Excuses are no longer accepted.  
Period.  
End of.....

Excuses are no longer accepted.  Period.  End of.....


Isn't it time your ICT department (in the public sector) stopped pussyfooting around?

Just think from moment about that ICT Department. 

Have they been open to new ideas? 
Have they been accepting of new technologies?
Have they encouraged people to bring forward ideas?
Or do they stick to the old, well-known, well tried, old solutions?.

For many years Apple has been the butt of many jokes. Apple users are referred to as 'fanbois'.  They took it on the nose. Those same people have been passed over as irrelevant because they were treated as 'different'.  No matter how much evidence there has been that Apple's technology is has delivered in terms of results, it has never really been taken seriously in mainstream traditional ICT departments. 

Why? I'll give a viewpoint on that sometime in the future. 

For now I want to talk about something no one can argue about. 

The iPad.

On March 7, 2012 (yesterday, as I write this article) Apple launched the new iPad. No doubt by now everybody is used to the hype surrounding the launch of Apple products, but this should be a wake-up call to all those CIOs and Heads of ICT Departments in the public sector who thought that it was all a passing fad.  That wake-up call is that Apple has arrived, is changing the face of ICT, and is having a resounding effect on the customer base of every organisation in the world. The arrival of the iPad has brought with it the successful reinvention of the ICT consumer device, and the public simply love it.  So, how much money was previously squandered on other 'tablet' PCs?  It would make any CEOs blood boil if they knew.  But this is not just the public or consumer love the iPad, it is education - teachers, students, it is home users, and for the purposes of this article most importantly it is business users.

Business? 

Yes indeed, and there can be no doubt that the evidence points to this category of user growing very rapidly indeed.  But surely the ICT Heads and CIOs saw this coming?  IDG connect, have just released the results of a survey of business from around the world. 

http://www.idgconnect.com/download/8007/ipad-business-survey-2012?source=connect

What they discovered was really quite plain for everyone to see, but hard for others blinkered by the past. Business professionals are turning to the iPad and using this new form of device in very important ways. What the survey does say is that iPad media consumption among those IT and business professionals is predominantly textbased and work related. The usual web browsing news consumption, and reading the mergers the three most intensive usage types. And as the report of the survey goes on to say these are the killer's the business. The report goes on to say that the iPad is get used on the road, but of course they do; they get used with Wi-Fi; they get used with 3G, although not as much as you might think (and that has a lot to do with the quality of connectivity provided by 3G services). What is most intriguing is that 59% of the users, when on the move, use them in off-line mode. Nothing from moment about off-line mode. They're being used to catch up and to read documentation. So those reports of iPads saving money on printing, and on the need to carry documentation around start to look more promising. It's only about a year ago since people were poking fun at one of the reasons to move to iPad, which was reducing printing costs. Well it now makes sense. According to a new report by an organisation called inMobi, as many as 29% of respondents to its recent US poll looking to buy an iPad three. Oh well over 50% of these people don't currently own any form of tablet. It seems the exponential growth is set to continue.

http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/inmobi-study-reveals-nearly-30-of-mobile-web-users-intend-to-purchase-ipad-3-141169183.html

Another recent survey of over 1000 chief information officers across 11 countries (carried out by Vance and born for Citrix) states that the UK leads the world in flexible working. There is no point in slapping each other on the back though, unless you are willing to admit you are one of them that really does openly lead.

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240146402/UK-leading-in-personal-device-use-in-workplace

Does your public organisation count among those go-ahead organisations? Citrix states that the findings can be attributed to the service led nature of a lot of the UK industry and public sector with 84% of businesses implementing a work shifting policy to support workers who may have to travel or who need more flexible conditions. And it seems one of the driving forces behind the change is the relative simplicity, and the potential for cost savings when organisations allow workers to use their own devices at work. It may come as a bit of a shock to Microsoft biased ICT departments that Microsoft itself says that despite allowing flexible working it tends to fail because companies don't provide the right technology to enable it.

http://www.computerweekly.com/news/2240118199/Survey-reveals-flexible-working-shortfall

Microsoft's survey which quizzed 1500 business leaders across Europe said 90% of UK businesses now allow flexible working, but unfortunately it also revealed that a lack of the right technology and poor policies are holding back the benefits for organisations.

