In 1969, I had a microphone perched next to the radio, prepared to record each Beatles song played, just to satisfy my obsession at the time. What resulted on my old reel-to-reel player was a series of songs missing the first five seconds of each. Today, I can play any song I want anytime I desire, and through streaming services I can be entertained endlessly by software that determines my preferences for me, and tees them up one after another. With another app, I can have my favorite sandwich delivered as I listen. The world has come a very long way.
Indeed, we are long past the days of wanting to throw our desktop computers through a window, but at the same time, we continue to license software products that fail to make our lives, or our jobs, any easier. When a software company discovers a way to disrupt an existing process, adhering to quality standards, or the voice of the customer, is not always a primary consideration. If you are in a position to advocate for software that will drive quality efforts, this puts you in a precarious position, because if staff do not embrace the solution, you’ve just wasted a lot of time, money, and personal credibility.