Technology System Design Needs Both Form and Function – Friday Distraction
(Editor’s Note: Today’s article is brought to you by our friends at Kronos, a leading provider of workforce management and human capital management cloud solutions. Kronos announced this week that they were named by Forbes as one of the top three places to work in technology. Congratulations to them! Enjoy the article.)
I couldn’t resist sharing this Time Well Spent from our friends at Kronos with you today. As some of you know, Mr. Bartender and I recently moved from South Florida to the northern part of the state. As such, we’ve spent a lot of time uninstalling and reinstalling equipment, which comes with more than our fair share of two-factor authenticating our log-ins.
Don’t get me wrong. Technology security is incredibly important and I’m really glad that these measures are in place. But when form and function seem to collide, it does get frustrating. Organizations can reduce user frustrations by:
Setting realistic expectations. Some organizations sell technology as perfection, when the truth is . . . it’s not. That doesn’t mean technology doesn’t offer value in compliance, administration, scalability, and more. Setting the right level of expectation can keep users frustrations at a realistic level. And that’s just good for everyone!
Give users options. Personally, I love it when technology gives me the ability to do a little troubleshooting on my own before having to call someone. It’s possible I can fix my own challenge (and learn for the next time it happens.) Organizations should find more ways to let users be in control of their technology.
Embrace the quirks and bugs. This goes a little bit with the first one about setting expectations. I believe all technology has little nuances. That’s part of what makes it unique. It’s part of my user experience to figure out those nuances or bugs and how to work around them. I really love it when technology companies embrace their quirks and even tell you work-arounds.
Ideally, we want technology solutions that give us security as well flexibility. But that doesn’t mean they have to be perfect. It’s about creating a user experience that both the provider and the user can enjoy and even champion, while keeping frustrations to a minimum.
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