How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

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Capn Odin
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How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

23 Jul 2016, 05:19

For a while I have been offering my expertise in automation to friends and family, however no one have taken me up on the offer. I got a little offended, since surely they must have some boring repetition in their life/work, which made me think they doubted my skill, but after talking to some of them it seems they simply don't know what can be automated.

My problem is to explain what can be automated, in such a way as to make them able to spot where in their work/life it would most benefit them to automate.
Since it is not possible for me to know their daily routines, they need to locate the opportunities themself.

Any tips would be much appreciated.
Last edited by Capn Odin on 24 Mar 2017, 16:31, edited 1 time in total.
Please excuse my spelling I am dyslexic.
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joedf
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Re: How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

28 Jul 2016, 08:13

Yes, it can be difficult when one does not see or notices opportunities when they present themselves. Opportunist make their own, but sometimes at the cost of others... :/
A general rule in IT is to say: if they don't know it, they don't need it. Something specific needs to be experienced for them to possibly see such things. :geek:
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nnnik
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Re: How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

29 Jul 2016, 09:39

"Anything you do a lot that requires a lot of Clicks without having to look at the screen (if you know where to click)"
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Xeo786
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Re: How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

16 Aug 2016, 05:56

But sometime they don't really want to know it..... Few people don't like automation, they like to do their work manually, my experience :( ,
You cannot change people until they want change, so you need to change their mind. "There is a product if there is marketing strategy..." :)
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Joe Glines
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Re: How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

22 Mar 2017, 10:51

This is a great topic which I'd love to have a lot of input on. I've been using AutoHotkey for nearly 10 years now. I have a "template" to review some of the cool things you can do with AutoHotkey and review it with them over about 1 hour.

While I've got a few "adopters" most have the "Great, Thanks, Bye!" attitude (meaning they see how much it can help, are grateful for me showing them, and then never follow-up on how to actually use any of it.

At first I took I personally and thought it was "me" that must not of explained things "right". After doing this with at least 30 people, and having spoken to at least a dozen other AutoHotkey advocates I've met from the AHK forum, I've come to realize that it isn't "me", it is "them".

I think this experience is explained by a couple of main causes
  1. People do not like change.
  2. Everyone is "too busy" to learn how to save time. Even though they're interested in learning they fail to "find time" to dive in and learn how to code. (read Story of a woodcutter for a great analogy))
  3. Most people think short-term and not long-term. This can present itself in the following dimensions
    1. The job is "too small" to be automated (almost never true)
    2. The job is a "1-time" need (rarely, if ever, the case)
    3. I'm the only one that would use this (again, rarely the case)
    4. It will take too long to write code to automate (I think this is one of the best things about AutoHotkey. Depending on the need & complexity sometimes I can write automation in seconds!)
  4. Some people are "afraid" to let-on that they really don't understand what you're doing. They might even try it on their own (w/o any help) but get frustrated and give up after 5 minutes. (Personally I automated so much of my job it allowed me to spend ~20% a day learning more coding. ) :)
  5. Managers do not encourage their employees to automate.(I've had several bosses that (for whatever reason) told me NOT to automate.) :crazy:
I'd love to hear other's experience in this. Are there reasons I left out?

Have you found a "best" way to get people to start picking up automation?
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JFord
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Re: How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

02 Aug 2017, 16:30

This is a great discussion. As a career consultant assisting non-technical people to adopt changing technologies has been part of my job for a long time. Another role was attempting to get their managers to sign off on the change in the first place.

Most people are averse to change, even if it's for the better. Identifying their pain points and relieving those while minimizing their additional discomfort is key. So my approaches to the two groups are completely different. With the users it's most often presented as a fait accompli, but delivered with as many spoons of sugar as we had. The discussion in this case would be tool focused on what we built, what is does, and why. With the managers the focus was initially focused only on the need, not the tool or the solution.

So, with any uninitiated non-technical person I would NOT start with, "Here is AHK, see how cool it is?" You must take the time to see how they use their computer and identify specific examples of simple (repeat simple) examples. AHK experts are excited more by its advanced functions, but the new user may be far more impressed with its most basic text substitution features. I would also stay away from the idea of programming which will shut many people down immediately, somewhat like telling them, "Here, I'll show you how to perform brain surgery, it's really simple!" They aren't listening. Also, the amount of new information that can be absorbed by most people is extremely limited, keep your gift basket limited, even if you think you are holding back the best goodies.

One potential approach I might use would be to ask some open questions such as, "If you had a button that could do anything (computer related) what would it do?" Unless their reply requires magic it is most likely that AHK could accomplish the task. The other questions that may take some rewording would be, "Are there any multi-steps tasks that you must perform repetitively?" or, "What tasks annoy you to death?" If they can begin to understand how things are painlessly improved then the adoption success rate will be much higher.
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Joe Glines
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Re: How to Explain Automation to a Non-Tech-Savvy

27 Aug 2018, 11:15

I just read this article What is Code Injection on Windows?
and I think it is at the heart of the issue why many non-techie people have misgivings about using AutoHotkey. They think we are somehow "altering" programs and can crash their system because we are "hacking" something. 99.9% of the time we're just doing what an ordinary user can do (albeit faster and more reliably).

I have hopes that, someday, the average business manager will be a bit more technical and realize there is very little risk when a "good guy" is using AutoHotkey.
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