Introducing new technology.
Introducing new technology.
Creating a usable system will also involve considering how it will fit into the customer's organisation and be widely acceptable to its employees. This requires user involvement throughout the design process. It is important to introduce systems into the workplace so that users learn and cope with the changes as easily as possible, without the need for expensive re-training courses and minimising disruption to the business.
. Introduction
This document presents an introduction to the main Human Factors aspects of introducing new technology into an organisation. It offers advice for both suppliers of new systems and the organisation purchasing and installing the system. A number of general references on the subject are also provided. The document is not directly concerned with the design of a new system but assumes that the system has been developed to meet the needs of its users by means of consulting and involving them in its development. The document is concerned with introducing the system to the organisation from the users' point of view. Thus it is concerned with the following factors: Factors related to the system supplier:
* Assisting the installation process (where the user is also the installer).
* Providing effective technical support.
* Documentation and on-line help.
* User groups.
Factors related to the system customer:
* User awareness.
* User involvement.
* Training.
* Health, safety and workplace design.
* The working environment.
Installation and user support for a new product or system can be seen to relate to both its supplier and its customer. The diagram below summarises the main areas that each side needs to consider. The numbering refers to corresponding sections within the document e.g. section 3.1 covers 'Provide good installation guidance'.
2. Aspects of Installation and User support
The success of a system will depend, not only on its careful analysis, design and testing, but also on its delivery to its users. If a good system is developed with poor user support, and too little consideration of the working environment, it can be rendered unusable.
With careful planning, potential problems with staff can be pre-empted before they arise, to make the introduction of the system a positive experience for all concerned.
Users will require support both from within their organisation and from the supplier, not just during the installation process but for a continuing period as they encounter new problems and grow with the system.
Figure 1 below, shows the main aspects of implementation and user support that need to be provided both by the supplier of a system and internally by the organisation receiving the system.
FIG. 1 TO BE ADDED
Figure 1: System implementation, user support and change factors from a supplier and the purchasing organisation¹s point of view
This document describes both installation guidance and support that a supplier of a system or product might provide (section 3) and the planning that the purchaser should carry out with regard to his or her organisation's future users (section 4).
3. Support by System Supplier
3.1 Installation guidance
On receiving a new system or package, the user will normally wish to start using it as quickly as possible. However poor installation instructions can cause frustration and may lead to the system being incorrectly installed. Problems with installation guidance include:
* Assuming too much technical knowledge about the system on behalf of the user (e.g. which variant of SVGA card)
* Lack of diagrams
* Not dealing within possible problems or misunderstandings that users may encounter.
The aim should be to:
* Provide a guided installation procedure (the simpler the better).
* Describe the feedback from the system during installation as well as the inputs, to reassure the user that they are following the correct path.
* Provide a way of abandoning the process if a mistake is made.
* Make of the process as automatic as possible. For example, a software package may detect characteristics of the hardware platform and set up the installation appropriately.
* The concept of 'plug and play' adopted by computer manufacturers for installing peripherals is also helpful.
3.2 Technical support
The setting up of a technical support 'hotline' is an important means of customer support and also acts as a powerful sales and marketing aid. Important aspects of an technical sales support are:
* Being able to identify to customer quickly without them necessarily needing to quote reference numbers
* Having details of their system stored at the support centre.
* Identifying the appropriate expert quickly rather than, for example, the customer being shuttled between the software and the hardware department.
* Provide on-site or Œreturn to supplier¹ support if the problem cannot be dealt with quickly over the telephone.
3.3 Customisation facilities
Although many customers may buy the same product, they will tend to want to use it in different ways. These may include:
* Changing and adding menu options to pull-down menus.
* Changing the assignment of functions to soft function keys.
* Changing the screen colour and text style.
* Modifying default values.
Try to anticipate contrasting usage situations and cater for them in a straightforward manner. This is best achieved via an on-line step by step guide within the package itself.
3.4 Documentation and on-line HELP
Documentary and on-line support should aim to provide quick and positive assistance to help the user employ the new package in an effective way. Regarding documentation, the following should generally be provided:
* "What you've got" : A brief description of what the package is and what it can do allowing the user to see what facilities he or she will need to do meet their task needs.
