10 January 2002
Marion Agnew(1) noted several areas where nonprofits miss the target in fixing problems because they focus on technology rather than on the people and processes that use and implement that technology. Web sites, data collection, and data presentation are areas where technology becomes a convenient scapegoat. As an association leader, you can minimize technology problems by doing three things.
One of the theories of operation of electronic equipment is that it operates on smoke. When the smoke gets out, it won't operate anymore. So when you see smoke coming out of a computer or other piece of electronic equipment, it is likely that the equipment won't work anymore and that the problem really is a technology problem. But then again, maybe not.
Did you provide the equipment with sufficient air to breathe and clean power to eat? Not treating equipment properly, either in the initial install, its usage, or its maintenance is a management problem and not a technology problem.
But perhaps a more important source of problems than equipment failure is that of equipment choice. If you do not choose the proper tools for the job then the work result will be more difficult to produce, of lower quality than it should be, and generally not as satisfactory as it would be if the proper tools were chosen. Do you really need automated systems or will manual ones work just as well? Do the software you choose actually do what you want it to do? Is the hardware adequate and appropriate for the software? What about the 'craftsman' who will be doing the work? Is the choice of tools adequate and appropriate for the people who will be using them? Is the product something the target market will value as much as needed to produce a benefit for your organization?
The question of whether what you are doing is really necessary to get the job done is most obvious in legacy situations. "We've always done it that way! ... Why? ... I don't know, we just do." New systems, new ideas, new ways of doing things should focus on the desired end result. Policies and the ways of doing things may need to be streamlined to promote action and results. When things get set in stone, you'll often find that it is really some concrete getting set around your shoes.
Know what to do before you start doing it. Set standards for what is 'normal' and what is not. Provide directions for what to do when something that isn't 'normal' happens. Make sure that those using technology are properly trained and those using the results of technology are properly educated to understand the limits of the technologies in use and how they should interpret and use technology based products and results.
Sometimes we get enamored with all of the capabilities and things someone shows us can be done. Association Leaders need to be very careful to really understand what is needed in terms of equipment, human talent and other resources to get a job done the way they envision. It may not really be the technology you want.
Plautus: "Facias ipse quod faciamus suades."
Alexander Pope: "Order is Heaven's first law."
Robert Townsend: "If you have to have a policy manual, publish the Ten Commandments."
Q.T. Wiles: "Most people would rush ahead and implement a solution before they know what the problem is."
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(1) Agnew, Marion. At nonprofits, management of technology matters most. Information Week. Oct 16, 2000 p 178
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