Archive for the 'Local Government' Category

Vocational professionals from two worlds don't have enough time to learn all about each other's worlds

It may be the case that people who purchase domain specific and mission critical software want it to do everything that they want it to, all of the time and expect it to keep up-to-date through some strange force working in the ethers.  

Such an ideal situation does not, to my knowledge, exist anywhere. 

People who write software need skills that take years to acquire and the users of such software are often similarly skilled in their profession, having taken many years to learn what they need to – professionally.  A Structures Engineer will be a Structures Engineer most of their life, possibly crossing to “Highways” (or vice versa). Confirm software users operate in ten vocational professions and PBBI staff could never afford ten lifetimes know what our users need to know to execute their jobs.

So the optimum situation might be a form of relationship where, like the “Borg” (…as in Star Trek…), knowledge is shared so that each can get on and do the things they are best at.

A community where information is shared needs a high level of trust and might comprise a number of “strands”.

If the software company participates in the professional world of this Engineer, they may trust the software company more. Another “strand” might be where the parties meet to discuss software enhancements and the users feel a level of democracy is available to them in decision making about enhancements. 

As the pressures on Government workers increases, opportunities to leave the workplace to attend events reduce. Whilst this might work against “community” a third strand is where the Confirm users have created a “Community of Practice” (CoP) website (http://www.communities.idea.gov.uk/welcome.do) where information flows between users.  The CoP website enables peer contact and thus sharing of best practice. 

I have also been looking “strand characteristics” that might encourage or catalyse information flow. 

Like many people, I promised myself to write that book some day

A user needs to “trust” the community; a user wants to feel that they are getting something from a community and they may want to feel a sense of belonging in their own terms.

In order to reach a position of mutual benefit, a software company needs to understand the business World in which its users exist, and where users’ pressures equate to an opportunity for mutual benefit.  Perhaps seeking KPIs required by users’ stakeholders, uncovering what are the basic repetitive tasks that they have to undertake or identifying what data is duplicated or manually entered into two systems. 

So, on I go, studying but, more importantly, asking questions and listening intensely to the answers.  One day, I will work out the secret formula for effective communities.

When I do, perhaps I will write that book I promised myself!

2010 and the second decade is getting underway, as the worst snow since 1963 melts away leaving damaged roads and faulty roadside assets, particularly the electrical type!  The snow and ice has enabled the misbehavour of cars, many of which have defied the driver’s instructions to turn and continued in a not-at-all-majestic straight line into kerbs, lamp columns and ditches.  Many unfortunate drivers ended up in hospital and even more with bills for car repairs that might be followed by claims for repairs to roadside assets.  Our refuse and recycling has not been collected and many of us could not get to our offices.

However, there is one very bright shining star that I saw radiating from the snow-storms: our ability to work from home. 

Many of us could not get to work…yet worked quite normally from home.  Many of our software systems are specifically “access from anywhere, work from anywhere” (aka Hosted, SAAS, on-demand).  Whilst 1963 saw a great deal of hardship from the long snow spell, 2010 has sent less for a number of reasons, one of them being our ability to work from home.  Not only could we access our key operational systems, but we could also hold teleconferences so that our regular important meetings.  We continued with the management of Government infrastructure and key services that keep our country ticking over. 

And what’s more, those who had the vision to introduce “Broadband Britain” should be congratulated.  We could find out “on-line” about changes to the refuse collection as well as transport changes, planes, trains and blocked roads.

Will this decade see us reflect on the tragedy in Haiti and link the (minor by comparison) experiences of the past fortnight, seeing the possibility of re-planning our “major event” and “disaster” plans?  We could easily decide to do so and create new plans if the Broadband service was available, and others if it was not.  Some key workers may have satellite Internet access by the end of the decade, possibly just as a standby.  We may plan for floods, earthquakes and civil disasters the light bulb now on that that key workers do not have to attend an office and we can make a step change to our ability to respond. 

There are many phases to responding to unusual circumstances and this Monday we will get to work repairing all the potholes and damaged roadside assets from this past fortnight.

Meanwhile, if behoves Senior Managers to reflect.  As every journey starts with the first step, no journey starts without that first step.  Will this be one of the changes of the “tens”?  Will Government senior managers be taking a step onto the tube this Monday, or will they be taking that first big on a long journey that will become part of a societal step-change?

Any clues for reducing costs whilst simultaneously increasing efficiency?