From: John Paul, Consultant, Consulteast
Sir – The popularity of apps on mobile phones has made me think about what we are trying to do in IT. When I showed an app I had got developed for one housing association to a colleague, he said, “Is that all it does?”. This made me think and yes, the answer was that all it does is make one thing very quick and easy for our customers.
I think that amid our concerns about compatibility, security and support we may have lost sight of the fact that the whole point of IT is to make tasks quick and easy. Therefore any application that doesn’t make tasks quick and easy cannot be considered fit for purpose.
As a result, I am now looking slightly differently at the procurement I am currently doing. The specification will be a description of the service blueprint, showing where the application must make tasks quicker and easier, or automate them completely. There will of course be bits on security and the other ‘hygiene factors’ but the motivator must be to make things quicker and easier and if it doesn’t do that, it’s not worth doing. Follow me on Twitter (@johnpaul1002) and I will keep you up to date on progress.
