PRECIS was developed as a response to an inadequacy. In 1971 the decision was made to begin computer generation of the British National Bibliography directly from MARC data. The plan was immediately delayed when it became evident that the strategy worked for all fields except the subject index field. Austin was called upon to design a strategy that would clear this critical hurdle.

Austin recognized early on that the computer could liberate indexers from the constraints of "relative significance" (similar to main entry). Main entry is necessary only when shelf location is the predominant consideration. When completed, PRECIS enabled indexers to think of terms and their relationships.

PRECIS analyzes documents and forms short subject statements. Those statements are then analyzed linguistically, searching for such variables as terms denoting action, the object of the action, time, location, etc. Ultimately, the fundamental concepts are determined and positioned in the computer record to allow "shuffling." (If three elemental concepts were assigned to a work, any one of the three could assume the first position, dependent upon the search.) Single concept terms form the components; they may be manipulated and rearranged at will; the computer enables fluid shelving.

The application of PRECIS diminishes as computers become more powerful and linguistic extraction techniques grow more sophisticated. Austin's contribution continues to have resonance; his PRECIS was the first to illuminate the possibilities of textual analysis and linguistic synthesis.