Tuesday, April 3. 2007
Unusable software
Here's an excellent example of unusable software. It's clearly complex enough that the nurses on duty couldn't figure out how to use it properly and so they entered data that was inaccurate. This is not the fault of the staff who were using the software, it's the fault of the process that allowed clearly inadequate software to enter production.
Many companies are willing to accept software that is barely usable and highly error prone. In many places, it is more important to have delivered something even if that something doesn't work very well. This is generally due to local optimizations where individual groups are measured based on how they have met smaller objectives and not on how they have helped the organization as a whole.
A ward clerk who organised admissions and discharges went sick for a few weeks. In her absence, the nursing staff who took over selected the first options that popped up on the computer screen.
The result was that most patients were entered on the system as both deceased and discharged. The errors were only spotted several months later when the apparently high mortality rates were flagged up in Department of Health (DH) clinical indicators.
The result was that most patients were entered on the system as both deceased and discharged. The errors were only spotted several months later when the apparently high mortality rates were flagged up in Department of Health (DH) clinical indicators.
Many companies are willing to accept software that is barely usable and highly error prone. In many places, it is more important to have delivered something even if that something doesn't work very well. This is generally due to local optimizations where individual groups are measured based on how they have met smaller objectives and not on how they have helped the organization as a whole.
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