More business and IT connections
If you didn’t already know that business and IT have real connections that matter to customers, here are a couple more examples.
I like the user experience blog This Is Broken. There are two recent entries that caught my eye as examples of connecting IT procedures to customer-facing services.
This post showcases an error in the printout on this receipt from an ATM application. Hee hee.
*This is line 1 of the store message* *This is line 1 of the marketing message*
Another This Is Broken post is about a misprint on the label of a pair of jeans. Granted, this is probably a counterfeit label example, but, it relates to IT in front of customer facing products. The printout is a data source error ” =if(Label=”",”RMA”,”?”) ” which is funny text to read when it’s out of place on a label that’s supposed to contain say, sizing or brand information. I know, I know, you can’t blame IT for those necessarily, and the Internet conspiracy people think the image is photoshopped, but I like the image nonetheless.
Both examples are good reminders that IT and data does make a difference to the quality of the product or service that faces customers. Online shopping experiences are always good examples of how IT can make or break a sale. This Is Broken tends to get to “meatier” IT connections for consumer products, and I appreciate that approach.
Anne Gentle is the author of 