* "How to set it up" : An installation guide telling the user how to install their system and (when they have used it) to customise it to their personal needs.
* "First half hour" : A step by step tutorial showing the user how to use the main system facilities 'hands-on'.
* "Reference guide" : A guide to each facility which the user can refer to as required, supported by example screens and step-by-step instructions.
* "Trouble shooting" : System testing will highlight typical hurdles or problems that users may meet and cannot be overcome by redesign. Try to cater for them in a way that the user can recognise e.g. 'What to do if a certain message appears'.
* "Just remind me" : A prompt card may be provided to remind the experienced user of command sequences or other dialogue features that may be forgotten.
On-line HELP allows the user to gain assistance directly from the system at the point of need. It will be necessary to run user trials in order to determine what help might be required at relevant points in the dialogue. Examples might be how to respond to error messages and the provision of prompt lists which give meanings of codes and abbreviations.
In addition to this type of Œcontextual help¹, access should also be provided to a more general help listing describing the range of functions available, what they do, and how to use them. This provides a means for users to learn new facilities and to improve their usage of the system. On-line help should be concise providing references to the paper documentation.
3.5 Training aids
Documentation can be supplemented by training aids such as a tutorial document (as part of the documentation described above), audio tape or video. Such early guidance can help users to overcome the initial learning curve with systems.
3.6 Publication of technical hints and tips
It is likely that new ways of using a product or overcoming problems will be identified by users. Try to harness this information by calling for contributions to and publishing a regular newsletter of hints and tips. This approach can also be internally within the customer organisation.
3.7 Form User group
The formation of a user group, where users can meet with the system developers on a face-to-face basis, provides a forum for addressing user problems. The suppliers can also benefit by using it as a way of getting direct feedback from their customers. Membership of such a group can be encouraged by setting up seminars for users from different user sites to attend and express their views. Such an activity can thus be of great mutual benefit and can help to promote customer/user involvement and loyalty to the supplier and their products.
4. Implementation and Support by User Organisation
The introduction of new technology must be carefully managed by the user organisation for it to be accepted and utilised successfully. This process is often called 'management of change'. The following sections describe user-related processes that the user organisation should follow for implementing and supporting a new system.
4.1 User awareness
It is important to plan a programme of user awareness to communicate to the employees (the users) about the implementation of the new system and why it is needed. It may be appropriate to present the cost and benefits of the new system to the users and possibly the dangers of not introducing new technology e.g. business may be lost to the competition.
Failure to instigate a proper programme of user awareness can lead to rumours, fears and anxieties among staff ranging from: lack of skills to operate the new system, ...
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4.1 User awareness
It is important to plan a programme of user awareness to communicate to the employees (the users) about the implementation of the new system and why it is needed. It may be appropriate to present the cost and benefits of the new system to the users and possibly the dangers of not introducing new technology e.g. business may be lost to the competition.
Failure to instigate a proper programme of user awareness can lead to rumours, fears and anxieties among staff ranging from: lack of skills to operate the new system, to the possibility of losing their jobs. It will be necessary therefore to reassure users that assistance and training will be given together with on-going support.
If it is necessary to make staff redundant, this should be handled with care and sensitivity and should be governed by established personnel procedures. If possible, redundancy should be achieved through natural wastage.
Another issue is that roles may change when new technology is introduced. There may be a danger that senior personnel appear to lose their previous level of status. Care should be taken to avoid this situation as far as possible.
One way to smooth the introduction of new technology and stimulate employees' interest in it, is to select one part of the organisation and install computers there first. People from other departments can then visit the new installation and see how it would affect and (hopefully) benefit them.
4.2 User involvement in implementation
Relevant personnel should be encouraged to take part in the decision making process for system implementation. These will include, for instance, future users, trade union representatives, managers, supervisors, maintenance staff etc. A formal user group should be set up to take part in planning meetings to agree on objectives, job descriptions, a timetable for change and the running of training programmes.
Effective user involvement will identify potential problems in interfacing the technical system with the social system that can be addressed as early as possible before implementation. It will engender help to promote user ownership of the new system and a more positive attitude to the forthcoming changes.
