Comments on: Helping Technology spurred change take

By: BlogJunction » Blog Archive » Weekly Tips: A Time of Change

BlogJunction » Blog Archive » Weekly Tips: A Time of Change — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 17:40:28 +0000

[...] change can be the most difficult to deal with. This blog entry from Library Web Chic discusses technology-driven change in the [...]

By: Karen

Karen — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 22:13:37 +0000

I agree completely fool-proof is difficult to achieve but as you say it should be the goal. Too often I’ve seen systems rolled out where people have said, “oh the users will just need to LEARN how to use the system”. This results in poor rates of adoption and annoyed users. As much as possible, we should endeavor to make our system not require people to have to LEARN too much to use them.

As far as ILSs gosh I could go one for hours about how if your not a librarian the ILS is a vast morass, and if you are a librarian it is only moderately better. I have my own opinion about why I think the ILS hasn’t gotten any better but that is a post in itself.

Fool-proof and easy is the goal. One yardstick I use is if 90%+ of the users can do the basic tasks then a system is ready to roll out. If not, well then you probably need to make so modification and/or do some serious user training if the system is just inherently complex.

By: Scott

Scott — Tue, 09 Jan 2007 17:22:07 +0000

Great post, Karen. I do have a tiny disagreement with point #1 though - fool proof and easy should always be the goal, but if they are absolute requirements for rolling something new out then you’ll soon be surrounded with only the old. Consider the ILS for example - I haven’t seen one that is easy, let alone one that is full proof, and this is how many decades along? Yet they are certainly a better alternative than paper and pencil (or recordak cameras and microfilm). For some things, even if not as fool proof or easy as one would like, a time comes when you need to go forward and implement.

[The tough thing, of course, is making that judgment correctly.]

By: K.G. Schneider

K.G. Schneider — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 11:45:04 +0000

Nice… very very nice.

By: Introducing New Technology « q.v.

Introducing New Technology « q.v. — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 11:37:25 +0000

[...] Introducing New Technology Published January 6th, 2007 Uncategorized Over at Library Web Chic, Karen Coombs has a great post about introducing new technology. I particularly like the emphasis on ease-of-use and training. [...]

By: Pam

Pam — Sat, 06 Jan 2007 01:22:12 +0000

Excellent and right on. I’m working on implementing a new wordpress site at my little school right now, and wondering how I’m going to get the teachers on board. Your post comes at a great time for me. I’ve been training staff for years in different kinds of institutions, and my experiences mirror yours exactly. You’ve got a super attitude.