I noticed an interesting commentary by Tom Davenport in the July 17, 1995
issue of Information Week about how the introduction of Lotus Notes
requires a complete change in the mindset of an organization if the
technology (Notes) is to work successfully.
Briefly, Davenport calls Notes "socialware" that requires "substantial
changes in work processes and culture if it is to be successfully
deployed...In short, Notes needs informational altruism."
Davenport goes on to say: "Also, Notes demands some roles that are
unfamiliar to many organizations. If discussion databases are to be
useful, they need an editor to spark discussion, seed new databases, and
prune out irrelevant comments. Yet when I read want ads for Notes
administrators, these new roles are rarely mentioned."
The creator of Notes is quoted as saying "this complex software should be
allowed to start small and grow."
The commentary points in the direction of many of the things that are
required to begin to actually use technology to build a learning
organization.
-- Regards, Peter von Stackelberg Applied Futures, Inc. PeterVS1@aol.com