4.3 Implementation strategy
A key question in planning the implementation of the new system is whether it will be installed in one stage ('big bang') or as a phased process (evolution). In either scenario it may be decided to maintain the current (possibly manual) system running alongside for a period of time. Each approach has its advantages and disadvantages:
Big Bang
With this approach the duration of disruption in change over is limited. However the lack of testing in real conditions can result in major problems. An well known example of this was the new London Stock Exchange system which had been incorrectly Œsized¹ for the scale of dealing operations required of it. So, when at the start of computerised share dealing, every user logged on, and the system ground to a halt. This is an example where insufficient technical testing of the future system took place. However it is equally important to understand the user demand that will be placed on a system when it goes live and is introduced in a single phase.
Phased
With a phased approach, the manual system remains in place and is gradually phased out. Users can rely on the use of parts of the old system while gaining familiarity with the new system. This also allows the installers to take control of the new system, from time to time, to sort out problems as they arise. However, the running of two systems in parallel can cause extra confusion and the duration of disruption is extended.
A key requirement for successful phased installation, is to ensure a smooth change over from the existing operation to the new system. A number of steps can be taken to achieve this:
* If functions are to be phased, they should be grouped into meaningful learning units which reinforce their operational integrity for the user.
* Clear procedures must be established to manage the manual/computer interface during installation. Extra resources must be provided to avoid backlogs and deterioration in working efficiency.
* In a phased implementation, the early phases of implementation should concentrate on those sections of the organisation who will receive immediate benefits from using the system.
* Extra resources must be available to support end-users during take-on, training and early operation of the system.
* A clear plan to handle the delivery and accommodation of the hardware to minimise disruption to the workplace (e.g. workplace and workstation layout, cable installation and management).
4.4 User Training and on-going support
Training should be planned and timetabled to ensure that users are able to learn new aspects gradually building on initial knowledge. The preferred method is Œhands-on¹ in a classroom with the trainer available to answer questions. However this may be supported on a self taught basis with tutorial software. For PC packages, it may be desirable to provide portable machines for users to borrow and learn at home if they wish.
Training sessions should lead up to and overlap with the implementation of the system so that users apply directly what they are learning, and can get ask about any problems they experience with the trainer. However after the formal training it is necessary to provide continuing support via a help desk. It is also important to make sure that one or more members of the user team are given more in-depth training to act as local experts. They should also be given formal recognition and a time allowance to help other users with day-to-day questions about the system.
4.5 Health, safety and working practices
There is now a much greater awareness of health and safety problems associated with using new technology. Employers should take preventative measures to allay user concerns.
There is a growing awareness that the repetitive nature use of keyboard usage over a period of time can do damage to the hands and arms in the form of RSI or Repetitive Strain Injury. RSI can cause extreme pain requiring the sufferer to be unable to, say, shake hands or pick up a cup of tea. It is recommended that long periods of keyboard usage are restricted to 2 hours at a time and to no more than 4 hours in a one hour day. Short breaks within those periods are also needed.
An important legal requirement is the European Directive 90/270/EEC on the minimum health and safety requirements for work with display screen equipment. As an example, the Display Screen Equipment Regulations were published in the UK (DSE, 1992) to implement the European Directive. The regulations cover ergonomic issues relating to the equipment used, the user¹s physical environment and the operator-computer user interface.
The need for continuous VDU usage (particularly data entry) is very much a job design issue that both users and employers should consider. By increasing both the variety and responsibility of clerical workers, they will as a consequence, spend less time sitting at a terminal and more time doing other things and possibly gaining more exercise at the same time. The following drawing, based on Scarlet and Stewart (1987) illustrates this point.
Work Related Upper Limb Disorders (WRULDs) is a physiological problem that can result from continuous computer usage. It is important for office chairs to meet ergonomic standards. In general these standards recommend that:
* The seat should provide support for the lower back, the backrest should have a moderate angle (10-30 degrees from the vertical).
* The seat pan should slope back slightly and the angle between the seat pan and backrest should have and angle range of about 95-120 degrees.
* The seat height and backrest angle should be adjustable.
