Software has become the core of our lives. Businesses use software to run their operations. People use software most commonly for social connection, but also to solve various problems in their daily lives.
But what happens when these software systems are badly designed? Let me give you my most recent example.
I had a problem with a piece of furniture recently and couldn’t use it for seven weeks. While the manufacturer intended to provide high-quality service, they failed catastrophically. The reason? The software they use.
After the service technician inspected the furniture, he determined the root cause and recommended replacing the damaged part. He called someone to create a record of his conclusions. As it turned out, the root cause came down to a part’s dimensions (dimensions that had been measured by the manufacturer’s own interior architect and yes, I have the architect’s measurement notes). The manufactured part wasn’t even close. I guess the factory never received the custom specs and just built it using standard dimensions instead. So, two parts needed to be replaced: the one that caused the problem, and the one that got damaged.
After two weeks, I thought they hadn’t bothered to create the record, and I called support again. It turns out customer support created the record, but the factory never received it. They manually called the factory and created a new order. Well, guess what? They only ordered the damaged part!
Finally, the big day came! The service department called me and scheduled a part replacement day. When they arrived, the service technician recognized me and said, “Well, we needed to change two parts, but they only gave us one. If you’d like, I can reorder the other part.” Scared of jumping through the same hoops and not being able to use my furniture for another seven weeks, I said, “Just change the damaged part. I will find another solution for the root cause.”
This is where a wife with a Ph.D. in Materials Science comes in handy. My wife fired up SolidWorks, designed a new part, and printed it with our SLA printer. I installed the part, and the root problem was gone (FINALLY!).
So, what went wrong here? Well, the manufacturer uses an ERP. I know which one they use because I discussed it with the architect who designed the furniture while we were buying it. It looks like the ERP they are using doesn’t even work for order, production, and service management. I can safely say it works for accounting and invoicing, though, because I received those invoices faster than the speed of light.
At the end of the day, your customers shouldn’t need a Ph.D. in Materials Science and a 3D printer just to get what they paid for. Bad software design doesn’t just frustrate employees, it actively breaks the customer experience. Until companies realize that operations matter just as much as accounting, I guess I’ll be keeping our SLA printer warmed up.