Users Rule OK! - Join the Revolution
Growing up in suburban Melbourne in the 70's and 80's, I was influenced by the prevailing punk-inspired anarchists of the time and particularly by the catch-cry that was tagged with graffiti on the front fences of local institutions -- Punks Rule OK! Now, in truth, I hardly had an ideological bone in my body in those days, but the spirit of questioning the status quo and being generally disruptive to defined norms has remained a strong part of my character ever since.
It is with this spirit of anarchy in mind that I have coined a new catch-cry for business technology implementations -- "Users Rule OK!"
And with that I bring you the End-User Manifesto:
We, the end user of business technology, assert our rights to access and utilise software applications as an integral part of who we are and what we do in the workplace and in our social and personal lives. The way we work has changed and continues to change rapidly such that no longer is technology the domain of specialist functions such as IT, it is a common right of all employees in order to perform their roles productively and effectively.
We will stand against:
- systems that were designed to support a "super-user" and require a Computer Science degree to operate.
- systems that were designed, built and deployed without consultation with end-users
- systems that were built for compliance rather than enablement
- systems that require us to navigate multiple applications using multiple passwords with multiple interface designs
We will demand:
- that new applications are intuitive and self-evident to the end-user
- that there be interoperability built into all systems so that we can access information and communicate effectively across multiple channels
- that social networking be embraced by corporates not banned, so that we can use these technologies for good, not evil and be treated as adults in the process
- that our business leaders stop throwing technology implementation projects over the wall to IT and other third parties -- these are business transformation projects with a technology component, not IT projects!
We urge all technology end-users to join this uprising for the greater good of society and the corporate world that sustains it. Rise up against the conspiracy of old school technologies and the out-dated methodologies that are used to deploy them. Get on the bandwagon and have your say in how you want your technology to work for you. This is the dawning of a new age of business technology adoption. Bring on the new world order.
USERS RULE OK!
Want to explore the End-User Manifesto further with me - I'll be presenting at the forthcoming RECTEC conference in Sydney on Nov 22. Alternatively, post a comment below or contact me and I'll happily come and talk to you and your team.