* Non adjustable seats are not permitted for VDT usage. For other tasks, fixed seats should provide room to allow the person the freedom to change position easily.
For substantial periods of computer use, the desk should be low enough for the operators forearms to hang in a relaxed position for the shoulder with the forearm horizontal (90 to 110 degrees at the elbow), not upwards over the desk. Specially designed desks are available which allow the front part, on which the keyboard rests, to be lowered while the screen remains at eye level. They may also incorporate a duct for cables so that they are both out of sight and out of the way. (Power and communications cables should not be allowed to lay where people walk as they can easily trip over them.)
Where possible, work surface heights should adjustable by individuals. The surface level should not require excessive flexing of the spine. The correct worksurface height depends on the type of task being performed. For very precise tasks such as detailed drawing, higher work surfaces may be required so that the person can avoid bending forward when looking closely at the object being worked on.
4.6 The operating environment
The installation of computer equipment can dramatically affect the thermal environment of a room. One VDU terminal for instance can generate a level of heat up to that of the body of a single person. So if, say, the 5 people in an office are each given a new terminal, this is equivalent to having 10 people in the room! Thus good ventilation is very important but avoid draughty and noisy fans which can be equally unpleasant for users. If a fan is to be installed, ensure that the people have control over it. Remember also air temperature is only one component of a comfortable thermal environment. Heat is also radiated as well as convected from machines (just like sun through a window) so whether or not the 'air temperature' of the room rises, staff sitting at computers can still feel hot as the 'radiant temperature' rises. Humidity is another important factor and the heat generated by the new equipment can dry the air substantially causing people to have dry and sore eyes. The provision of well watered plants in the room can counter this problem although if it sufficiently bad then a proper humidifier may be required.
Good lighting is particularly important. Bright fluorescent light may not be ideal, as it often shines directly onto the screen causing reflections and glare. If changing the method of lighting is impractical, 'anti-glare' filters can be placed over the screen to cut down reflections and glare, making prolonged use of a VDU screen more tolerable. Careful choice of screen will help determine system acceptability. Positive image screens (black on white) are beneficial particularly if the user is also working from a white paper document, thus avoiding constant readjustment of the eyes between screen and source document. The screen should offer a stable image with a minimum of flicker and glare, and characters that are easy to read.
Consideration should also be given to the auditory effects of new equipment. The noise from, say, a dot matrix printer can be annoying if it continues for more than a few seconds. An acoustic hood can cut down on the noise or it may be possible to place noisy equipment in a separate room. Equipment fans make less noise but may still have a detrimental effect on users over the course of a working day. This problem is particularly difficult to overcome with say VDUs since they are most convenient if kept on the person¹s own desk.
The most important way of making the environment acceptable to the user is to provide them with a measure of control over the conditions. They can thus turn off the heating if it is not needed, or the VDU if they are not using for a period of time. Similarly if they have window blinds, desk lamps and the ability to swivel the monitor screen, they can often deal with lighting problems causing glare on a screen.
5. User audits
Collecting real usage data from users when the system is in service is a valuable test of how usable it is. This data can be useful to both the user organisation and the supplier. If such data can be gathered, it can be reported back to the marketing department of the supplier organisation and to the technical department for use in planning improvements, and for the next generation of product or system.
The most common audit method involves collecting logs of usage and following these with surveys and interviews to establish the reasons for usage and non-usage of particular system functions. Usage logs must be declared to avoid the charge of undisclosed monitoring. The data often reveals that some core facilities are in widespread us but that many others are rarely used.
The survey work should identify whether non-use is due to usability problems, which may be significant in the planning of the next product. The following example illustrates the type of questions that an audit of usage might ask users:
* Have you used similar systems before? If so, which and for how long?
* How experienced are you with the system?
* How experienced are you at your present job?
* How often do you use the system?
* Which functions do you use most often? Why?
* Which functions are most important for your job?
* What training have you received? When?
* What form did your training take?
* Do you feel that you need further training?
* Do you think it was appropriate and valuable?
* Which features (of the system) do you like most? Why? How do these help you?
* Which features (of the system) do you dislike? Why? How do they cause problems for you?
