THE TOOLBOX FOR ELECTORONIC NOMADS   Akihiro Kishimoto / Institute of Office Systems, KOKUYO Co., Ltd. Electronic Nomads pursue highly mobile, non-territorial workstyles, using digitized information and electronic technology as tools. High mobility necessitates workers to carry tools and information with them, as they are constantly on the move and their destinations hardly predictable. In the meantime, the accessing to networks is becoming easier, and networks themselves are going to have functions and serve as intelligent tools. In such a mobile work situation, what tools should be supplied and how should they be carried? Places Supporting Nomadic Working 1. Diversified Workplaces Due to fluid organizational structures and advancing information technology, working is no longer confined to what has been called an "office" for many years, making inroads into other areas, and producing diverse workstyles. These diverse workplaces are interrelated. One place is connected to others via information networks, whereas another place supplements others' functions. On such matrix of workplaces, workers turn themselves into electronic nomads, who work in virtualized spaces supported by information technology, selectively moving from one workplace to another. These nomads would have some primary places; a base for working where they can meet other team members and utilize worktools and services and a base for living where they can spend time with their families and pursue their personal goals. Fig.1 Diversified Workplaces 2. Primary Offices The base where electronic nomads belong can be a facility which functions like a club catering to its exclusive members. The base will be equipped with individuals' home bases, interaction areas, shared focus spaces and group work spaces, etc., and will be staffed with stationary supportive workers with professional expertise offering various services to each member directly or through networks. (The Club Office was proposed in ECIFFO 26.) The home will not only a personal living space for a nomadic worker but also a temporary home-office. For the non-territorial nomad, who does not have to go to the office once a day like traditional workers, the home, though not a permanent workplace, will be an important base for his or her work. The electronic nomad, working off these two bases, will use various spaces and facilities as temporary offices for remote work. 3. Temporary Offices All facilities, such as public spaces, commercial spaces, transportation facilities, etc., can serve as temporary offices for remote work. The function of these temporary offices can of course vary and how they can work depends on the performance of the tools carried by each nomad. However, the temporary office is not necessarily an almighty space equipped with every possible tool. What is important is what you want to do or what the place enable to do. Spaces, just like tools, should be used selectively to suit the content of work. Although it may be possible to have a desktop conference on the train, you may not feel comfortable to do so in the presence of strangers. In such a case, it would be more reasonable to do a job that can fit into a short span of time, such as working out a day's schedule. Though it is crucial for workers to be able to access networks, wherever they are, it may not be a good idea to depend too heavily on informational environment. Again, it is important to use the tools, spaces and services most suitable for the kind of work to be done and to formulate a work plan accordingly. Tools Supporting Nomadic Working 1. Analog Tools vs. Digital Tools How to use analog tools and digital tools selectively is important in determining the use of tools optimum for a particular job or situation. Generally, electronic information is suitable to meet requirements for copying, editing and frequent update as it can be easily processed. Requiring only little storage space, it can be quickly searched and easily transferred through networks. On top of these advantages, it can serve as a function when combined with software. A digital tool means more than an electronic device. An electronic device is in reality a toolbox storing software, an invisible tool, and also a cabinet housing electronic information. Common analog tools are traditional stationery goods and paper. They are easy to use and carry and offer quick access to a particular type of information. You can carry a notebook or a pen at any time and they are always ready for use. It's just the matter of taking them out of your jacket pocket. A notebook-type computer, on the other hand, needs several tens of seconds for a start-up. Linkage among tools is also important. All types of information should be synchronically aligned between portable tools and desktop tools. When the information is synchronically updated, the digital tool can copy and transfer data maintaining their original quality. With the analog tool, however, information can only be manually copied or transcribed with less flexibility to cope with differences in paper size and format. Thus, it is important to combine tools with due consideration to the content of work, the type of information and how it is to be used. Fig.2 Analog Tools vs. Digital Tools 2. Selection of Tools: What to Carry An important factor in selecting any kind of tool for remote work is to consider a balance between on-duty requirements and off-duty requirements. A tool should be as small as possible for portable use, but it must be big enough and easy enough to perform a certain job. A palm-top computer is OK when inputting simple memos and schedules, whereas inputting a long manuscript requires a large screen and a full-size keyboard for smooth operation. However, a full-size keyboard is too large and often a little too heavy to be carried in a bag. If you just need to look through a certain piece of information, you should carry a piece of printed paper, which is much lighter and easy to handle (you can fold it, jot a memo on it, and discard it when you finish). Digital tools are not always to replace but supplement analog tools, offering a wider scope of choices. The kinds of tools you can carry vary according to the level of remote work. You could carry a notebook PC, a spare battery and other peripherals, and reference materials in a travel bag when you go on a long business trip. However, it will be unrealistic to carry all these things on a short day trip when you think of their total weight. You will carry a change of clothes on a few-day trip, while never on your everyday trip to the office. Further, the club office is usually non-territorial, so that you should either carry or transport a minimum of personal tools or have them stored in the office. Thus, the workstyle of electronic nomads requires a good selection of portable tools for information processing and communication as well as tools for housing and carrying them. Fig.3 Conditions for Selecting Tools 3. Tools for Carrying Portable Tools It is important to choose the right bag or toolbox for carrying portable tools. The choice is governed