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Theresa Regli

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The willful ignorance of business users

8-Apr-2010

Tags: Component Content Management, Digital and Media Asset Management, Document Management (ECM), E-mail Archiving and Management, Enterprise Collaboration & Social Software, Enterprise Search, Evaluating SharePoint, Portals and Content Integration, SharePoint Ecosystem, Web Analytics, Web Content Management, Governance, Implementation

One of my favorite parts of my job is the educational aspect - helping people new to content technology understand what different types of tools do and how they work. I've been told I "make things clear for non-technical types."

But really, as is so often the case in education, it's not the teacher but the willingness of the "non-technical" types to learn that makes all the difference.

When content technology implementations go wrong, it's often blamed on a gap of understanding on the part of IT as to what the business really needs. Sometimes that's accurate.

But just as often I find a gap of understanding on the part of business users about how content technologies work, what they can accomplish, what's realistic. Business users sometimes sigh exasperatedly, and might utter a phrase like, "I don't care how it works, I just want it to work." 

This is foolhardy thinking. Even if you're "not technical," a fundamental understanding of how the technology you use every day really works will help you be a better team member, and allow you to more clearly articulate what you want from the system.

Think of it, at a minimum, like your car: you don't need to understand every detail of what makes it go, but you do have to understand that it needs gas (or electricity!), what all the buttons and pedals do, the consequences of what you put into it, and what needs to be done to keep it running well.

I recently spent some time with a client who had picked a new Web CMS late last year and just launched an alpha version of a new website. The marketing team was rejoicing over the realization of content reuse: "look, we put it in the system here, and then it shows up on all these other pages!"  Eighteen months ago, they were completely new to modern content management. Through education and a focused effort, marketers at that firm now understand the power of what they can do -- and also the limitations of the system. Without a willingness to gain that understanding, they might still be cutting & pasting static content -- or in separate silos, taking whatever the IT team handed to them.

So if you're frustrated with your CMS, DAM, or other content technology, take the time to understand the fundamentals first. Then you'll be on a better path to improve your situation.