Then go back to where I started. Apple launched a new iPad on March 7, 2012. The popularity of this device, along with other devices that don't necessarily fit the mould of traditional Microsoft products are not just beginning to change the world, they've done it. We are now in the age of post-PC.

Look around your public sector organisation, and start to ask some relevant questions. 

What is the policy for people bringing devices into word?; What is the reaction from IT staff?; Has been any attempt to study the impact of new technologies within the workplace, and if so, have they been truly open in terms of the range of options that are considered? 

If your organisation is languishing in the past, they are letting you and your customers down, it's time to kick some butt. And when I say 'butt' I really mean ask the question; "but why not, but why the delay, but why don't we explore it, but how can that be an excuse?"

In the last quarter alone, Apple sold about 15 million iPads in the UK.  iPhones, don't get me started.......

You have been warned.

As appeared at: http://www.publictechnology.net/sector/central-gov/public-sector-cant-stop-ignoring-non-microsoft-world

The public sector can't stop ignoring the non-Microsoft world

John Rudkin, an independent ICT consultant, says last week's launch of the iPad3 has significance for the public sector beyond the hype
 
Isn't it time public sector ICT Department stopped pussyfooting around?
 
Just think from moment about that self-same ICT Department. Has it been open to new ideas? Has it been accepting of new technologies? Encouraged people to bring forward ideas?
 
Or does it stick to the old, well-known, well tried, old solutions?
 
I raise these issues on the day Apple Computer says it will detail how it will spend it’s massive $98bn cash hoard. As I think this is related to the above problems.
 
For many years, Apple has been the butt of many jokes. Apple users are referred to as 'fanbois'. They took it on the nose. Those same people have been passed over as irrelevant because they were treated as 'different'. No matter how much evidence there has been that Apple's technology is has delivered in terms of results, it has never really been taken seriously in mainstream traditional ICT departments. 
 
For now I want to talk about something no one can argue about. The iPad, whose latest version was launched last week. No doubt by now everybody is used to the hype surrounding the launch of Apple products, but this should be a wake-up call to all those CIOs and Heads of ICT Departments in the public sector who thought that it was all a passing fad.
 
That wake-up call is that Apple has arrived, is changing the face of ICT, and is having a resounding effect on the customer base of every organisation in the world. The arrival of the iPad has brought with it the successful reinvention of the ICT consumer device, and the public simply love it.
 
Wasted opportunity 
So, how much money was previously squandered on other 'tablet' PCs? It would make any CEOs blood boil if they knew. But this is not just the public or consumer love the iPad, it is education - teachers, students, it is home users, and for the purposes of this article most importantly it is business users.
 
Business? Yes indeed, and there can be no doubt that the evidence points to this category of user growing very rapidly indeed. But surely the ICT Heads and CIOs saw this coming? IDG has just released the results of a survey of business from around the world. What it discovered was really quite plain for everyone to see, but hard for others blinkered by the past. Business professionals are turning to the iPad and using this new form of device in very important ways.
 
What the survey also says is that iPad media consumption among those IT and business professionals is predominantly text-based and work related. The usual Web browsing news consumption, and reading the mergers the three most intensive usage types.
 
And as the report of the survey goes on to say, these are the killer's the business. The report goes on to say that the iPad is get used on the road, but of course they do; they get used with Wi-Fi; they get used with 3G, although not as much as you might think (and that has a lot to do with the quality of connectivity provided by 3G services).
 
What I find most intriguing is that 59% of the users, when on the move, use them in off-line mode. They're being used to catch up and to read documentation. So those reports of iPads saving money on printing, and on the need to carry documentation around start to look more promising.
 
It's only about a year ago since people were poking fun at one of the reasons to move to iPad, which was reducing printing costs. Well it now makes sense. According to a new report by an organisation called inMobi, as many as 29% of respondents to its recent US poll looking to buy an iPad three. Note: over 50% of these people don't currently own any form of tablet. It seems the exponential growth is set to continue (see more here.)
 
Another recent survey of over 1000 chief information officers across 11 countries (carried out by Vance and born for Citrix) states that the UK leads the world in flexible working. There is no point in slapping each other on the back though, unless you are willing to admit you are one of them that really does openly lead (more here).
 
