Thursday 2 July 2009

The really important bit everyone forgets...

Someone sent me a link to this today with a nice summary as follows:

[Three] concerns must shape our strategy for gaining acceptance of any new technology.

- First, a technology must be evident to the user as potentially useful in making his or her life easier (or more enjoyable).

- Second, a technology must be easy to use to avoid rousing feelings of inadequacy.

- Third, the technology must become essential to the user in going about his or her business.

This "Three-E Strategy," if applied properly, has been at the core of every successful technology adoption throughout history.

From Tom Haymes, 2008, The Three-E Strategy for Overcoming Resistance to Technological Change, EDUCAUSE Quarterly, vol 31, no. 4 (October - December 2008)

I have been saying this for years! Often the part of the system that is most neglected (and budget squeezed) is the very part that explains how exactly a system can make life easier for the users. Users are far too often told they must use something or else. Not often enough does someone stop to explain the benefits they can get too!

The people part of any computer system is the most important part. Get the people bit right and the data quality will follow.