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Sprechen sie…IT?

December 17, 2009

Tonight I was at a local grocer (that’s headquartered in Michigan).  I was at the “No Limit Self-checkout” at around 9:45 PM.  (I have a BUNCH of kids so I shop after bedtime…)  Anyway…while I was there, they began to shut down ALL of the checkout lines except for the 12 items or less lanes.  They explained to those in line that it was time for “change over” and that the lanes would be open just as soon as they were finished.  Um…huh??  It’s 9:45PM.  I want to go home.  I don’t care why my line just got shut down…what are my other options?  “Change Over” means nothing to me.  I just want to check out.

The whole experience reminded me of what it’s like to be in the operational side of the business requesting services from IT. Think about the SNL sketch with Nick Burns the Help Desk guy.  He speaks a language that his customers don’t understand and then treats them like they are stupid for not getting it.  The customers eyes glaze over thinking, “so…um…ok… how will you fix my problem?”

Is your IT department speaking your language?  If not, then how will they ever help you to solve your business problems?  Chances are they don’t understand you either.  Bridging the gap takes a skilled interpreter who can understand both.  Your best BI architects do this and don’t try to explain ETL, Dimensional Models or ODS to you…cuz really…do you care how it works if it answers your questions and helps to make sense of your data.

Written by Jodie Heflin · Filed Under Business Intelligence, Technology 

Comments

6 Responses to “Sprechen sie…IT?”

  1. davidebowman on December 17th, 2009 7:23 am

    Jodie,

    That sketch always cracks me up. “Move!” Great post!

  2. LUCRUM Incorporated on December 17th, 2009 12:28 pm

    Our VP of Business Intelligence @jhef riffs on importance of IT and Business speaking the same language. http://bit.ly/4ScR7F

  3. davidebowman on December 17th, 2009 12:49 pm

    RT @LUCRUMinc: Our VP of Business Intelligence @jhef riffs on importance of IT and Business speaking the same language. http://bit.ly/4ScR7F

  4. Scott Hartz on December 17th, 2009 1:02 pm

    Is your IT department speaking your "Business'" language? – http://bit.ly/6chPpd

  5. Scott Felten on January 4th, 2010 2:13 pm

    I always thought that the sketch was a documentary.

  6. Jodie Heflin on March 3rd, 2010 5:05 pm

    Sorry about the ad in the beginning…trust me…sketch is worth the wait!!

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