Are you one of these? 
Does your public organisation count among those go-ahead organisations? Citrix states that the findings can be attributed to the service led nature of a lot of the UK industry and public sector with 84% of businesses implementing a work shifting policy to support workers who may have to travel or who need more flexible conditions. And it seems one of the driving forces behind the change is the relative simplicity, and the potential for cost savings when organisations allow workers to use their own devices at work.
 
It may come as a bit of a shock to Microsoft-biased ICT departments that Microsoft itself says that despite allowing flexible working it tends to fail because companies don't provide the right technology to enable it: see here).
 
Microsoft's survey, which quizzed 1500 business leaders across Europe, said 90% of UK businesses now allow flexible working, but unfortunately it also revealed that a lack of the right technology and poor policies are holding back the benefits for organisations.
 
Then go back to where I started. Apple launched a new iPad on March 7, 2012. The popularity of this device, along with other devices that don't necessarily fit the mould of traditional Microsoft products are not just beginning to change the world, they've done it. We are now in the age of post-PC.
 
Look around your public sector organisation. And start to ask some relevant questions. 
 
What is the policy for people bringing devices into word? What is the reaction from IT staff?; Has been any attempt to study the impact of new technologies within the workplace, and if so, have they been truly open in terms of the range of options that are considered? 
 
If your organisation is languishing in the past, its is letting you and your customers down, it's time to kick some butt.
 
And when I say 'butt' I really mean ask the question; "but why not, but why the delay, but why don't we explore it, but how can that be an excuse?"
 
In the last quarter alone, Apple sold about 15 million iPads in the UK. iPhones, don't get me started…
 
Time to wake up and smell the Apple juice?
 
The author is an ICT and eLearning consultant with experience of working in the public sector, education and private industry, currently working with schools, The Open University and the Third Sector on the Fylde Coast (Lancashire). He was an employee of Apple Computer for 9 years, is an Apple Distinguished Educator, and has a website of his own here 

________________________________

Tags: Apple, iOS, ipad, iphone

Is the old model of Public Service Broken?

Firstly, the question.  Is the old model of public service sinking?.
  
Answer, yes and slowly. Like the Titanic it is holed and going down, that is a certainty to those with the vision to see beyond their nose ends. 

The band, of course, will play on and those in charge will hang by the belief that the inevitable will never happen.  Someone, somewhere will come to the rescue.  When it finally does dawn that the ship is inching below the surface you will find that certain individuals had a tactic, dashed for safety, taking their buoyant piece of the ship with them that they think will keep them afloat.  They were first to the lifeboats, and the lifeboats had “reserved” written on them.  

In the current climate of cuts and redundancies, what else would you expect to happen? 
 
So how do I come to my conclusion? I ‘ve witnessed first hand the way in which 'consultation' can be twisted (seeing to be doing, but retaining control) and the way in which individuals can wield power and 'command and control', at the same time as decrying that very approach.  I can only speak from an ICT perspective, and from where ICT touches other services, but wherever a language can be used to differentiate expertise and belittle others into thinking they are lacking in understanding, command and control exists in its most tenacious, and is used to retain control. 
 
At least that is what I have observed.

Transparency and honesty should be the norm across the public sector, not just between ‘customer and service’, but between services that act as a whole to represent their organisation.  To see opacity being taken advantage of can be rather disheartening, because it is so obvious. Huge amounts of time and energy can be wasted by protagonists having to create strategies that keep them at the centre of a safe haven.  I'll cite an example if I may, one that was very real.  An ICT team create a new software package that could usefully replace some mass market, standards based products used in house. It offered a new ‘bent’ on the way things had been done before.  The development was all "public", 100% paid for by tax payers, and the outcome was valued.  Departments were encouraged to adopt it; they become tied in to the unique "in-house" solution.  It was "sold" many times over in the organisation as "the replacement" pushed by ICT and by policy.  It was sold outside of the organisation (by organisational staff) to a third party which opened up a huge potential external market for the product.  Up to this point, it all sounded good - indeed it sounded exactly what a go - ahead organisation would seek to do.  It was maximising a public investment.  The organisation had the talent and potential to see a market that could bring in revenue.