* Have you experienced any serious problems with the system? What did you do? Did you know how to get help?
Authors: M. C. Maguire and G. Vaughan
HUSAT Research Institute
http://www.lboro.ac.uk/eusc/g_intro_new_technology.html
Introducing Information Technology in
Small and Medium Sized Enterprises
Johannes Krauth
Bremen Institute of Industrial Technology and Applied Work Science
at the University of Bremen (BIBA)
D-28335 Bremen
GERMANY
. Introduction
Information Technology (IT) is said to be one of the driving forces of today's rapid development. With regard to industrial production, IT is believed to provide the companies, and especially the small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) with the weapons needed to fight the battle of world wide competition. It is said that IT makes production transparent, increases flexibility, reduces stocks and leadtime, improves the communication with suppliers and customers, etc.
Reality however looks somewhat different. Several surveys carried out during the nineties showed that IT often did not deliver what was expected. A Swiss survey found that approx. 50% of industrial enterprises were not satisfied with their IT tools. Out of these 50%, 10% were totally disappointed [1]. Other surveys showed that even though the level of usage of CAD and MRP in European industry was quite high, the level of satisfaction was not: only 60% of CAD users were satisfied, and only 50% of MRP users were satisfied [2]. Also a recent report states that most US companies do not know what they really gained from the introduction of IT, and sometimes they may even have lost [3]. A financial justification of the investment made just seems to be impossible.
If any other product would provide its customers with such low degrees of satisfaction, it would soon be out of the market. But the IT market appears to be still growing, and the question is not: "Can our company afford to buy new IT?" but rather "Can we afford not to buy it?"
In fact IT is a powerful technology. Whoever has started using it is unlikely to let it go again. Just imagine you had to write a paper like this one without the use of a computer: difficult to even think of it! Too obvious are the advantages of computers. And while 50% of industrial users are not satisfied, there still are 50% who are satisfied!
So the question is not: Use IT or not? The question is: What is necessary to be part of the 50% of satisfied users? As very often with technology, the problem is not the technology itself, but the proper way of using it.
2. Reasons for Failure, Recommendations
What is the proper way of using IT in industry? Why did so many CIM (Computer Integrated Manufacturing) projects fail in the past?
The following considerations are based on surveys and on personal experience acquired during 6 years of work at Bremer Institut für Betriebstechnik und angewandte Arbeitswissenschaft an der Universität Bremen (BIBA), where I was responsible for technology transfer from research into industry. My own experience is restricted mainly to manufacturing industry, more precisely to discrete parts manufacture, and most of the projects were developed in co-operation with SMEs. The area of IT application was more or less restricted to production management and control, mostly shop floor control. I believe that my experience and the conclusions drawn can be transferred to other areas of application and to other industry sectors, but I am insecure to what extent a transfer from West Europe to Central and Eastern Europe is possible.
In 1994 a team of German researchers studied a number of failed CIM projects and found that approx. 80% of the failures were due to one or more of the following reasons:
* insufficient awareness of organisational issues
* insufficient involvement of end users
* inadequate training of users
From my own experience I would like to add:
* insufficient link of IT introduction to the enterprise strategy
Therefore the following recommendations seem to be appropriate to guarantee a smooth and successful introduction of IT:
* involve the future users as early as possible, and provide them with sufficient information and training so that they can contribute effectively,
* do not expect too much from IT, especially do not try to solve organisational problems by merely introducing technology
* see IT introduction in relation to the enterprise strategy (which of course requires that there is a strategy).
In the following sections, these recommendations will further be explained , and a methodology will be presented, which was developed at BIBA Bremen and successfully applied in a number of German SMEs.
3. The Relevance of Enterprise Strategy
Generally speaking, a strategy can be seen as a means to achieve long term success. Since every company wants to be successful, it seems to be clear, that every company needs a strategy. Unfortunately, many enterprises, particularly many SMEs, do not have a strategy. They are too busy solving every day problems and never find the time to think ahead.
There is a beautiful fairy tale in Germany: "Hans im Glück" where a young man starts with a big piece of pure gold, makes a number of excellent deals which all offer short term advantages, and at the end of the day he finds himself empty-handed. Clearly a lack of strategy, and therefore no long term success.
