The last month and a half have been very very busy at work.
We went live at a new site at the beginning of the month, which required a lot of overtime to get everything ready initially, and then some rather difficult hours since then sorting out all the bugs and teething problems.
After using it for a month, most of the users have become relatively adept at using the system, and the bulk of the queries receive now are the really complicated things – like “How do I generate multiple invoices with overlapping Purchase Orders in three different currencies with all kinds of weird markups and discounts?”
However, the users aren’t happy. They don’t like the system. It’s awkward, slow, excessively complicated and so internally inconsistent that it even confuses us.
Several times a day I hear “On [our old system] we could do this and this and that. Why can’t we do it on [the new system]?”
Apparently there were business reasons for going with our system over the old one. Something about stricter controls on what the users can do. Fine. Why buy a whole new system to do that? Why not just fix the old one?
Our system is not designed to do what they’re using it for. They’ve bought a (very expensive) donkey to do the work of a horse. Sure, they can both pull a cart, but just try and race a donkey.
I’ve voiced my concerns to whomever would listen, but it’s far too late. Too much money has changed hands for us to back out now… we’re just going to have to take this donkey (now pumped up on steroids and stimulants, fitted with the finest Nike trainers and shaved for aerodynamic reasons) and get as much speed out of it as possible.
But I swear, if I hear one more user say “This is such a shitty system! You’re not helping us, you’re making our jobs more difficult!” I am going to grab its empty, little head, and twist it until it comes off.
Well here’s a subject I can relate too. I have had many a situation like this. 9 out of 10 times it is the users that are being stubborn and unwilling to accept change. But, if the designers, writers or implementers of an application don’t feel it is suitable then that’s saying something.
ReplyDeleteI think I can safely assume that this decision was made by someone high up in the food chain with minimal knowledge of the business requirements that were supplied by the client. This is often the case. Dollar signs (or Rands) were probably the decider here.
It’s the techies that in essence “present” this application to the client, therefore taking the blame for any failures. It’s the techies that get the brunt of the user’s wrath. It’s the techies that will have to support the application for the rest of its life.
But, on the flip side – it’s the business that will slightly degrade its name in its business community by a bad or unsuitable implementation. It’s the business that incurs the cost of the overtime and extra dev hours that the techies have to do. It’s the business that will eventually lose good techies by demanding implementations that force techies to lower their standards in order to get something done.
You were smart to express your concerns, because when things get really bad… well you’re covered.
Here’s hoping it all works out though. Good luck.
Quite right. I know exactly who made the call and why. Frikken retard.
ReplyDeleteAnd if he wasn't my boss's boss, I would twist his empty little head off.