Sat, 09 Feb 2008

Am I a Luddite?

A Luddite is generally considered to be a person who is opposed to technological change. I don't think so. I'm not generally against advancements in technology, but I am against the proliferation of technology without purpose. So often we add features to things just because we can rather than because we should. Look at all the things that have clocks!

Thus you end up with something which you never use, but which can cause malfunctions in the features you do use. Conversely the unused technology can cause the features your do use to fail or cost your money in repair bills because of the feature.

I am a programmer and one of the most idiotic things I have heard is someone say, let's add the feature and then promote it so people will use it. This is the if you build it them will come mentality. The technicians driving the business to features they didn't want and won't use. More projects fail because of this unnecessary complexity than the actual base features of the solution. And more times than not, these unnecessary features result in difficulties which cause the users to complain about the software you have created.

I an a firm believer in defining the business case first and then finding or developing technology to fit the way the users need to do business. This is the see a need, fill a need mentality (thanks "Robots"). If you can find out the job someone needs to do and understand the way they need to do the job, you can provide them with the technology to better do their job.

An analogy that I like to use is that, to my mind, the 3x5 card is still the best place for recipes. You an take it anywhere, revise it easily, and if you slop your creation on it, you can dry it off and not worry about damaging sensitive and expensive parts. A technological improvement might be to seal them in plastic once the recipe was proven.

OK, I realize there are cooks who may require something a bit more sophisticated to meet their needs. Take the professional chef who has hundreds of 3x5 cards and needs to purchase food on the tight margins of a successful restaurant. He might put the recipes into a computer program which could then print out a shopping list for the week for the restaurant or the catering affair or suggest one of the many recipes he has to take advantage of an ingredient in large supply or with a better margin that week. BUT, the program should be capable of printing the recipes onto 3x5 cards -- which might be sealed in plastic -- for the actual restaurant operation.

Now that's technological progress!

posted 12:11 [/Technology] permanent link