Examples of software and IT services related to business

I was intrigued by the tagline on this new blog, g2zero: Better Code == Business, which I take to mean that better code is equivalent to better business. I wondered if they would be like-minded about the principles of our Business Service Management concepts, so I took a look. And, I was rewarded for my perusal with this gem of a post: Entries from the Software Failure Hall of Shame. It has several examples of software problems and their direct affects on the business’s bottom line.

Yes, software and IT services will fail, but your ability to react and keep the priorities of the business and the customer first will set the standard for your success. This Toyota Prius hybrid car example is an excellent one, showing that you can manage your incidents gracefully and proactively and avoid negative publicity. I have posted before about hybrid car technology so this was right up my alley.

The Toyota Prius engine management flaw. In October of 2005, the Toyota Motor Company voluntarily recalled 75,000 of its hybrid vehicles because a software glitch that may have shut down the engine. Given the high price of gasoline at the time and the rising interest from consumers in hybrid vehicles, the recall could have been a major blow to the manufacturer. However, due to Toyotas quick response, most consumers never experienced the flaw, and while the company may have suffered slightly from the negative publicity, it managed to avoid having its defect become permanently associated with the vehicle line or with hybrid safety.

Great set of examples. I plan to keep an eye on this blog.

Subscribe to the comments for this post

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.

Subscribe to the comments for this post