Most people will remember the fabulous sketch from Little Britain when David Walliams blankly announces ‘Computer says no’ to virtually every request from a customer. It was classic comedy on a par with ‘Don’t tell them your name Pike’ from Dad’s Army and ‘That’s nearly an arm full’ from the wonderful ‘Blood Donor’ episode of Hancock’s Half Hour. Sadly, the reason it has taken up its rightful position as one of the most memorable comedy lines in history is that it’s almost true.
How many times have you received a ridiculous letter from a large organisation which, on investigation, proves to have been sent ‘automatically’ by the computer system? Who has not, at some time, received an invoice for 1p which, if any thinking person had been involved, would never have been sent?
Of course it’s not the computer’s fault. No computer, no matter how sophisticated, is capable of thinking for itself – despite the efforts of Alan Turing in the 1940s and countless others since – so it’s all down to people really. The aging adage ‘Garbage in – Garbage out’ is as true today as when it was coined in the 1970s. The key for modern computing is to ensure that applications truly reflect business procedures, not twist and bend procedures to fit the limited capabilities of the system. It’s fine for computers to say ‘No!’ but only when ‘No’ is the right business decision.
The first step in the process is proper consultancy. So many ‘so called’ consultants are there just to work out how a particular problem can be solved with their proprietary offering, whether it’s appropriate or not. There’s nothing wrong with using off-the-shelf products if they are right for the job, but it’s easy to make compromises in the pursuit of economy and lose sight of the main objective.
Conversely, some consultants are determined to continually re-invent the wheel in an attempt to provide a ‘bespoke solution’. That’s fine if you have the resources to take a long-term view but it will probably take a long time and be expensive. Meanwhile, of course, your business may well be struggling along with an old, inefficient system waiting for the tailor-made version to be perfected.
The solution is often to adapt the existing system to meet the new needs of the business. It’s a balance between using what’s already proven and adding just enough creative flair to make sure the business needs are met perfectly. For customers on a limited budget consultants should establish what’s already there and work out how they can build on it to achieve the desired result. Wherever possible they should use existing products then exploit the talents of the software developer to add what’s missing. This way they achieve the optimum blend of speed, practicality and economy that is the holy grail of the IT industry.
For companies that can take a more strategic view of their IT needs the bespoke system is usually the right choice as the cost can be amortised throughout the system’s working life to provide excellent value despite an initially high price tag. Good consultants will be able to recognise companies that have the resources and the need to take this longer-term approach and bring into operation the full talents of their software development team to provide a bespoke system that owes nothing to compromise.
Making these judgements is not easy but that’s where the consultant’s skill lies. Understanding a company’s existing system, recognising what works well and what does not, keeping up-to-date with current technology and off-the-shelf systems and, finally, employing developers with real creativity and flair, is more of an science than an art – and it’s a science that should be tested to the full if we are, at last, to see an end to customers being required to moderate their wishes and expectations to fit business systems that were never designed with them in mind.
MMCC Consultants
www.mmcc.co.uk
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