Recycled Bullsh-IT

There is an assumption that the behaviour of people involved in a business process is predictable and consistent. Too many managers still expect a manual process step to be carried out by staff in the same way, over the same period of time, with the same outcome, regardless of the context in which they are working. I’m not talking here about process constraints or business rules, I’m talking about some of the irritatingly issues that blight the best laid plans of (computer) mice and men, typically irrational customers and poor data.

For instance, imagine your call centre agents (don’t mock, this could be you soon too) are faced with a magnificent (i.e. expensive) new customer service app to enter their phone call actions. Last week they had a clunky but known old forms-based system where they could type and tab through each screen in less time than the call took, with a cunning set of shortcuts they’d worked out by trial and error over the years to get the job done. As Any Fule Kno (anyone who has done data entry) an experienced agent will fly through their work faster than you can say ‘computer says no’, particularly when their call duration is monitored and used for appraisals and bonuses. However, their shiny new app has been “improved” based on a seemingly random “best practice” process dreamed up by an expensive consultancy that has never done their job. And a Usability Expert who has created the most garish and unintuitive interface possible.

Surprisingly, these staff are expected to produce the same output as quick (or quicker) than before. In practice the time increases, or the quality goes down or, more likely, both. This doesn’t seem logical to the Vulcans who have designed this new process, but to the humans remaining it can be all too obvious.

Sadly, there is still too little user input in the requirements gathering for process and system change that takes place. Even in the highly vaunted Six Sigma and Lean Management methods and practice, there is still an (unspoken) assumption that the staff are just automatons who don’t need to worry their pretty heads about how the process should work because the Black Belts know better and will condescend to show them best practice.

Typically, the requirements are agreed with the departmental manager who has only the vaguest idea about how the work is actually done. The manager may understand inputs and outputs for their part of the process, but they probably don’t know about Doris ringing accounts hourly to sort another badly keyed order to ensure it gets processed.

So don’t look surprised when your staff are less than enthusiastic when told of the confusing new system you are imposing on them. You are not helping them; you are just changing one unsuitable system (which they had figured out the gotchas) for another unsuitable system (that is broken in different ways that will take them months to work around). And don’t even think of replacing them with robots until you truly understand the problems with your current processes.

The V-signs you are getting behind your back are not for Victory…

 John “Robbie the Robot” Moe