[CS-FSLUG] User Comfort & Change

[Tim Young]

I work with a different set of folks that some.  All the people working in
Missions are actually volunteers of sorts.  In a business environment, when
someone is an employee, people put up with a lot more to keep their job.

In a missions environment, and somewhat in a Church also (churches usually have
a cross between people on salary and volunteers), the volunteers carry a lot
more weight.  Most of these organizations do not have well documented
procedures and policies, so the inner-workings are only known by those who do
the task.  So if one of these volunteers leave, the organization is in
trouble.  For this reason, the leadership often will tip-toe around situations
that might cause a great deal of change.

Now, I have seen a number of organizations survive through change.  If the
people have greater dedication to the organization than fear of change, then it
usually works out.  Many people in missions are this way.  Churches, however,
often split when a divisive issue comes up.  You split when the issue is more
important than the organization.  I do not think that the choice of software
would cause a church split, but rather I am using this analogy to show that
most Church members are not as tied to their church as people are tied to a
mission organization.  However, the more involvement you have in the
organization, the more likely you are to protect that organization.  Usually,
the staff are very involved, and so should stick with the church better than
the congregation will.

All that to say, I do not think that selling the Pastor on open-source will
force the whole staff to make the switch with a smile on their face.  A lot
depends on how tied to the Church they are, the ratio of volunteers to paid
staff, etc.

    - Tim

Don Parris wrote:

> I would like to get the opinions of our more experienced IT folks on
> the list.  It is very obvious to me that a number of people don't want
> to change software, simply because they know what they know, and don't
> want to change.
>
> Just how important is user comfort when it comes to making decisions
> about changing software?  Some people make it out to be all-important.
>  I do agree that there is something to be said for user comfort and
> proficiency with current software, but do not other factors, such as
> maintenance, cost, stability, security, etc. play a role in the
> decision-making process?
>
> For instance, when I tell a church about GNU/Linux, and they bring up
> the 60-year-old secretary who plans to retire in about 3 or 4 years, I
> can sort of understand their desire to continue with the current
> software.  However, if the secretary is 35, that would be a different
> ball-game.  How much is really "user comfort", and how much is pure
> un-willingness to change.
>
> I realize that when you change software, you need to make some
> adjustments.  I'll also grant that many of the adjustments that I
> consider minor and simple may throw someone else completely off track.
>  Still, a change from MS Office to OOo is not a difficult thing.  So
> how does an organization justify not changing, based on user comfort,
> in light of all the other issues that need to be considered?
>
> Don
> --
> DC Parris GNU Evangelist
> http://matheteuo.org/
> gnumathetes at gmail.com
> Free software is like God's love -
> you can share it with anyone anywhere anytime!
>
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