When we start out on a new project with a client, we get every member of staff involved in a mini competition to name the system that we're building. This article will explain the reasoning behind this and why it's so critical to the process of delivering a successful project.
我们人类给事物命名. 我们给汽车、工厂、 酸酵 当然，我们给我们的孩子取名. Naming things gives us an immediate bond with that thing or person. 授予, 当我自己的孩子出生时, my wife and I didn't know their genders, 但我们确实有名字选择. But I also understand the desire to know, 因为一方面, you can form an immediate bond with your baby through its name. The other thing about naming things is that it is entirely in your control. No one else is there saying "this is its name, so you can't change it".
软件也是如此. Usually, when buying software, you're told its name, and it's not usually much fun either. You've had no control over it, so you have to develop a relationship with it over time. That relationship could go in any direction, depending on whether the software in question is any good or not, 但它从来都不是一个紧密的纽带. You never look at Xero and smile, or Zendesk and have a chuckle, or reminisce about SAP.
另一方面, we put that ownership into the hands of the people who will use it, and it creates an immediate personal bond. You no longer talk about "the system", but instead find yourself talking about Dave, 雨果, Oracle, 深渊, Jordan or whatever your name is (these are actual names our clients have given their systems). 每个名字都有一个故事. Dave is named after the late father of the founders of that particular business, with a unanimous decision to raise new Dave in his memory.
雨果 came about because the system was originally called BOS and every time the name came up, 工作人员想到, 好吧, 雨果. 所以这个名字就改了，并被沿用了下来. 深渊 is a service desk platform for an IT support company, and it's where all your tickets go.
What they all have in common though is that initial bond. And that bond carries through to execution because those same people who named it feel empowered to help guide it on its development journey. 结果是, those staff feel a loyalty to both the business and the people in it, 所以它们停留的时间更长. But they also find themselves smiling at Dave, for reasons beyond my comprehension (because if you think about it, smiling at software is weird and unnatural). And it turns out the best place for your support tickets really is 深渊.
Because people smile at the software we build, 他们的压力更小, 更有成效, 更多地投入到业务中, more than just their specific task or role. That means the business has 较低的管理费用 as the software helps guide and handle all the boring work, leaving staff clear to work on continuous improvement. 进一步, 我们发现这是因为人们留下来了, the business doesn't suffer knowledge loss, 或者重新雇佣成本, and the staff become evangelists for the system meaning zero system training for new starters.
And so to the business, and its staff, the spoils. 更多的时间, 更少的压力, 更多的利润, 较低的管理费用, a jump (more like a giant leap) up on the competition. 而机会成本(即. 如果你没有呢?)不值得思考.
