Case Study: Mind-pedia
This case study illustrates the ridicuolous inefficiencies of Software Teams
What is Mind-pedia?
Everyone knows about Wikipedia. They are an online repository of knowledge. When you want to know about something, you get your answer in a few seconds.
But did you know about Mind-pedia? You probably didn't, because we made them up.
Mind-pedia does not have an online repository of knowledge. Instead, "Mind"-pedia relies on storing all of its knowledge in the minds of its employees. Getting answers is typically done by contacting the person, because answers are not available online.
Mind-pedia operates just like every Software Team, relying on getting critical, day-to-day information from people, instead of accessing an online repository.
A Typical Day at Mind-pedia
At Mind-pedia, when you want answers, you don’t just search online and get useful answers quickly like Wikipedia. That would be way too fast, easy and efficient.
At Mind-pedia, you don't even know which person knows the answer, so first, you have to find the person(s) who might know the answer to your question. And then, you write them an email as to what you are looking for. And then, when they have some time (or you scream “High Priority!”), they check through their notes, e-mail, code, documents, maybe ask some other people, and generally do their best to find the answer. And then, they type up their answer (which may just end up being a best guess), and maybe take even more time to create some diagrams or screenshots, and arrange a time to discuss it with you. And then, have a meeting with you (and maybe others) to exchange the information. And after all of that research and work, fail to capture this information where it can be found later. So that three months from now, you can do it all over again.
Everyone in Mind-pedia is both asking questions, and being asked questions, to both get and provide answers as quickly as possible. Life at Mind-pedia is described as chaotic, employee burnout is common, and there is no way to fix it. It's always been this way, so it's just accepted as a hopeless situation.
When employees leave, they take knowledge with them and create information voids. When new employees join, they require everyone else’s time for training, and are always dependent on others for information. New employees can take years to fully understand the Software System.
Questions
What would the operational costs be for Mind-pedia compared with Wikipedia?
What would the quality of answers be from Mind-pedia (minimal information cobbled together from disparate sources as quickly as possible), compared with Wikipedia (centralized, digitized, shareable information constantly accessed, revised and improved)?
What employees would be happier and more productive, and which would feel stressed out for long periods of time?
The Reality
Chances are, EVERY Software Organization is just like Mind-pedia.
And ONLY App Overview can make Software Teams like Wikipedia!
App Overview is the ONLY Solution
Software Teams need Software Knowledge for decision making every hour of every day.
Software Knowledge is absolutely critical to the success of your Software Organization, and therefore needs to be accessed quickly and without interrupting others. It needs to be as accurate, comprehensive and reliable as possible. It needs to remain at the Company when employees leave, and it needs to grow over time, allowing every employee to be fully self-sufficient. And allowing new employees to learn on their own, and not require valuable time from your high producers.
The best decisions come from having as much relevant and accurate information as possible. The highest productivity comes from having access to this information as quickly as possible.
App Overview will save your Company money, allow your Software Teams to deliver higher quality Software in a shorter amount of time, minimize interruptions and meetings, preserve Software Knowledge at the Company, and raise the overall morale of the Software Organization and Company.
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