Joe's Jottings
Jottings Number 47, Reply A, by Dan Keller:
From: dsk (Daniel S. Keller) dan@keller.com
Date: Thu, 21 Dec 95 8:56:41 PST
As usual, your Jotting has touched on some key issues for IT. The latest rings true for a skunk works project I'm doing with an HP Labs group. We bypassed the usual specification and design phases and jumped straight to building a web-based prototype. One of the motivators was a desire to give users a stronger sense of control. Since the web is essentially low-tech -- it doesn't take a PhD in CS to write HTML or run a server -- users can extend and modify the system themselves. Their perception had been that they were hostages to IT and for them the solution appeared to be getting IT out of the loop. Part of my own task as a contractor was then to make sure that we weren't just replacing one kind of hostage with another; I certainly don't want my clients to feel that they're *my* hostages. In fact, IT could perfectly well have done what I've done, which in essence is paying close attention to what the customers and users are saying. > "- Accept the fact that user satisfaction (as hard as that is > to define) is the key to success. Amen! Better yet, empower them to create their own satisfaction! No one hates their own baby. > "- Build inexpensive prototypes users can learn from before you > commit to large-scale development. The web is a good mechanism here. It's cheap and easy, platform- independent (Netscape runs on everyone's desk), and by definition distributed. > "- Don't use costly, time-consuming approaches to build > lightweight systems. Focus on fast and cheap when that is all > that is called for. Yup! See above. > "- Spend as much time building personal relationships as you do > building systems." This is the real lesson. Choice of technology is just a detail. Relationships are everything. > Thanks, Marty, for raising the subject. And thank *you*, Joe, for inviting comment. I'll call in a few days to arrange a holiday get-together. (We're waiting for the arrival of my Mom before making plans.) Love to Hudi and you, dsk
-- dsk@ska.keller.com http://206.14.2.5 415/861-4500 (voice) 4500 19th Street San Francisco, CA, USA 94114