Technology Enablers

Copyright © 2003 Patrick McDermott

UC BerkeleyExtension

pmcdermott@msn.com

Sharp, Alec & Patrick McDermott, Workflow Modeling: Tools for Process Improvement and Application Development, Boston: Artech House (1-58053-021-4), 2001.

Political Economy

David Ricardo, Principles of Political Economy and Taxation, 1817

Politics = Poly (greek Many) + Ticks?

Related Word: Policy

Economics: TNSTAAFL—No Free Lunch

a : the art or science of government b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing

governmental policy (Merriam-Webster)

1: prudence or wisdom in the management of affairs 2: a definite course or method of action selected from among alternatives

and in light of given conditions to guide and determine present and future decisions (Merriam-Webster)

The Science of balancing unlimited human wants with limited resources; The Art of allocating scarce resources to fulfilling human wants and needs.

Ill-Fitting Solutions• Two Cultures—Bridge the Gap

– Technology– Business

• Solution in Search of a Problem• Résumé Technology• Three Solutions:

CommunicateCommunicateCommunicate

Unintended Consequences• Emergence’s Evil Twin

– Freeway Fliers & Contract Programmers– Email & Spam: Productivity Paradox– Labor Saving Devices and Long Hours– Environmental Damages

• The Only Defense: Expect the Unexpected

Edward Tenner, Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of

Unintended Consequences, New York: Vintage Books, 1996.

Michael Crichton, Prey, New York: HarperCollins, 2002.

Johnson, Steven, Emergence: The Connected Lives of Ants, Brains, Cities and Software, New York: Scribner, 2001.

As Consultants are Wont to Say • We can do it Faster… • We can do it Cheaper… • We can do it Better…

—choose no more than two of the above.

The Enablers

Your solution can be technologically perfect, but fail!

The Enablers are what enable your solution to succeed.

Being Right is only half the Battle!

A Process,supported by six "enablers"

Enabler:Workflow

Design

Enabler:InformationTechnology

Enabler:Motivation &Measurement

Enabler:Human

Resources

Enabler:Policies &

Rules

Enabler:Facilitiesor Other

1. Workflow Design• Bottlenecks• A Coordinator or Expeditor Role implies

complexity or problems– Handoffs– Exceptions—Pareto Principle: 80/20

• Would a Customer willingly Pay for it?

• I could write a book

2. I.T.• Information & Technology• Larry, The Unknown Tech Worker• The Future is Ahead of Us

– Never be First—or Last

• “Machines should work. People should think.”• Thomas J. Watson, Chairman of IBM

• Problems– Missing Information– Duplicate Entry– Irreconcilable Sources

3. Motivation & Measurement

• Time on Phone• Auditors & Copy Editors• Carl’s On-Time Performance• Don’t Evaluate with an Indicator

• Process Improvement or Decision Support– Are Managers promoted for Improvement, or

Building an Empire?– Kaizen (改善 ) not Breakthrough

W. Edwards Deming, Out of the Crisis, Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press, 2000 (1982).

4. Human Resources• Training• Job Descriptions• Org Chart

• Right People• Right Jobs• Right Skills

A liceA n a lys t

W a llyE n g in eer

D ilb e rtD eve lop er

P o in ty H a irB oss III

5. Policies & Rules• See The Great Business Guru, Scott Adams

• Recursive Feasibility Study • Approvals & Inflation

• Reward Inertia– Punish Innovation?

6. Facilities• Transport or Communications Delays• Collaboration versus Quiet• Copier/Fax, Supplies• Clerical Support

• … or Other• e.g. Research Opportunities