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follow up
Isn't your goal to create a system or systematize it?
The tragedy of systemizationIt is "not used".
Isn't it over with the intention of somehow fulfilling the original purpose?
Looking Back and making the most of the system you've built.
In other words, it is the work of systemization to establish the business.
Pitfalls of system establishment
Part 1: The wall of communication
As the founder of an IT company with the famous apple mark says, the system, especially the user interface) should be radically simple.
Because if it's simple, you don't need manuals, instructions, or handovers when personnel changes. Because all you have to do is face the screen.
So why, while consumer devices and user interfaces have become so simple, business applications are still so complex? I think there are two main reasons.
(1) Applications used at work must be connected between systems.
The connection here is completely different from the meaning of "Like", retweeting, posting and connecting.
Information processed by system A must be passed to system B, which is data information exchange.
So why is simple design and functionality lost when data information exchange occurs?
This is because it is necessary to match each other with the "input rules" and "data processing rules" of each system. i.e.
"Simple input rules are not enough"about it.
Double-byte characters are NG, 20More than letters are NG, use time is from 10:00 to 17:00. The information entered on the A screen is passed to the B system, and based on the information entered on the C screen,D's system begins to move.
In this way, when systems are connected to each other, regulation of input rules is included at the cost of guaranteeing accuracy.
As long as input rules are generated, manuals and verbal "correct usage"' must be told.
Part 2 Screen design for business use
I won't go into the details here because it's off topic, but the mobile devices and game consoles that you usually use in your private life and the IT systems for business use some of the same technologies, but they're completely different. undergoing different evolution.
Themes such as "Can I use a touch panel at work?"
Articles like "Change with a tablet! On-site work" appear
This is because consumer technology and traditional business systems are now in a movement to unify once again after a period of great disparity. The pitfall here isIn other words, the conventional business IT screen is generally "(compared to your smartphone or tablet) is difficult to use.”That's what it means.
Part 3 What is needed is not "how to use the system" but "standardization" of work
SystematizationIf it becomes the purpose, the "constraints" written above” and “rejection” are often not welcomed in the field.
I think that what should be communicated to the field is not "how to use the system" but "how to work".
Unless the IT system does the work 100% of the time, human hands, eyes, and intentions are involved in daily operations. The important thing here is,It is necessary to strongly convey that it will be a problem if the hands, eyes, and intentions are different depending on the person.
For example Excel. It is the most familiar database software that is used all over the world. With this single use of Excel, a task that would take 1,000 hours can be completed in 1 second. The point is that the work is diversified even if you look at the Excel work, such as "Mr. A's method" and "Mr. B's method"is a red flag as an organizational feature. (The simple design and function I wrote earlier is, in other words, "a system with no degrees of freedom".You can also look at it as "full of restrictions". )
When introducing a certain system into a business, regardless of the purpose of the introduction, the message that should be conveyed to the practitioners is, "We will use this system to standardize the business."
Success story
Here are some of the cases where we entrusted system introduction and follow-up.
No advanced IT required! ? Coexistence with Excel
■ Customer issues
I want to transfer the existing data entry work from Excel to an entry system linked to the company's core system.
Request for.
"Competitors seem to be advancing the use of IT for information processing, so we would like to consider it as well."
"The information I need is on the operator's computer, but I want to see the statistics immediately."
"Excel work is the most accustomed and easy to do.”
"New system? Do you want more work?"
in short
The finance department of the client has been organizing the information in Excel for the same procedures and procedures that have been used for decades, but is it being left behind by the effective use of statistical information and the wave of IT? Although I have a strong anxiety, I do not want to change the operation so far at the site! It was a request.
■ Solution approach
In this case, there was already a core system for collecting information, and what I learned from several interviews was that there was room for improvement in how information was entered into the core system.
In other words, the necessary information exists as Excel data on the operator's PC, and they also have information analysis tools. I was trying to introduce an input system.
Therefore, the Execution Plan did not become "development of a new input system", but became "data linkage of Excel information".
In short, the purpose is to pass the necessary information to the necessary system at the necessary timing, and it is clear that the development of the input system is not the purpose, so let's use the Excel information that is usually used as it is!
Since it becameRun Control (development management) has been changed to "development of an occasional upload function to the core system".
■Delivery date
EI avoided as much work as possible to prepare macros and VBA in xcel itself. The point is not to put too much "restriction" in the pitfalls.
I can't tell you the detailed specifications, but in a nutshell, "Please save the entered Excel data in a folder called ○○.. ” That's all I asked the actual operators.
All we had to do was create a program that would send only the necessary items to the core system when new information was posted to the folder named XX.
■Points of Project Management (Branch Point to Success)
Ride the wave of advanced IT and get results without huge investmentsIt was a case. Certainly, the same goal could have been reached even if "standardization" was to input only the items necessary for data analysis along a dedicated input screen. However, it is doubtful whether it was accepted by the operators. Instead, we should “standardize” the storage of input data.I thought it would be cheaper and faster to do it.
■ Cost/effect
private
* Mostly volunteers
To be honest, I didn't make any money at all (I was in the red when I took transportation expenses into consideration), but I got a smile from the customer, so I think it's good.
■ Environment used
Customer's physical server, VBA,
■ Added in June 2020
A large number of business tools using GoogleAppsScript in order to fully use existing applications for free instead of advanced IT
We have started to develop and support the connection of business.
example)
・E-mail newsletter distribution using spreadsheets and Google Docs (DM batch distribution)
・Distribute spread information to Google Hang Chat only on weekdays
・Team shared delivery when updating spreads to ChatWorks
・Periodical file organization batch in Google Drive
・Extract Salesforce data into spreads
・3 translation conversion macros (English, simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese) in a spreadsheet
···and so on
Introduction to IT makes no sense unless the systems, applications, and existing mechanisms that have been created can operate as a whole. If the business operations are not used without delay, it will only be painful for the workers. . .
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