I’ve had I’ve had a number of conversations lately around I.T. having the business authority to tell users “No” when it comes to some requests. Which begs the question, should I.T. tell users – “No”? To answer this, a consideration of the reasons I.T. often wants to say “no” is important.
Now I’m not going to speak of specific reasons. After all, a list of real world examples would be too exhaustive and too unique to try to apply to all organizations. However, most any situation that has come up where I.T. has felt impelled to say “No,” likely had something to do with the users being completely unaware of what they were really asking for, unaware of the ramifications of their request, or unaware of the amount of time, effort, and money involved with making it happen.
I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard developers mumble under their breadth out of frustration with end-users and the requests that they submit without considering these issues. I can even recall a few developers that I worked with that would always vent that it wasn’t their job to think for users. Certainly I’ve had my own moments, but I always disagreed about not thinking for users. After all, we’re the subject matter experts, we’re the critical thinkers. We’re the ones responsible for aligning the solution to problem, so it is up to us to investigate and really get down to the root of what the user is asking for. Being clear and up front with the time, effort, and expenses with fulfilling their requests is just good practice for any profession, as is being up front with any concerns about the ramifications of a request.
Ultimately however the end-user has to make a decision. Yet, if we’ve done our job right, identifying such issues and making the end-user aware of them, then they should have enough information to make an informed decision and that decision could be “no”; Only they’re saying it, not I.T.
I know there are exceptions to everything, and I can certainly see I.T. saying “no” in organizations that are I.T.-driven. Yet where I.T. is a “part” of the organization and not the makeup of the organization, this method of getting to “no” is critical in helping remove some of the stigma that comes with being in I.T.
I’ve been in I.T. for well over 12 years and I’m telling you that there certainly is an I.T. stigma. However the world of work is becoming increasingly technology-centric. Everyone from the office clerk to the CEO touches technology. Gone are the days where I.T. was the department where all the “computer stuff” happened, now it is everywhere. Technology has changed everything.
The best way for I.T. to service an organization is to stay abreast with what’s happening in the field to know how to best align technology to the growing demands of the organization. However, when user requests make you want to bite your lip, simply saying “no” won’t get you as far as helping users make an informed decision and getting them to say “no” on their own.
