication. The requirements for a system of managing messages are described and investigated. A declarative, formal language is defined for describing the tasks the system can perform. Finally, a system that interprets these task descriptions is described. This system not only executes tasks but monitors their success and coordinates the people and applications that perform them. The fully integrated system provides powerful tools for communication and coordination.;Several prototype applications demonstrate the usefulness of the architecture and the underlying communication theory. Both systems are shown to be implementable and plausibly useful for businesses to integrate into their information systems. The communication theory is shown to be useful though many steps in the process must be further investigated. |