Then the ICT Department sought a very different relationship with organisation, and effectively went arms- length, with the in-house team tendering for the very business it created.  The internal advantages were neatly packaged, but the external opportunities were kept quiet.

Half a million pounds later (the team won its own tender in effect)……. something seems top be very wrong with this whole thing.  Did the people served have a say in all of this?  Where was the open consultation?  It never seemed to happen.

A second real example.  The organisation is creating a new Web Site to replace a tired, dated version.  After mistakes of the past, it is decided that the next one would one should be created "in consultation" with the public (the people it serves), but in reality there is one favoured outcome.  As a  result a consultation is set up at a cost, but very few people actually take part . By presenting a 'biased' offering, it is enough say that the final result required a great deal of rework and cost, but was a success in that the right boxes were ticked.  Surely it makes sense to be  "better" by design than it is to blame the quality of the customer advice!

This is all cynical and rather obvious, but it happens.

How can this sort of thing be prevented?  How can fairness and openness be preserved?; how can these dubious sorts of actions be made eradicated and customers really be consulted realistically?  
The Public Sector - the “unsinkable” leviathan ship is not safe. It  needs a good lookout or two, but lookouts with a view from the customer's point of view.  That way, the great icebergs can be avoided.

Otherwise it's everyone for themselves..............

As appeared at: http://www.publictechnology.net/sector/central-gov/comment-are-we-losing-vital-part-public-service-ethos

Comment: Are we losing a vital part of the public service ethos?
Posted by Gary Flood on Fri, 09/03/2012 - 11:27

John Rudkin, an independent ICT consultant, wonders if the old model of public service is disappearing – which could be a problem for all of us
 
Like the Titanic, an older view of how to do public services is holed and going down. The band, of course, will play on, and those in charge will hang by the belief that the inevitable will never happen: someone, somewhere will come to the rescue.
 
And when it finally does dawn that the ship is inching below the waterline, you will find that certain individuals had a plan all along, will dash for safety, taking whatever buoyant-looking pieces of the ship with them that they think will keep them afloat.
 
In the current climate of cuts and redundancies, what else would you expect to happen?
 
Lack of openness 
How do I come to my grim conclusion? I‘ve witnessed first hand the way in which 'consultation' can be twisted (seeing to be doing, but retaining control) and the way in which individuals can wield power and do a lot of 'command and control' - while decrying that very approach.
 
Transparency and honesty should be the norm across the public sector. Not just between ‘customer and service,’ but between services that act as a whole to represent their organisation.
 
To see opacity being taken advantage of can be rather disheartening, because it is so obvious. Huge amounts of time and energy get wasted by players creating strategies that keep them at the centre of a safe haven.
 
Here’s a real world example that I know all too much about. An ICT team created a new software package that could usefully replace some mass market, standards based products used in house. It offered a new ‘bent’ on the way things had been done before. The development was all also 100% paid for by taxpayers. Great - departments adopted it, it was "sold" many times over in the organisation as "the replacement" pushed by ICT and by policy, even outside of the organisation to a third party which opened up a huge potential external market for the product.
 
Up to this point, it all sounded good - indeed it sounded exactly what a dynamic organisation would seek to do. It was maximising a public investment. The organisation had the talent and potential to see a market that could bring in revenue.
 
Then the ICT Department sought a different relationship with organisation, and effectively went arms-length, with the in-house team tendering for the very business it created. The internal advantages were neatly packaged, but the external opportunities were kept quiet. Half a million pounds later - the team won its own tender in effect - something seems top be very wrong with this whole thing. Did the people served have a say in all of this? Where was the open consultation? It never seemed to happen.
 
Where was the consultation? 
A second example. The organisation is creating a new website to replace a tired, dated version. After past mistakes, it is decided that the next one would one should be created "in consultation" with the public (the people it serves), but in reality there was always one favoured outcome. As a result, a consultation is set up at a cost, but very few people actually take part. Let’s just say that the final result required a great deal of rework and cost, but was a success in that the right boxes were ticked. Surely it makes sense to be "better" by design than it is to blame the quality of the customer advice!
 
This is all cynical and even arguably obvious. But it happens and it’s not helping our cause in public sector ICT.
 
How can this sort of thing be prevented? How can fairness and openness be preserved? How can these dubious sorts of actions be made eradicated and customers really be consulted in a true, open fashion?
 
