From Philly.com
Try this: Go to the Web site of the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics – www.bls.gov – and find unemployment figures for Upper Darby.
Easy? Not. The numbers are there; the site is a treasure trove. But chances are you’ll get bogged down in screen after screen of forms and codes that could choke a macroeconomist.
This isn’t to pick on the bureau, but to say huzzah to the message in Harold Hambrose’s Wrench in the System. Technologists do the heavy lifting on most business software, and, as Hambrose explains, “a technologist’s first loyalty is to the code, not the customer.” The Dilbert comic strip has been making that point for a long time.
Wrench is an entertaining argument for a much greater role for designers, psychologists, even anthropologists in creating the complex and all-too-frequently bewildering software used by businesses.
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As seen on itbuessnessedge.com
Every year, businesses waste billions of dollars on information technology that doesn’t communicate clearly with the people who use it. This fundamental flaw causes errors and delays, lowers profits, and can even endanger lives.
In the book “Wrench in the System: What’s Sabotaging Your Business Software and How You Can Release the Power to Innovate,” technology designer Harold Hambrose shows executives and managers how to turn underperforming digital assets into powerhouse systems—how to specify small changes that dramatically boost productivity, how to reduce training costs, and how to ask vendors the right questions.
Wrench in the System reveals:
• Why so many of our essential software systems are needlessly confusing.
• How to make low-cost changes that provide direct, measurable benefits.
• The hidden costs of forcing people to adapt to clumsy electronic tools.
• The secrets of matching software to the needs of the company.
• How to leverage the power of technology for innovation.
The attached Zip file includes:
• Intro Page.doc
• Cover Sheet and Terms.pdf
• Wrench in the System Excerpt.pdf
Wrench In The System Excerpt.ZIP
by Patrick Avery
