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> Resources > The Human Services Professionals > EMSOnline > Skimping on coding = more work for users  

Skimping on coding = more work for users

Skimping on coding = more work for users
 
Excerpt from an email from Jandapac to one of its customers.
 
This was in response to a historical habit whereby the org, when adding a new business rule, had always perceived that to mean an "extra" thing for managers and staff to think about, and an "extra" thing to write into policy and procedutre manuals.
 
When, in fact, with networked apps, the opposite is true:

 

·         Even though a Data Control Centre person happens to be doing the data control, new workflows typically have nothing to do with that: in fact, they would generally reduce their involvement, and they may well not even want to be consulted

·         The overall idea of workflows is that the more detailed and specific you get the less you need to involve/instructData Control Centre people

·         When a  new workflow restriction is introduced, it just "happens" automatically, almost invisibly (for example, a drop down option may simply disappear)

·         Workflows are "generic"  / blank slate - an organisation should largely just "order" what it wants via a workflow diagram (you don't need to be a software person to draw one of those: use Microsoft Visio, or even Microsoft Word or Excel)

 

The overall point of networked software (as distinct from templates) is a reversal of thinking:

 

·         When you add a business rule, you make it simpler for users. Whereas with templates, if you add a business rule, that's an extra thing for users

·         If you do things properly, then "more coding = less work for users". For example, we've had numerous cases on record where we have proposed $100 worth of coding to save users tens of thousands of dollars of time, and orgs have opted to "save" the $100. Also, we have seen policy and procedure manuals running to hundreds of pages that would be a quarter the size, if the other three quarters had been coded.

 

Regards

 

Damien

Last modified at 9/05/2011 23:45  by Damien Ryan-Green