As I write this column, we are on the cusp of a new year. Many times, people will write about predictions for the new year, or their resolutions. I am writing to ask you to think about your resolution and make one with me. This request comes from a couple of recent articles that I have read. The first is from Joshua Kim, who writes for Inside Higher Ed: Dedicated GPS Devices and Classroom AV Control Systems. The second is from right here at rAVe, written by Mario Porto: This System Sucks.

I want you to read Mario’s article first. He looks at a problem we often see and hear from customers. That’s the exclamation, “this system sucks.” Fortunately, at Bates College we don’t have many of the issues that Mario points out in his article. I write luckily, because I know MANY of my colleagues that do indeed deal with these exact issues. In a nutshell, rooms are designed without the input of the people who are going to be using them. There are a lot of factors that cause this to happen and I think that Mario is correct in his assessment of many of those factors.

So, my challenge to you and my hope for your first New Year’s Resolution, is to find ways around the challenges that Mario points out. Yes, often we are somewhere in the middle between an architect, a facilities person, a consultant and the end user. As a technology manager, one person in that mix matters, and that’s the end user: your customer. It is your responsibility to see that the needs of that person is best served. How do you that? First, you don’t start fights with architects, facilities persons, etc. All that will do is get you shut out of the process even further. I have talked with too many technology managers who have horrible relationships with the people they need on their side to get the right technology in place. A good portion of this is the fault of the technology manager. You can’t be stubborn, demand on a certain budget or else, or bad mouth a project in process or when it is done. Rather, you work with them. Try to understand their budget constraints. Try to show them some of the current spaces that similar customers use. Show them the budgets for those spaces. Become a partner with them, and over time they WILL start to invite you in much earlier on projects.

Now, let’s talk about Joshua Kim’s column. This one really frustrates me, not because of what Dr. Kim wrote, rather because of the experiences that cause him to write it. Dr. Kim and I have communicated in the past about similar columns, and I understand that he has a very valid point. In fact, look at the comments on his column. Clearly, he is not alone with his frustration.

As a tech manager, I have to ask: Why is he experiencing some of these things? Why is it that he feels that every interface he uses is different? Don’t other tech managers remember the Dashboard for Controls? Why is tech support needed for him to hook his laptop up and show a PowerPoint? Isn’t that something that he could be shown one time, and then it would work the same across all rooms? Apparently not, and that is a problem.

Our schools have hundreds of thousands of dollars of technology in our classrooms. If the faculty feel that they would rather have knobs and switches, then obviously we are doing something wrong. I can’t predict whether that is a training, design or programming issue, but there is something wrong. So, my second request that you make for a New Year’s resolution is to listen to your customers. Spend some time with them. Rather than just training them in a new room, follow up with them every few weeks. Find out what is working well and what is not. Customize what you need to for them. Make a system that is simple for them to use. Make sure that they are telling you it is simple to use, and that you are not determining that it is simple to use. Follow some of the basic rules of the industry, like the Dashboard for Controls. If you don’t know about this, then learn!

The beauty of these two resolutions is that they will help your institution. They will make your customers happy. Both of these situations together will make your life much easier and much happier!