Thursday, February 28, 2008

With A Little Help

The world’s best software won’t do your company any good unless the users know how to use it.  They may be able to post an invoice or run a report, but can they use the system effectively?  Usually the answer is that many of them can’t. Even if they were initially trained on the system they have not retained all of the little nuances of the system; and, if there have been upgrades to the system, they most likely haven’t had an opportunity to learn the new features.

When I questioned software providers about documentation, their universal response was, “It’s in the Help text.” I can think of only a few software packages with meaningful Help text.  How many times have you clicked Help to determine the purpose of a field only to find an ambiguous answer?  A typical example is when the definition of a field labeled, “Subject Discount Allowance” is defined in the Help text as, “subject discount allowance.” Big help!

Writing documentation is difficult, probably harder to do than writing program code.  At least there is defined logic in program code.  Nearly every programmer and analyst detests writing documentation. 

Good documentation specialists are harder to find than an honest politician!  They need to be able to understand the technical staff’s methods of communicating, and at the same time be able to convert that knowledge to documentation that can be understood by the rest of the human race! 

Additionally, the documentation writer needs to be consistent in the structure and presentation of the Help text.  It’s a very difficult job, one that is often overlooked, under-budgeted, or ignored, but is an essential element of good software.

Get with it!  Give us meaningful Help!

Thursday, February 21, 2008

A Rose By Any Other Name

It was known by many names, Accounting Rules & Procedures, Accounting Standards & Policies, “the Bible,” etc.  While it has fallen out of favor in the last few years, it was the guidebook on posting and processing for different financial functions for many companies.  Whenever there was a question of what to do and when, it was in the “book.”

Now, with domination of the “Windows” environment, there are so many ways to perform the same function or task that structured documentation approaches have fallen by the wayside.  Procedural steps can be omitted or taken out of turn and sometimes produce different results that aren’t apparent to the user. Disaster!

One of two things needs to happen.  Either we go back to the “book” and enforce it, or software needs the capability of creating macro procedures.  This process kicks off programs in a certain order with pre-recorded responses to program prompts to yield consistent results.

Option one is a throw-back to the old days.  Plus, it still doesn’t ensure that things will be performed correctly.  To make matters worse, rarely are these printed procedures timely updated as things change, causing further confusion and the possibility of errors.

Option two is available in very few software packages.  This is the best way to go, but you have to look for this feature.  Users prefer an automated procedure, as it lessens their workload and increases accuracy.  Macro-configurable procedures are more easily updated than written procedures.

You might work with your I.T. department or software provider to create macros and possibly automated procedures.  It may not be a doable solution with your current software, but it won’t hurt to at least look into it.  If you’re looking for a new system, be sure to include macro-configurable procedures on your checklist of important requirements!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Unlike Taxes!

User Groups maybe the answer to increasing your knowledge to the inner-workings of your financial application.  How can that be true?  It is.

Where else will you find a knowledge pool of different ways to use the same application?  There are as many approaches to the way software is implemented and used as there are companies represented by members of the group. You will usually find someone who has encountered the same problem as you.  They may have the solution (work-around), or they could be a strong ally in your struggle with the Developer to fix the problem.

Besides a national user group there may be regional, or even local user groups.  If management doesn’t want to spring for travel and the associated costs of the national group, they may support your participation in a regional or local group.  While the total numbers of members vary, you may be surprised how different industries resolve software problems in a similar manner.

If you work for a large corporation that has multiple companies using the same software, even a corporate-wide user group could be very beneficial.  In addition to sharing ideas and discussing work-arounds to problems, it’s a great venue for networking and for establishing standards in accounting practices for the corporation.

All user groups can be beneficial depending how involved you become.  If one doesn’t exist, start one.  Find out who has the same software.  Be an advocate for participation.  You will receive more than you ever put in, so unlike paying taxes!

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Train Wreck!

When new employees are hired one of 3 methods of training will occur. 

• The old employee is already gone, and a manager or co-worker will attempt to train the new employee.  Of course, the manager doesn’t have the time, and the co-worker may be inept. 

• The employee that is leaving will train the new employee, and is so buried in work (the reason they are leaving in the first place) that there is practically no succession training.

• Or, the employee that is leaving will train the new employee, but their heart is not up to the task, as they can’t wait to get out of there!

Add to that, if there is any documentation (doubtful), it’s probably been lost or at best very outdated.

The result is that as time goes by staff becomes less and less efficient and is prone to making mistakes.  They become disenchanted with their job and quit.  This problem compounds itself with each new generation of employee.  Training equals satisfied employees and a job well done!

Responsible companies plan for ongoing, professional training for their staff, either by bringing in someone from the outside (Developer or VAR), or they have their own in-house training staff. 

