Wrench in the System – What's Sabotaging your Business Software and How you can Release the Power to Innovate What's sabotaging your business software and how you can release the power to innovate

A groundbreaking book that explains what's causing one of our biggest business headaches and how to remedy it

Every year, American businesses waste billions of dollars on information technology that doesn't communicate clearly with the people who use it. This fundamental flaw causes errors and delays, lowers profits, and can even endanger lives. Wrench in the System tells executives and managers how to turn underperforming digital assets into powerhouse systems: how to specify small changes that can dramatically boost productivity, how to reduce training costs, and what questions to ask vendors. This timely book by an industry insider shows how any business can achieve a better return on one of its biggest investments.

Harold Hambrose (Philadelphia, PA) is the CEO and founder of Electronic Ink, serving clients such as British Petroleum, Comcast, BBC, IBM, Microsoft, the New York Stock Exchange, and dozens of other industry leaders.

In this groundbreaking book, Harold Hambrose shows readers how to bridge the gap between the shortfalls of existing technology and the potential of what it should really be doing for its users, and explains how to turn underperforming digital assets into powerhouse systems.  He reveals the cost of rigid business systems: minutes wasted, profits lowered, customers alienated, and even lives endangered.  The book challenges the reader to see software not as a solution, application or system, but as a product and then shows how to make the changes needed for direct, measurable benefits.

Foreword By Dan Boyarski. Preface: An Invisible Edge. Acknowledgments. One. It's Just A Product! The World's Biggest Lemons. The Checklist. Failure To Communicate. Behind The Hype. The Wrench On The Front Seat. Inventing An Experience. Designing The Invisible. Just What We Need. Two. Design To Delight. The Emperor's New Enterprise System. Software's Missing Feature. Who's The Customer? Security Solutions: A Better Set Of Keys. Navigating Notre Dame. Communicating By Design. Teaching Etiquette To An ATM. The Reality Check. Form, Function, And Spirit. Three. Specify Innovation. Stranded At Heathrow. Don't Blame Technology. The Transparent Dashboard. When Green Means STOP. Listening To The Receiver. People Are Different. Removing Roadblocks. Easy As Pie: The Tale Of A Tool. What We Need To Know. Four. Consider The Consequences. Lessons From The Underground. The Workaround Wizard. Continuous Education. Building On Assumptions. Sprinting Toward Second-Rate. Automating The Status Quo. Frozen In The ICU. Five. The Right Team. Designing A New Experience. The Science Of Common Sense. A Tendency To Crash. Designers And The Art Of Interpretation. Looking At A Project From Every Angle. Analyzing An Emergency. The Other Customers. What Your Staff Won't Tell You. A Powerful Partnership. Six. Find Out What You Really Need. The Correct Definition. Missing Information And Lost Limbs. Beyond Technology. Meaningful Information. A Shortcut Through The Warehouse. A Common Language. Hobos And Hieroglyphs. An Accurate Translation. Beautiful Data. What Business Hasn't Even Thought Of. Channeling Rivers Of Energy. Seven. Believe It When You See It. When Prototype Becomes Product. Envisioning The Chrysler Building. The Hidden Costs Of Guesswork. Modeling A Vision Of The Future. Breaking The Cycle Of Failure. Leave Nothing To Interpretation. Rethinking And Redrawing. Survey The Landscape. Picture It! Showing Why. Eight. Restart The System. Find Out How They Really Feel. Check For Physical Evidence. Define Your Priorities. Make Sure That Help Is Helpful. Watch Your Language. Eliminate Clutter. Consider The Context. Rethink The Form. Take The Measure Of The Problem. Get An Outside Opinion. Nine. Your Next System. What Is This Thing? Is This What We Really Need? A $100 Million Guinea Pig? Will The Basic Model Do The Job? Who Will Be Using It? Whats It Like To Use? Are The Information Displays Informative? How Clearly Does It Communicate? How Forgiving Is It? How Will It Support Our Brand? Is This Product Truly Innovative? What Do Training And Change Management Really Mean? What Real Information Does The Manufacturer Have About User Adoption And Effectiveness? What About Those Service Contracts And Future Upgrades? Appendix A: Maximizing Your Design Resources. Appendix B: Tough Questions For Consultants. Notes. Index.