by such factors as what tools to carry, how to use the bag or toolbox, the fashion orientation of the carrier, the arm strength, which may vary greatly between men and women, etc. For instance, an attache case, which can serve as a kind of working board when put on the lap, is unable to adjust its size according to the volume of goods to be placed within, and often comes without outside pockets for storing items such as cellular phones or electric pagers that need to be taken out frequently. The bag for storing notebook-type computer should be padded to protect the computer against impact from outside and roomy enough to store peripherals such as discs and cables. In addition, the bag must store regular paper and reference materials neatly, as the PC bag should serve as a business bag for remote workers. The bag should also match with the clothes of the carrier. An attache case may match with a business suit, but not with a polo shirt and jeans. In the same way, a canvass backpack doesn't go with a business suit. As women often carry a handbag as their clothes don't usually have many outside pockets, the business bag should also be able to match with the handbag. The club office is basically an non-territorial office for electronic nomads, providing them with spaces which support their selective mobility to find the optimum space for a particular job. Therefore, each nomad worker must carry, transport and store a minimum of tools inside the office. In addition to a personal locker, which is a home base for an individual nomad worker, carrying tools such as wagons and file boxes are required inside the office. These items should ideally be totalized as a system and have a high degree of interchangeability. Fig.4 Non-territorial Worker's Notebook PC and Toolbox The Toolbox For Electronic Nomads 1. Interrelated Supportive Tools In case of non-territorial workers, the extent of tool availability varies from location to location. And it is impossible for them to carry all the tools to the locations they choose. Therefore, the interchangeability of tools used in separate locations becomes crucial. The club office offers them top-notch equipment, network server, supportive spaces and services. The home office, serving as the second work base for an individual worker and an entrance to the cyberspace, can offer an environment functioning in the same mode as the club office, though in the limited capacity. Other temporary offices may be less responsive to particular work requirements and need adjustments on the part of workers, as they must carry all the tools and use public infrastructures and services. Specifically, there are many problems on different levels regarding tool interchangeability such as; renewing electronic information created at different locations and maintaining its synchronism, keeping data interchangeable between different machines or different interfaces, and systematizing the size and format of magnetic media, paper media and stationery goods for containing them. Unless tools have standardized forms and sizes, workers will find them awkward to carry, affecting the work efficiency at temporary offices. 2. Modular Combination System The modularized docking system is an effective method to combine groups of interrelated tools. Under this system, the main office is equipped with standard personal computers which are used as regular desktop PCs. When workers move to a different location, they detach from the docking station a light-weight notebook-type PC equipped with minimum functions. In other words, the brain and data of the personal computer is always in the same place (i.e. in the notebook-type PC), so that you don't have to worry about maintaining synchronism of data or the trouble of data transfer. And operation mistakes will be fewer, since you don't have to switch from one type of computer to another. In short, the docking system is such that you can detach from a fixed large system the smallest possible portable part, which is in itself autonomous as a tool. This concept is not necessarily limited to PCs. For instance, a commercially available A5 size memo book comes with a detachable pocket size schedule book (A5 folded in two:A6). The idea is that users use the heavy part of the equipment on the desk and carry the part to be used frequently. Thus, there will be no need to transfer schedule information from one source to another. The docking system can also be applied to the bag. It would be a trouble if you have to carry many bags on a few-day trip. For such a situation, it would be advisable to carry a bag docking bags of different sizes, so that you can go about with a smaller bag when you reach your destination. Smaller volume tools are not always better in a docking system. Larger but thinner items are often better than seemingly compact but thick items from the point of view of storing. Furthermore, in addition to bags, there is something else which serves as a tool for carrying small portable tools. It is a men's business suit, which has many pockets roomy enough to carry wallets, pocket books, business card folders and pens. A wearable tool similar to a fishing vest is one possible option for use within the office. Fig.5 Images of Modular System Tools 3. Future Orientation of Digital Tools Today new technologies have been introduced to the digital tool industry in rapid succession; a network constructed with the same protocol as the Internet or applications built in the network itself. The mainstream PC in near future will be the NC, namely the network computer. With a network computer, you can select applications on the network, relieving you of the trouble of carrying them. With the advent of small and wireless electronic equipment it will not be long before people will be buying such items as a "virtual reality glasses" or a "multimedia wrist watch." However, this does not mean we can easily disregard unique usages of analog tools and their cultural background. Only few people will deny the availability of many alternative choices which can reflect individual images and personalities. People often doodle on a piece of paper for no particular reason or chew a pencil while thinking. Would people do that sort of thing with electronic tools? Or would people exchange business cards electronically because that would be easier for database compilation? Manufacturers of traditional bags in the Western countries have a long history of manufacturing suitcases which can store a surprising variety of tools. Soldiers and Boy Scouts organize tools in a compact manner as situations require. And the household tools with which nomadic people used to move from place to place must be able to tell us something about the wisdom and style of nomadic activities. Traditional analog tools and their usages, digital tools as new electronic hardware, applications and networks as invisible digital tools, along with workplaces to be used selectively. All these factors will be a background against which the design of future digital tools will play a new role. (an excerpt from ECIFFO 28, March 5, 1996)