----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Salt" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.ibm-main
To: <[email protected]>
Sent: Thursday, May 18, 2006 12:12 PM
Subject: Re: Cost of tools (was: Migrating from OPS/MVS to AF/OPERATOR)
>In <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, on 05/15/2006
at 08:49 PM, Dave Salt <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> said:
>My experience is that 90% of programmers use the upgraded ISPF/PDF
>interface almost immediately after the new option is added to their
>ISPF menu. The other 10% eventually come around, just as they
>eventually came around to using ISPF option 3.4. Human nature is
>such that if a tool is not only far more powerful than whatever they
>were using before, but is also far easier to use, inertia is quickly
>overcome.
From: "Shmuel Metz (Seymour J.)" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
That's not my experience; I've seen all too many programmers ignoring
useful ISPF enhancements for many releases. In some cases they will
try them once they see[1] me using them, but in other cases they won't
because it's not what they're used to.
I think that's the key; the user has to 'see' the new
command/feature/option in order to use it.
<SNIP>
When we installed SimpList in our shop, the local sysprog didn't want to
change the local ISPF menu to include it as an option. An email
announcement was made regarding its availability, but it didn't have much
impact because most people had no idea what the product was and weren't
interested in finding out on their own. Most of them probably deleted the
email right after they read it..
I'd stuck my neck out to convince Management to buy the product (they are
more interested in gettting rid of mainframe software licences than
acquiring any new ones) and I didn't want it to fail through inertia. To
remedy this, I circulated a series of emails containing 'tips of the week'
describing some of the product's most useful features and how easy it was to
use them. Within a month, over 80% of the programmers were using it
regularly; within two months everyone was using except for one die-hard
user, who came around a few months later.
I agree that sometimes you have to hit people over the head to get their
attention, but once they see the benefit of the new tool it isn't that
difficult to convince them to use it, *if* it is easy to use. If a product
is beneficial but difficult (such as most debugging tools) then awareness of
the product is not enough, training is required. IMO anyway.
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