Having someone on staff that is thoroughly trained on the software and who possesses teaching skills (something often overlooked) is the best solution.  It is far cheaper to train the trainer than to bring someone in on-site.  Or, even more expensive, send the employees to some remote training facility.  A side benefit of hiring your own trainers is that new employees will receive prompt and thorough training, and problems or questions can be managed timely as needed. 

Data shows that mandatory training has increased employee efficiency and reduced worker’s comp claims.  Sadly, company shortsightedness hasn’t brought those lessons into the general office environment.  Training your employees avoids a Train Wreck! 

Sunday, July 15, 2007

OOPS!  We’re Down, Now What?

Relying on an outside firm to handle your critical system needs became very painful recently for several companies.  A major satellite-based Internet provider lost their primary e-mail accounts during what was described as “routine maintenance,” and their recovery from back-ups failed!

Almost 2 days went by before accounts were re-established, and no one knows how many lost messages there were, especially for those that used web-based e-mail accounts.  Support was terrible.  There was a pre-recorded message that stated in effect, “Sorry, there’s nothing we can do right now.” Individual home users were inconvenienced, but many businesses were brought to their knees!

What has all this to do with accounting software?  It’s our ever-increasing dependence on other companies for mission-critical systems that puts us at risk.
So, how dependent is your company on outside software providers?  When you lose the use of your accounting system because of a design flaw or a system failure, how quick is the system restored, and how thorough is the recovery?  What would the loss of its use mean to your company?  Can your company survive a week, or even a couple of days without access to your business data?  Oops!

What should you do?  If you’re looking for a new system, consider the following questions for the software developer: 

• How strong is their knowledge of the actual system?  Did they just buy the source code from someone else? 

• What’s their track record?  Talk to their current user base.  If they won’t provide you with that information, pick another provider. 

• How long have they been in business?  Did the entire staff just graduate from business school? 

• How strong are they financially?  Are they a target for takeover? 

• How many levels of support are there?  Count the consultants, VARs, etc.  The more levels there are, the slower the response, and you’ll find more finger-pointing going on.

Even if you’re not looking for new software, you should ask these same questions of your current software provider.  The results could be scary!  Do your research, and get it right.  You could lose your job by making a bad decision!

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

PLEXONOMY!

Here’s another area where software providers need a Plexonomy.  For some reason they think that money spent on support staff is not a good investment.  The truth is, support staff is usually not paid enough for what they’re worth.  Hence, to save money we see outsourcing to foreign support staff or suffer from high staff turnover, both resulting lousy service.  As the old expression goes, this is a penny-wise and dollar-foolish approach.

The best service I ever had was with a software developer that was smart enough to realize that their primary support staff was the best sales representative that the company had.  A happy customer is a permanent customer who buys full-support contracts year after year and doesn’t go looking for another system.  A happy customer is also a great reference source for other potential customers.

When software breaks it’s reassuring to talk to a support representative who knows the system and, most importantly, knows how your business uses the software.  The support rep intuitively knows the right solution.  Down time is minimized.  You look good to management.  You get a fat bonus ( . . . sorry I got carried away).

Software developers need to provide timely, accurate, and comprehensive support (especially at the high cost of support contracts)!  Why don’t they do this?  Because they need a Plexonomy!  What’s a Plexonomy you ask?  It’s a new surgical procedure where surgeons install a flexible piece of Plexiglas™ in the stomach region.  It’s for people with their head up their backside so they can see where they’re going!

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Support? You’ve Got To Be Kidding!

I don’t know about you, but I’m REALLY fed-up with all this outsourcing of software support to in-duh-viduals (sorry Scott Adams), often working in a call-pool located in a foreign country.  They often have no knowledge of the software they are supposedly supporting. 

Incident #1:

I was on the phone the other night trying to resolve a problem with a support person who was reading from a script.  I could barely understand him, and he had no idea what I was talking about.  I didn’t dare try to interject a comment, or it would lead him away from scripted instructions and force him to begin again from the top!  After an unsuccessful hour and a half I was elevated to the second level of support.  At least the second fellow was able to determine that the problem was above his knowledge, and after 15 minutes I was elevated to the next higher level.  I lost count of the times I was “elevated,” but eventually I wound up talking to someone who actually worked at the company, not some foreigner!  He solved the problem in about 5 minutes.

Incident #2:

Here’s another case of ignorant support people.  Recently I bought a new computer.  I had only a dial-up line available for Internet and E-mail at the blazing speed of 26kbs.  It was nearly impossible to download anything.  After 2 weeks the modem would not respond.  I called support and was pleased to find at least they’re here in the U.S.  The support person asked what release of the operating system (OS) I was using.  Their reply was that my OS had problems supporting their proprietary modem, and that I needed to upgrade my OS.  I said, “Fine could you send me the new release on a CD?” Their reply was, “Sorry, we don’t do that anymore you’ll have to down-load it from the Internet.”. . . . Hello? Don’t you get it?

Has anyone else out there had these problems?