Navigating new waters: a proposal for dealing with emerging technology

ABSTRACT

As the technology our clients use becomes increasingly mobile and portable, the nature of our support is changing. In addition, our clients are progressively more comfortable with technology. This is probably due to a combination of the training we have offered, but could also be because the faculty and staff have had significant turnover. This has resulted in a client community that has more experience with a broad range of technology.This shift has forced us to think about some of the ideas behind our support. Do our policies erect unintended barriers to behavior that is out of the ordinary, or do our policies treat this behavior as potentially innovative? How do we deal with innovation when it happens? Do we have a way to anticipate innovation? Most importantly, do we have a systematic methodology for identifying such situations and meshing our clients' needs with the missions of the University and School and do all of this in a supportable, sustainable way? Unfortunately, in our particular situation, the answer was no.Having come to this realization, we needed to define the criteria that would frame our policies for emerging technology; the primary goal of emerging technology policies should reflect that this equipment should forward the mission of the School of Education cannot interfere with the normal operation of supported equipment. The policies should also reflect the fact that technology ages quickly and has a life cycle.

REFERENCES

• 1: Benson, Brien and Sage, Emerging Technology-Evaluation Methodology: with Application to Micro-electromechanical Systems, IEEE Transactions On Engineering Management. Vol. 40, No. 2, May 1993, 114--125.
• 2: Bonabeau, Eric. Swarm Intelligence. IcoSystems, Inc Deployment Seminar presentation, May 2002
• 3: Hale, Katherine, Gartner Research Brief: Gartner First Take, Dec. 5, 2001, Gartner Technology Research, Entire Document.
• 4: Nielsen, Jakob and Pernice Coyne, Kara. A Useful Investment: Usability testing costs-but it pays for itself in the long run. CIO Magazine, Feb. 15, 2001.

INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
      C.5.3 Microcomputers
          Subjects: Microprocessors

Additional Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
      C.5.3 Microcomputers
          Subjects: Workstations; Portable devices (e.g., laptops, personal digital assistants); Personal computers

General Terms:
Human Factors, Management, Standardization

Keywords:
emerging technology, methodology, needs assessment, new technology