Thanks for the thought-provoking comments - a really interesting and
important discussion you started Nick.
I had not heard of the Abilene paradox, so thanks for that Tony. I am
familiar with the Gartner hype cycle, (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hype_cycle ) which I think is also going
on here. In fact we are hoping to catch some of the fallout of failed
apps with our product (this is already happening with 'ageing'
Bluetooth installations).
I'm persuaded by Mia, Mike, Alwyn and Tony that it's not really a
techie-driven thing, but perhaps 'pseudo-techie' managements and the
'me too' herd instinct.
My own town of dear old Melton Mowbray (pork pies and stilton cheese)
have just launched an app (despite me telling the promotions company
about other options) and the response of the local paper was to
'splash' it as the only article on the front page - even though they
had (on page 3) negative comments from traders about its usability.
Having sold Info-Point for similar trails I feel like a prophet in his
own land - a prophet who is thinking 'is it me?'.
I still believe that native apps, no matter how well developed, are
inaccessible as a fundamental concept for use with random visitors.
While demonstrating Info-Point we still see many Blackberries out
there (last week they were very popular you know) and what about any
new OS (or OS version) that becomes popular in the next nanosecond?
Backward compatibility of new apps is to be expected, but forward
compatibility? For this reason I think native apps have to be seen as
user-centric where the user has a choice and a commitment to the app.
For casual provider-centric situations like a visit, I think that you
have to be accessible to all comers with whatever kit they have, even
if you can't manage that for every 'cool' feature.
I guess the big question is this: Given that we seem to agree that
native apps are wrongly commissioned by managers, what do we do to
educate those managers?
To me a major influencer is HLF funding policy, which will fund
wheelchair access and an inaccessible app in the same project. Until
HLF are better informed about digital accessibility, and join these
two bits of policy together, the funding is a powerful influence that
encourages the managers to blindly go for the apparently safe and
popular choice over a more thoughtful, accessible and sustainable
option.
Regards
Neil
--
Director
Webnebulus
01664 897957
www.info-point.eu
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