What makes an enterprise successful? In principle the answer is very simple: the customer. As long as he buys the products or services offered by the enterprise (at a price which allows the enterprise to continue), the enterprise is successful. So the starting point of defining a strategy is the question: who are our customers, and what products and/or services do we want to sell to them? Which of their problems do we want to solve for them?
The answer should be as precise as possible. Empirical studies [4] show that the most successful enterprises world -wide often have a very narrow customer base and sell them very specific solutions - solutions which are optimally tailored to this narrow range of customers and therefore cannot be replaced by anyone else. Their customers need them. Obviously it is better to have a strong position in a small market than a mediocre in a large market. In other words: To 'own' customers is more important than to own products or technologies.
Of course a strong position in a narrow market requires permanent innovation and adaptation of products and services - however not driven by technology changes, but by changes of customer requirements. An innovation which does not matter to the customer is not important and maybe should be avoided.
The second question therefore must be: "Why do our customers buy from us and not from our competitors? What makes us 'attractive' to them?" Once you have found the answer, you should make every effort to strengthen this attraction.
Finding a strategy is not easy [5], and it cannot clearly be done by just adopting fashionable messages and buzzwords such as "Lean Production" or "Virtual Enterprise". These fashions change too quickly, are too general, and tend to over-emphasise just one aspect of industrial production. To follow them may be very dangerous.
To give an example: It is said today that delivery time is becoming more and more critical. The faster a company can deliver, the more attractive will it be to customers. This may be true in many cases, but not in all cases. A Danish company produces harvesters. These harvesters are typically ordered by the farmers at the end of the cropping season, i.e. October or November. However, they do not want them be delivered before May or June next year. So why should this company try to shorten delivery time?
In fact, a strategy should aim at strengthening the distinguishing features (the features that are most appealing to the customer) of the enterprise rather than following general recipes.
A strategy is, to a certain extent, "beyond" daily practice, however it must guide and shape daily practice. To make this happen, it is important that all major decision makers in the enterprise understand and agree on the strategy. This common understanding and agreement can best be reached by involving them all in the process of strategy definition. BIBA has developed methods and techniques supporting this process. The aim is to integrate and harmonise the many different views and objectives of different persons, e.g. production manager, sales manager, financial manager, etc., who normally have conflicting opinions and often fight each other instead of co-operating for the benefit of the entire enterprise.
Ideally, the strategy should be reviewed and updated periodically, and every major activity - such as the introduction of new technologies - should be related to it [6].
4. A Methodology for IT Introduction
In this Section a method will be presented for introducing IT in manufacturing SMEs [7]. It will be presented as a method of introducing production scheduling and control software, since this is the area where it has been applied most often, but it is with minor changes also applicable in other areas.
Let us start with a brief look at what I call the "conventional" procedure of introducing IT. One day the company management discovers the need to innovate and use modern technology for improving production and in particular in-house communication. They select an area to start the introduction. Then they carry out an analysis of the current situation in order to understand the company's needs. This is often done with the help of an external consultant, because one believes they see the weak points better than own personnel. (In fact they do sometimes!) All kinds of data are gathered, and big reports are produced. Then experts are asked to propose soft- and hardware solutions. Vendors come and present their products. Their proposals are compared by the company management, and a decision is made. The selected provider is then asked to implement the solution, to train the future users, and the bill is paid.
What is wrong with this method? None of the above recommendations is followed: There is no clear link to the enterprise strategy, organisational matters are not taken into account, and the users are involved only in the last step, and only in a passive way, as trainees. They have no say in the whole process. Of course they notice that something is going on - meetings of managers, consultants running around asking questions, vendors coming and presenting tools. But what does it all mean? Will their work change? Will they have to work harder, or will they even be fired in the end? Rumours will go around, fear will grow, and opposition against the innovation is almost certain. Once the new technology has been installed, the management has a hard time to convince the employees that it is helpful to them. On the contrary, the employees will do their best to prove that this technology is not an improvement at all, and that everything was better before. And they will certainly find ways to prove it!
