Crappy Automated Systems

Posted on Jul 6, 2010 | 0 comments

Computers are great. Seriously, your computer, cell phone, watch, microwave, coffee pot, car, iPad, the weatherman (or woman), your pool, the fireworks display that you watch, and a whole lot of other things rely on computing power to make them go.

Computers are the ultimate optimization tools for human processes. They process information faster than we can. They analyze things. They do calculations in a fraction of the time that it may take you or I to simply find a pencil. Computers automate things for us.

However, as wonderful as computers are and as powerful as computers can be, sometimes they are used as a crutch in situations when they should not be used at all. This is a statement that has rung true with numerous business clients in my many years of consulting on business system optimization.

The crutch develops when a business owner or manager makes a decision to improve the business by adding computers or implementing a new software package. Such a decision is not bad in itself. The issue arises when the new computers or software are positioned as the sole improvement plan without solid underlying processes.

Computers make good processes faster. Software helps to automate repetitive tasks that take a human employee longer to do. In any case, a working process must be put in place first before computers are layered on to automate the process.

Far too many businesses skip the process part and turn straight to the new software package to fix all of their woes. Unfortunately, when you have crappy systems and layer computers and software on top of those systems, the only thing that you will create is crappy automated systems.