Fixing IT — How to Make a Monster (Customer)
Software development in general and IT in particular seems to have a love-hate relationship with our customers — as in, we really love to hate on our customers. We have Stupid User Tricks, ID10T issues, PEBCAK, and of course, Clients From Hell. Every once in a while, even Dilbert takes a break from bashing managers to take a swing or two at customers.
There’s even some evidence that the feelings are mutual.
Why?
How is it that we’ve managed to come to the point where distrust, even open hostility, is the norm? How is it that this situation is allowed to continue? What if we don’t change the dynamic?
To get an idea of how we got here, imagine the following scenario:
- There’s a restaurant where you’re required to eat.
- You don’t get to decide when you can eat; you have to ask (and ask) and eventually you’re allowed to sit at the table without any idea of when you’ll get another chance.
- You don’t pay for what you eat, but you will have to justify each menu item you order.
- The kitchen staff will be required to say how exactly long it will take to prepare the order, even if the item is not on the menu and no one has ever made it before.
- The waiter, the chef, and the maitre d’ may not understand or be able to prepare your order, so they reserve the right to alter it without any notice — you’ll find out when it arrives.
- Waiters interacting with diners after the initial order is considered poor practice; kitchen staff doing so is completely out of the question.
- If the order doesn’t meet your approval, you can send it back to be fixed as much as you like.
Under those circumstances, one might expect the restaurant patrons to be a tad distrustful of the staff, who will probably respond in kind. The experienced patrons will have learned to order as much as possible, regardless of need, subject only to the restraint of getting approval. They will have learned to be vague enough to allow them to keep sending dishes back for fixes that are enhancements in disguise. The bolder patrons will either learn to cook for themselves or find another restaurant, perhaps both.
Is this starting to sound familiar?
The second question, how is it that this has been allowed to continue, is something of a mystery. While there has been a growing significant incidence of shadow IT, things still haven’t broken out into open rebellion. How much of this is inertia and how much of this is the current economy holding back expenditures? More ominously, how close to the edge are we?
This brings us to the third question, the answer to which should be obvious. Trying to maintain the status quo will not work. In fact, doing so will be more likely to hasten the demise of IT as it becomes more of a commodity. Without major changes, IT risks becoming irrelevant and marginalized. Rather than worrying about blame (it should be obvious that this is a systemic problem rather than one or two bad actors), both business and IT need to find a way forward that maximizes value and minimizes friction. The risk to those organizations that cannot make this transition increases with each passing day.
Originally published at genehughson.wordpress.com on April 13, 2014.