From my point of view, this conventional procedure means missing a unique opportunity - an opportunity to involve the users, and through involvement get their support not only for the new technology, but for the enterprise and its objectives. The main point is to involve them actively, and to make sure they understand what the goal is. This has been achieved in many cases by following the procedure described below.
As said in Section 3, every major innovation should be linked to the enterprise strategy. Hence, the starting point of IT introduction should always be a clear goal: in which area does the enterprise want to improve its performance for the customer, and how can IT support this improvement? Unless this goal has been defined, one should not waste one's time evaluating technical options.
Once the goals are clear, the process to be improved needs be identified. Then a team should be set up which has the task of analysing the process and identifying the gap between the AS-IS (current situation) and SHOULD-BE (desired situation). This team should mainly consist of persons involved in the process, someone from the management, and maybe some external expert. The persons involved in the process are likely to know best what is wrong, and they are likely to be the future "users" of the technology which will be introduced later on.
This team will produce a report on the weaknesses of the analysed process and estimate the potential for improvements. It will report to the company management which then has to decide whether to go on or to stop the project.
In case of continuation, the team may have to be re-configured. The next task now is to develop solutions. It is important here to look at organisation first, not at technology yet. The first attempt should be to simplify the process. One problem often is to reduce the number of "interfaces", i.e. the number of persons involved in a process. If you have one person making a decision, and a second person executing the decision, you have one interface more than necessary: ideally the same person should make and execute a decision. Another problem often is to balance formal and informal communication among employees.
A very powerful method for the evaluation of newly designed SHOULD-BE concepts is gaming, sometimes also called "social simulation": Once the division of labour and responsibilities and hence the role of each person are clear, several persons can "play" the process in a simplified way. Simplification must be done in such a way that technical problems are ignored, but organisational features are preserved: instead of producing a real car, they may just assemble some Lego blocks or glue some pieces of paper together. Instead of processing a customer order, they may just fill a simple form. What matters is the interaction within the team, not the individual job. Playing the interaction, it can easily be found whether the overall process is clear and simple and interfaces are well designed, whether all information is available at the right moment, and whether there is a good balance of formal and informal communication.
Later on, gaming can also be very helpful in training the team. It helps everyone to understand his own role, and it can also be used to make everyone understand the role of his/her colleagues. And finally, it encourages a process of continuous improvements (KAIZEN).
Once the organisational structure has been fixed, the next step is to look into supporting tools and techniques - for the communication as well as for the individual job.
At this stage, the team will certainly need expert advice from IT engineers either from within the company or from outside (consultants, vendors). The requirements for products regarding functionality, interfaces, platform, price, etc. will need to be fixed, and a market survey carried out in order to identify candidate solutions for a more thorough investigation.
For a detailed comparison of candidate solutions, it is often insufficient to ask the suppliers for a presentation of their products. They will naturally choose a demo case which highlights all the power of their solution. It may however not answer the question if the solution is suited well for the company's specific situation. Therefore every provider should be asked to demonstrate the application of his solution to the company's specific situation. Only then is a fair comparison possible.
Presentation must be done in front of the future users, and they must be given the possibility to work with the tool, try several operations, etc.
BIBA Bremen has developed a lab where various shop floor control tools can be tested and compared by future users [8]. The idea was to make the test situation as realistic as possible. To this end each tool was fed with precisely the data it had to process later on in real life, and it was coupled with a simulation model of the company's shop floor - exactly the shop floor that was meant to be controlled with the help of the tool in consideration. This simulation model was communicating with the control tool: it sent status information to the tool and received orders from the tool. It executed these orders, calculated the progress of work, sometimes generated disturbances, and returned the corresponding messages to the tool. Thus the user got a precise and lively impression of the way of working with the tool, and how well it was suited for the specific situation of the specific company.
Our experience showed that the users were very excited about this possibility , and actively contributed to the selection and configuration of the final solution. Needless to say that the acceptance of the final solution was very good and training of users was much easier after they had gone through this exercise.
