How To Live With Software Problems

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How To Live With Software Problems

• Klaus Jul Jeppesen
• PhD student
• IT University of Copenhagen

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Life Cycle Model
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Life Cycle Model
Focus
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The Players Objectives
Management Financially responsible
Users Work to do
IT-support Solve problems
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The Players The Flow
Management Financially responsible
Benefit
Users Work to do
Cost
Problems
IT-support Solve problems
Solutions
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The Players Feelings
Management Terrible cost reducible?
Benefit
Users Its a pain
Cost
Problems
IT-support Its fun to work on technical problems
- lets get more of them The users should do
their work, and not bother about computer
technology
Solutions
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Case 1 The New PC

• The users PC is replaced by a new lap top
• The user turns on power and is requested to
  log-on. Types name and password ?
• Illegal PW try again and again ?
• Security blocks further attempts
• Bring PC to IT-support

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Case 1 The Cause

• NT as standard sets Num-Lock on at boot, so the
  typed PW is incorrect, but as it is hidden the
  user cannot see the error.

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Case 1 The Solution

• Remind the user to deactivate Num-Lock - change
  the work procedure
• Change the setup on the lap top PC
• Change the procedure for initial setup of new lap
  top PCs.

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Case 1 Cost Benefit

• Each user lost 45 min.
• It happened 9 times before procedure was changed
  400 min. lost
• It took 6 minutes to repair 9654 min.
• The setup procedure revision was eventually
  implemented in 60 min.

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Case 2 The User

• Purchase department
• Enters purchase requests via computer
• For each purchase fills out form with 18 fields
• Form is cleared between each purchase

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Case 2 IT-support

• Observes the user
• All is fine the user achieves the goal, i.e.
  the purchase order is issued as desired
• One user complains about repetitive work
• IT-support notice that for three fields the user
  enters the same information for each purchase

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Case 2 IT-action

• Change system parameters to not clear the fields
  between each purchase orders
• Test and diffuse the new setup

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Case 2 Cost Benefit

• IT-support two hours of observation and two hours
  to change system parameters
• The user 30 seconds per purchase order
• Company made 60000 purchase orders per year.
• Time gained 500 working hours per year

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The Key Messages

• Take action on problems
• Estimate cost benefit before deciding approach to
  solution
• The potential reward is big

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More Research Required

• Obtain more insight into the benefit calculation
• Classification of problems
• Guidelines on how to prioritize IT-support
• Better ways to be proactive
• Establish maturity model for support?