Roadblocks on the Information Highway

I started writing this paper in May 1992 (before I'd ever seen the Internet) and finished and posted it a couple of years later, tweeking it a bit here and there.

The hardware section is now (Nov 1997) out of date and that big shared database called the Web has mushroomed, but the premise is still valid because IM departments are still selling large scale, one-size-fits-all solutions and most managers still don't know how to use a spreadsheet.

The costliest mistake Management ever made was asking the Data Processing department back in the 1970s, "How should we automate the office." The people they should have asked were the ones working there, and the question should have been, "What do you need to become more productive?" In most cases the answer would have been something like, "Get me a Radio Shack computer like Fred's, he's already written programs to do all of our budgets and cuff-records on it."

It's been all smoke and mirrors ever since...

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Table of Contents

SECTION ONE: Understanding the problem

Introduction

• Identifying the roadblocks
• A view from the side of the road

The IM Roadblock Started 30 Years Ago

• All automation technology is not effective
• The Renaissance of computing
• Computing plunges into the Dark Ages--DP starts the smoke machine
• OIS--Leading the lambs to slaughter
• The mini-computer--the power of a mainframe is used like a typewriter
• The Emergence of the PC
• The IBM PC and MS-DOS--What "C:>" Really Means

SECTION TWO: Understanding the Hardware

Computer Makers with that "Vision" Thing

• An Wang--a technical genius and innovator
• Another IBM drop-out strikes it rich
• Macintosh--A brief glimmer of hope fades quickly
• The real story about Macs and Windows--How the copier King got copied
• Bill Gates should have named his company SoftMicro

More hardware background information

• Remedial reading for VS users who have never seen a Mac or Windows
• What about the Windows vs Mac debate?
• Buy what is most productive

SECTION THREE: Understanding the tools users need

The Spreadsheet Revolution

• What's software?
• If it wasn't for Lotus 1-2-3 you'd still be using the mainframe
• IM's Nemesis, the "power" user, is born
• Eliminating redundancy with look-ups
• Finding information with sorts
• The birth of "expert" systems and management "by exception"
• How do spreadsheets differ from databases?
• Which do people use most?
• Which is better?

Users Discover the Database and Rub the Magic Lamp

• What's a database?
• How do you create a database?
• How does a database function?
• Relational and non-relational databases
• What to do if you've never created a database

SECTION FOUR: Why users don't have the tools they need

IM Chases its Tail

• IM has the right idea, but WANG gets the implementation all wrong
• Reinventing the wheel--The PC LAN
• LANs--A better alternative ignored
• What's the best computer system?

Why IM has failed to meet user needs

• IM imposed standards--the main roadblock to productive computing
• IM should give users what they ask for and then get out of the way
• What support?

SECTION FIVE: How to fix the problem

The tools needed in the Information Age of the '90s

• How effective is E-Mail?
• Shared databases--The key to effective automation
• Effective use of shared databases always requires changes in procedures
• Changing how people work is the road to efficiency

Redesigning an effective Information Technology infrastructure

• Getting automation back on track
• Computing's MVP--The power user
• Application specialists are needed in the Bureaus
• A New IM philosophy and structure is needed to meet user needs
• Equipment and software standards--handcuffs on creativity
• The most effective system is the one that meets everyone's needs
• People know what tools they need but Management never asks them
• Involving users in the design of new systems