David Carey is the editor of 
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Loading ...So simple only a child could do it
Had my first go at one of those do-it-yourself grocery store check-outs the other day, and the experience was so frustrating that I may never bother with them again. Kept getting messages, telling me to rescan the item or put it in my shopping bag. But the system couldn’t tell me what my error was and there was no one around to steer me in the right direction. Two or three times it looked like the whole thing was going to crash and I would have to take all my stuff to a regular cashier, wasting a good fifteen minutes of my time.
The whole experience was like a bad IT application roll-out - not enough training for the user and little to no tech support for him while he’s trying to familiarize himself with the technology. And in the end, you wind up with a frustrated employee looking for ways to work around the system.
After decades of introducing users to technology, seems like many organizations haven’t learned a thing when it comes to rolling this stuff out. To my mind, it should start with good user training, augmented by a very clear and uncluttered set of instructions - do this, do this, do this. And you need to follow that up with plenty of readily available support. Anything short of the above is a recipe for failure.
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...CIO Assembly wrap-up
Well, the CIO Assembly in King City, Ontario wrapped up on Tuesday, and a good time was had by all. Folks came from across the country, so it was a good place to connect with peers in other parts of Canada.
If you missed the event, you can read all about it in the September issue of CIO Canada. As well, we’ve got a cover story coming up, based on a highly popular presentation at the conference. I think will be of considerable interest to a great many readers, so keep your eyes peeled for it.
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(No Ratings Yet) Loading ...Calling all CIO bloggers
We’re now ramping up the CIO Canada blog site, and we’re looking for Canadian CIOs to blog for us on a variety of topics of interest to IT executives.
Each blog topic area will have at least three or four regular contributors, so it shouldn’t be too much work for any individual. A new post every week or two will keep the topic updated with sufficient frequency - and posts needn’t be more than two or three paragraphs.
If you’d like to take part in our online dialogues, drop me a line at dcarey@itworldcanada.com and I’ll send you further details.
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(1 votes, average: 8 out of 10) Loading ...CIO Assembly
In case it’s gone under your radar, this year’s CIO Assembly in King City, Ontario is only days away (July 13-15). Those of you who have attended these events in the past need no reminder as to how good they are, but if you’ve never been to one, allow me to offer a few words of recommendation.
This event is flat out the best you’ll come across in Canada for delving into issues of importance to CIOs, networking with IT executive peers and having more fun than should be allowed at a business function. The theme for this year’s conference CIO Impact: Innovative Thinking that Builds Business Success is one that should generate plenty of interesting discussions.
The Assembly also provides a great introduction to the CIO Executive Council and its members, who play a big role in putting on the event. The Council does all sorts of good work and provides opportunities to network and exchange information with leading CIOs around the globe. There’ll be plenty of members at the Assembly who will outline the benefits for you.
In short, the CIO Assembly is an event not to be missed. If you can squeeze it into your calendar, by all means do so. And when you’re there, look me up. I’d be happy to chat with you.