5. Preconditions and Required Skills
The method described above requires more time and effort than the "conventional" method sketched at the beginning of Section 4. Especially the workload of the own staff is much higher, since most of the work is done by company staff. It is essential for the success of the whole effort, that the time needed is not underestimated. Employees must be given the time to concentrate on the project and not be disturbed by their daily duties.
The success of the described method depends on the creativity and commitment of the staff. However, nobody will commit himself to a project which may in the end eliminate his own job or lower his income. Management must make it clear, that the aim of the project is not to delete jobs, but to save jobs. Some companies gave a guarantee to their employees that during and within three years after the project nobody will lose his job or earn less. This was of course very effective, but I do not believe every company is in a position to make such promises.
Finally, employees must be trained in order to be able to carry out all the steps of the method. They will need basic knowledge about:
* techniques of team work (discussion, moderation)
* analysis techniques (data gathering, documentation)
* creativity techniques (e.g. brainstorming)
* evaluation techniques (e.g. cost-benefit analysis)
6. Comparison of This Method with the Conventional Method
The Table below summarises the "conventional" (first) and the recommended (second) method. It is obvious that the first is cheaper: it involves less steps, and most of the steps involve less people. However the advantages of the second method are very important, not only for the success of the current project, but for the company's future. The main advantages are:
. It starts with clear goals - goals not only for this single project but for the entire company. The existence of such a clear strategy is a benefit in itself which should not be underestimated. It may have an effect on every company activity, particularly when it is accepted by all people at all levels.
2. It solves organisational problems by organisational means, and technical problems by technical means. It does not attempt to use IT as a remedy for other than technical problems of communication and data handling.
3. It involves the users and their experience about the daily work and its problems. The chance that the developed solutions really meet the user needs and are accepted by them, is much higher with the second method. They will see the solution as "their" solution, and in case of problems they will probably try to solve them rather than reject the whole project.
4. Many staff members have received training in methods such as team work, analysis, evaluation, etc. They feel more confident of their contribution to the company's success, and they are likely to make more contributions in the future. This may well lead to a substantial change of company culture and to a process of continuous improvement.
7. Conclusion
The presented method may at a first glance seem to be very expensive, time-consuming and difficult. In fact it is much more than just a method for selecting and introducing suitable technologies. It has a number of desired side effects which in the long run may be much more important than the success of a single technological project. It often leads to surprising solutions with unexpected results on the performance of the company. Experience shows that sometimes the project which was set up in order to introduce IT ended with a solution which did not contain any IT at all (disappointing for the researchers and suppliers, but of great benefit for the company!).
The recommended method emphasises the role of employees, their experience and creativity. It requires investment into their education, and it requires to trust them. It may be seen as too optimistic, but we firmly believe that investment in people always pays back - sooner or later, in one way or the other.
REFERENCES
. News from Europe, The Computer Aided Technologies Newsletter, Cambridge, 3, 1993.
2. News from Europe - The Computer Aided Technologies Newsletter, Cambridge, 1991 - 1994 (several surveys on national IT markets).
3. "Computers Have Yet To Deliver the Big Payoff in Productivity", International Herald Tribune, March 19, 1998, p. 15.
4. Simon, H., Die heimlichen Gewinner - Die Erfolgsstrategien unbekannter Weltmarktführer, Heyne Verlag, München, 1996.
5. Krauth, J. , Schimmel, A. and Duin, H., A Comparison of Tools for Strategic Simulation and Scenario Generation with Special Emphasis on Soft Factors, Third Beijing International Conference on System Simulation and Scientific Computation, Beijing ,1995.
6. Aguilar, A., Krauth, J., Mendoza, A. and Schimmel, A., Strategic Planning for Small and Medium Sized Enterprises - The COMPASS Project, Production Planning and Control 8, 5, 1997, pp. 509-518.
7. VÖge, M., Entwicklung und Erprobung einer partizipativen Vorgehensweise zur Einfuehrung von rechnergestützten Werkzeugen für die Fertigung und Montage, Mainz Verlag, Aachen, 1995, 122 p.
8. Klußmann, J., Krauth, J. and VÖge, M., Simulation Based Evaluation of Shopfloor Control Systems, Studies in Informatics and Control 4, 3, 1995, pp. 295-300.
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