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The shape of things
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19/01/2006
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It’s said that a task will expand to fill the time available; which could be why management tends to believe it can always extract an extra 10% out of its workforce. In truth, there is only 100% of any resource – and when it’s gone, it’s gone.
The problem is, the demand for the resource isn’t as easily appeased; a phenomenon particularly apparent in the digital age.
The benefit of ‘going digital’ is also its nemesis; once digitised, there’s little to limit what can be done with the information, apart from the computing power available. The downside is the ever increasing computing power required to perform the kind of manipulation to which we’re now accustomed; a figure that is growing with the complexity of the technology.
The key to the success of each new technology is hiding its complexity behind the façade of a simple user interface, whilst still delivering the functionality. With each technological development, a corresponding decrease in the demands placed upon the user is required in order to make it appealing. This, in itself, demands more computing power and so it continues until the inescapable 100% is reached.
A crucial element in this scenario is the user experience – in fact, in most applications, it is the overriding element because it dictates just how much computing power you need. However, extracting that power from conventional technology is also a growing problem. This, of course, is promoting innovation.
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Author
Philip Ling
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