The cafe app that nobody asked for
Sam's cafe plans a new booking app. Sam is happy about it. The cook is not. "Who will teach us? What will it cost? Will it break on Saturday?"
Sam did not ask these questions first. Now the staff do not trust the app.
Before a change, an organisation must study its effects, plan what it needs and talk to the people it touches.
Key words
| Word | What it means | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Impact | The effect a change has, good or bad. | Fewer phone calls |
| Measure | Find out a number as it is today. | 40 calls a day now |
| Forecast | A careful guess about the future, using facts. | 10 calls a day later |
| Resources | What a change needs: money, time, people, hardware and software. | A budget and two staff |
| Budget | The money kept for something. | 1,200 pounds |
| Stakeholder | A person or group that the change affects. | Staff and customers |
| Acceptance | People agree to the change and are ready to use it. | Staff say yes |
| Compliance | Following the laws and rules that apply. | Keeping customer data safe |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Quick check: before the change
Have a go
Quick check: before the change
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Impact: measure, then forecast
First measure how things are today. This is your starting point. Then forecast how things will look after the change.
Look for good effects and bad effects. If a change only looks good, it has not been studied well.
Worked example: measure, forecast, compare
| What we look at | Now | Forecast | Change | Good or bad? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Phone calls to take a booking each day | 40 | 10 | 40 take away 10 is 30 fewer | Good |
| Booking mistakes each week | 12 | 3 | 12 take away 3 is 9 fewer | Good |
| Staff training hours | 0 | 20 | 20 more | Bad: it costs time |
| Monthly cost of the system (pounds) | 50 | 120 | 120 take away 50 is 70 more | Bad: it costs money |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Try it: work out each change
now = {"calls": 40, "mistakes": 12, "cost": 50}
later = {"calls": 10, "mistakes": 3, "cost": 120}
for name in now:
change = later[name] - now[name]
if change < 0:
print(name, "falls by", -change)
else:
print(name, "rises by", change)
# Add "training": 0 to now and 20 to later, then run it again.
Analysis: weigh the two sides
Now compare. Make two lists: the good effects and the bad effects. Ask how big each one is and how likely it is.
In Sam's case, fewer mistakes and calls save time every week. The training happens once. The cost stays small. So the answer is: go ahead, but plan the training well.
Resources: what the change needs
A plan needs resources. There are five to list.
Budget: the money. Time: the days and weeks. Staffing: who does the work, and who covers their usual job. Hardware: devices such as tablets. Software: programs, and the permission to use them.
If one is missing, the change stops.