Archive for October, 2009

It happens all the time

Umlungu has been going for more than 10 years. In that time, we have seen many companies make the same mistake over and over. We thought we’d share the mistake with you, and how it can be avoided.

Out with the old system, in with the new

We give you Company X, which:

• Is a customer-centric business. No customers, no revenue.
• Has had the same system in place for a number of years. Without this system, there would be no users and therefore no business.

They want to advance their old, tired but otherwise functional system that lies at the heart of their business with a new one.

The new system will be bigger, faster and more efficient. Sure, it’s expensive, but it makes complete business sense. The world is changing and Company X has to advance, or lose out by having a diminishing share of a growing marketplace. At least, this is what management and the IT department tell shareholders…

But here’s what the IT department doesn’t say

The IT department, for various reasons ranging from customer ignorance to corporate pressure, neglect to tell shareholders that despite its shortcomings, the old system was at least predictable. More importantly, the staff (and customers) who used the system had learnt to live with it, warts and all.

The business jumps on board…

The project goes ahead. Engineers engineer, developers develop and project managers cajole and threaten. A deadline is set. As it looms, developers work longer hours and then nights. Then weekends. The testing phase is nibbled into. Finally, system functionality is cut as the deadline is shifted one last time. Then, the system is unleashed…

Only to find the ship is on stormy waters

First there is relief: It is done. Then, the users do what users do. They use. Or at least they try to. Frustration builds when they realise they can’t do what they need to do, or what they used to do. They get unintelligible error messages. They can’t log in. They try again. And again. The system starts to grind. The call centre is flooded. Users complain, and finally… give up.

The business tries to make nice with the customers

After all this frustration, the final straw for most customers is a trite message posted to the system that starts with the words “Thank you for your patience…” and ends with the equally conciliatory but completely untrue “…for your benefit”.

The ugly truth: It was never to the customer’s benefit

The fact is, throughout this long, expensive process, Company X never paused to consider the simple truth that: “Our only source of income is our customers. Customers use our online systems. We must consider their experience and the customer process when we build these systems.”

Umlungu believes in benefit to the customer

Whenever we are asked to build or consult on a new system, our engineers and developers always design the system with your customers in mind. We’ve seen the story described above time and time again. We can simply bow our heads in sympathy. For the customers.

Talk to us today about customer focused systems.

We’re constantly on the internet – well, that is our job, after all. And everyone here at Umlungu had a good giggle about the following post (the original can be found here). Clearly, whoever wrote it (wisely not mentioning their name, since they’re probably afraid of offending clients), is a frustrated web designer. Hey, it happens. But we thought we’d place it as a little fun on a Friday.

If Architects Had to Work Like Web Designers

By: Unknown

January 10, 2002

Please design and build me a house. I am not quite sure of what I need, so you should use your discretion. My house should have somewhere between two and forty-five bedrooms. Just make sure the plans are such that the bedrooms can be easily added or deleted. When you bring the blueprints to me, I will make the final decision of what I want. Also, bring me the cost breakdown for each configuration so that I can arbitrarily pick one.

Keep in mind that the house I ultimately choose must cost less than the one I am currently living in. Make sure, however, that you correct all the deficiencies that exist in my current house (the floor of my kitchen vibrates when I walk across it, and the walls don’t have nearly enough insulation in them).

As you design, also keep in mind that I want to keep yearly maintenance costs as low as possible. This should mean the incorporation of extra-cost features like aluminium, vinyl, or composite siding. (If you choose not to specify aluminium, be prepared to explain your decision in detail.)

Please take care that modern design practices and the latest materials are used in construction of the house, as I want it to be a showplace for the most up-to-date ideas and methods. Be alerted, however, that kitchen should be designed to accommodate, among other things, my 1952 Gibson refrigerator.

To insure that you are building the correct house for our entire family, make certain that you contact each of our children, and also our in-laws. My mother-in-law will have very strong feelings about how the house should be designed, since she visits us at least once a year.

Make sure that you weigh all of these options carefully and come to the right decision. I, however, retain the right to overrule any choices that you make.

Please don’t bother me with small details right now. Your job is to develop the overall plans for the house: Get the big picture. At this time, for example, it is not appropriate to be choosing the colour of the carpet. However, keep in mind that my wife likes blue.

Also, do not worry at this time about acquiring the resources to build the house itself. Your first priority is to develop detailed plans and specifications. Once I approve these plans, however, I would expect the house to be under roof within 48 hours.

While you are designing this house specifically for me, keep in mind that sooner or later I will have to sell it to someone else. It therefore should have appeal to a wide variety of potential buyers.

Please make sure before you finalize the plans that there is a consensus of the population in my area that they like the features this house has. I advise you to run up and look at my neighbour’s house that he constructed last year. We like it a great deal. It has many features that we would also like in our new home, particularly the 75-foot swimming pool. With careful engineering, I believe that you can design this into our new house without impacting the final cost.

Please prepare a complete set of blueprints. It is not necessary at this time to do the real design, since they will be used only for construction bids. Be advised, however, that you will be held accountable for any increase of construction costs as a result of later design changes.

You must be thrilled to be working on as an interesting project as this! To be able to use the latest techniques and materials and to be given such freedom in your designs is something that can’t happen very often.

Contact me as soon as possible with your complete ideas and plans.

PS: My wife has just told me that she disagrees with many of the instructions I’ve given you in this letter. As architect, it is your responsibility to resolve these differences. I have tried in the past and have been unable to accomplish this. If you can’t handle this responsibility, I will have to find another architect.

PPS: Perhaps what I need is not a house at all, but a travel trailer. Please advise me as soon as possible if this is the case.