Does technology frustrate you?

I just read a blog by George Zgourides, a clinical Psychologist titles Dont Let Technology Psych You Out! In it he talks about people who get frustrated with computers or anything else that frustrates them in their day to day work. It's kind of long, but at least worth checking out.

I see this problem all the time when I work with clients. In many cases they aren't comfortable with technology and use it grudgingly. This sets them up for frustration. Software fails. Get used to it! Software wasn't written for people, it was written by software programmers for software programmers! We get frustrated because it's too complex and doesn't just help you to do the job.

I've spent my whole career in technology. I've been a programmer, an analyst, a designer and I still get frustrated. I normally use a very small portion of a software product, but have to deal with all its features every day.

The key to minimizing that frustration is to focus on what you are trying to achieve and set yourself up to do that very well. I see the problem in every assignment. A business buys new software. The software supplier comes in and trains them on everything the software can do. People remember very little of this content, because it has no context. How do I do what I want to do? The software supplier doesn't know your business, so he can't tailor the training to your business. He can't spend the time to leaarn your business, because you won't spend the consulting fees to let him do it. If he's a software programmer, it may not help anyway.

The key to reducing this frustration is to get somebody who will manage the technology for you (Outsource it!). If you get somebody proactive, they will prevent problems and allow you to focus on your business. Then focus on your business process. Find out how to do what you are tryoing to do by using the software. Often the supplier will tell you that can't be done! Bull! They reason that they say this is that they don't understand what you are trying to do.

I encounter this all the time. With my experience as a programmer, I know what can be done. I also focus on the business process and look at other mechanisms which might give us an equivalent solution. I have found that knowledge is not the most imporatnt thing. Persistence is. I believe that when somebody can't make me underswtand, they have a problem. It's not my lack of knowledge, but theirs.

Focus, and will are the keys to eliminate frustration.