Tim's Weblog
Tim Strehle’s links and thoughts on Web apps, software development and Digital Asset Management, since 2002.
2004-04-29

Do As They Need, Not As They Say

Jeff Lowery at ONJava.com - Do As They Need, Not As They Say:

"'Do it the way we've always done it, except better.' This is the unstated initial requirement of any new system I've been asked to develop. Nobody really wants to change the way things are done, even though they recognize the problems. It's an expensive proposition to replace an existing system with a new one, and whoever's paying for it is going to want to see some bang for their buck. It may not be the end users, who have learned to live within the limitations of the current system and probably have all sorts of protocols for dealing with the stuff that goes wrong on a frequent basis. Instead, it will likely be the upper-level manager or executive who sees in the bottom line just how costly such workarounds can be. He or she may also understand that they "can't get there from here" with the system they have, while the end users may not possess such strategic vision.

[...] I think it's important that you see your end users as your customers, even though management is paying the bills. While it's true that you can't ignore requirements from the management side, you can at least convince your end users that any additional data they have to key in, or any change in methods pertaining to new business processes, are not due to your own capriciousness. You have to identify with the end user, and recognize his or her pain as your pain. When you've done that, you see to it that change occurs in the least painful way possible."