All this makes me truly worry that the ethos of our public sector - the “unsinkable” ship - is not safe. It needs a good lookout or two, but lookouts with a view from the customer's point of view.
 
That way, the great icebergs can be avoided. Otherwise, it may be every one for themselves...
 
The author is an ICT and eLearning consultant with experience of working in the public sector, education and private industry, currently working with schools, The Open University and the Third Sector on the Fylde Coast (Lancashire). He was an employee of Apple Computer for 9 years, is an Apple Distinguished Educator, and has a website of his own here

________________________________

Tags: Apple, iOS, ipad, iphone

Alpha Gov….where are you?

See the article below. Alas, without a certain wisdom learned through past experience, the bigger it gets - the harder it will fall.

Done correctly, this would mark a real step forward in simplification of citizen data, two way, and would appeal through familiarity - however focusing on website per-se may not be the whole story.

47% of web use (I hear) is now from mobile devices, and this exposes an achilles Heel in the public sector. Without a willingness to understand the future direction of delivery and consumption platforms, to embrace them; to take on board a thorough understanding of user interface design and the need for robust behind-the scenes infrastructure and open compliance the whole thing will end up an unmitigated, creativity and innovation killing balls-up.

I used to work at a certain NW Council where the use of iPad was seen as "confusing" people, and XP was the standard ( and still will be as far as I know), where secure as it gets is Windows Mobile (what?) and Android (WHAT!!!).

The unwillingness to accept things have changed (rapidly) from a one way push world, to one dictated by users preferences needs to be cracked, ICT Departments scoured for antiquated thinking - because the newer technologies can be proven to actually save money.

Alpha.gov.uk wrap-up
by Tom Loosemore on 29/07/2011

http://digital.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/

So then, how did the experiment go? First, let’s remind ourselves of the prototype’s primary objectives

• To test, in public, a prototype of a new, single UK Government website.
• To design & build a UK Government website using open, agile, multi-disciplinary product development techniques and technologies, shaped by an obsession with meeting user needs.

• Location not working / ambiguous / not working overseas (Big spike of bug reports at launch,  most fixed quickly)
• Don’t use 3rd party logins for feedback (Lack of clarity wrt feedback options. Fixed after a few days.)
• No browse navigation (Clearly vital, both for navigation and orientation. Time to mine much of the good work done as part of Project Austin.)
• Too much below the ‘fold’ / cannot see it on my screen (Not enough testing at smaller screeen resolutions. Mea culpa.)
• Not accessible (For which see a pre-launch mea culpa ) 
• Not audience specific enough (Need much clearer design delineation between sections aimed at specific audiences, be they citizen, business or professional)
• Links to transactions / local stuff broken (Not enough link testing plus link rot for local council transactions etc.)
• Search not accurate / does not use location (Although it’s a cop-out to say search is never good enough, search is never good enough…)
• Browser compatibility (Mainly lack of IE6 support from those trapped on this browser in the public sector)
• Colour contrast (Sorry)

• Loved the space of the design / clear layout / great design / modern
• A lot achieved with time and money / keep it up
• It’s not orange (although structured user testing showed some people rely on the orange for reassurance that they’re in the ‘right’ place)
• Love the approach / open-ness / public feedback
• Love the location stuff
• Love pre-emptive search
• Content is easy to read / clear and to the point
• Strategic – more efficient, easier to do
• “Thank you!”  / “Finally!” / “Brilliant work”
• Love the council alerts

• Local alerts
• Spell check on search
• Remove the home page image / remove government news
• Topics
• Filtering by personal context (age, car user, specialism / location)
• Location by place name
• Better search  (clearer sign posting, filter by content types / areas of interest, more accurate, better synonyms)
• Find my nearest (school, hospital, polling station)
• Make it mobile
• Provide official feedback channels

• browse/category/related links, as much for orientation as navigation
• clearer design differentiation between audience types, again to help orientation
• ensuring we don’t edit down the content *too* much (some felt it was too basic to be ‘the government’)
• internal search not being noticed, with people invariably return to the search engine from which they came
• more thinking needed to understand how to make location work well for everyone

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Tags: Blackpool, councils, ipad, iOS, Android, windows mobile, savings, cloud-cuckoo-land