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A research project was set up to study in-depth the social practices of managing time for surgical operations in a large hospital, as seen by the different occupational groups involved. This ethnographic study was based on the assumption that an understanding of current practices and problems be an indispensable building block of a computer system. This system should do j~ astice to the complexity of the temporal problems involved in the scheduling of surgical operations. It should~ lso support more cooperative practices of setting priorities and allocating time. The surgery clinic, part of a large university hospital, houses six departments, representing different specialities. The out-patient (OP) facilities of the clinic consist of six operation theaters and one small room for minor surgery. A main organizational problem this clinic faces is the scheduling of surgical operations. Each department has been allotted a certain …